Ria Lina is not only becoming a fixture on our TV screens, she’s also one of the hottest new stand-ups around. She’s playing The Stand in Newcastle this October.

Of all the co-hosts that have succeeded Richard Osman on Pointless, I reckon Ria Lina has been my favourite. I think it was her easy charm that won me over (along with those fabulous array of colourful tops), and that easy charm is much in evidence in her stand-up where she has tackled topics such as autism, topical news and racial identity. She’s possibly the only Filipina comedian in British stand-up that has a BSc in Experimental Pathology, an MSc in Forensic Science and a PHD in Virology, so her shows tend to come from a place of deep intelligence – a deep intelligence, nevertheless, that she wears lightly and with huge laughs. Her latest – her debut tour in fact – sees her tackling issues that have arisen out of the global pandemic as well as “the new normal”, divorce, dating in a digital world, motherhood and what it really means to be a woman today. A fearless and very funny performer, catch her on the up. DP

Ria Lina: Riawakening, Friday 27 October, The Stand, Newcastle, 7.30pm, £15, thestand.co.uk