You might know her as Sue Heck but let us introduce you to Eden Sher

Eden Sher spent nine series playing enthusiastic, socially awkward, braces-wearing teenager Sue Heck in hit ABC series The Middle. Now, in her comedy debut, she shares a comic perspective on growing up behind the lens, and life after the canned laughter stops, in I Was On A Sitcom.

We spoke to Eden about her decision to go into stand-up, being a mother to twins and how Sue Heck still influences her everyday life...

Do audiences need to have watched you in The Middle to appreciate this show?

Oh, absolutely not. Or if it turns out you do, then I've done something HORRIBLY WRONG. Of course, there are a handful of Easter eggs/things that might be extra funny if you are a fan or know the show well, but the show actually has very little to do with The Middle itself - it's more about my personal relationship to the show and to the character I played. And, also, about my wild ride going into labour with my twins, and of course my experience postpartum! I feel like the title makes that pretty clear...

Why stand-up comedy? Why Fringe? Why now? Why everything? Whhhhyyyyyyy?

Because being a sitcom for nine years and then immediately becoming pregnant with twins, and then having an insane birth experience, and then having to actually be a MOTHER to those twins while also trying to reconcile with my own identity and place in the world is fucking nuts and so I HAVE A LOT TO SAY. And why Fringe? Why NOT Fringe?! Where else am I going to be able to rant about my life to a group of strangers in a literal castle???

Is being recognised as Sue Heck and having her with you all the time like having a little angel/devil on your shoulder?

It's way more surreal than angel/devil, it's like living knowing sometimes you will just be transported to an alternate reality where you're someone else. Like one time, I was getting my driver's license renewed and the man behind the counter straight up told me "You're not old enough to drive". I was 21 at the time. And he was holding my ID! But I was literally a different person to him, and Sue Heck was 15 at the time, so I couldn't blame him!

Have you discovered new sides to yourself during the process of writing the show? What do you want to keep secret and never let anyone know?

I have discovered whole dimensions of myself and my personality I had no idea existed. I didn't realise how much I had to say and also how many feelings I apparently had about breastfeeding!

Re: keeping secrets, I also learned that the answer to that is NOTHING. I apparently want everyone to know everything at all times about me and every part of my life. I thought it was going to be impossible to fill an hour of just me talking - I literally had to cut 90 mins from my show, including a 10 minute rant on how much I hated breastfeeding.

What's your top tip for new mums? And especially mums of twins? And especially mums of twins heading to Edinburgh to perform every day in a show about not being someone else?

The fact that you think I have any advice to give is hilarious. The only advice I have for new mums (twins or otherwise) is a plug for a book called The Happy Sleeper (for which I get zero kickback, but for the amount I talk about it, I should). Oh, and don't buy bottle sterilisers, they are a scam. And as for all the other mums of twins heading to Edinburgh to also perform a show about not being someone else, of which I'm sure there are several, PLEASE GIVE ME ADVICE BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING. Can I be a mum to two toddlers who probably won't sleep because of the time change, and a performer, and a human woman who doesn't lose her mind all at once? Let's find out!