This aired 2 years ago. My BBC stand-up debut aired at 10:30pm on the Friday; less than 12 hours later, I was earning £7 an hour in Sainsbury's.

I needed time off from work to go to Edinburgh to take part in the semi-final in August. They wouldn't give me it, so I quit my job to take part in the semi.

The dreamer part of me thought it might be a Hollywood moment; go to Edinburgh, do well, make the final, and push on.

The reality is that I walked off stage believing I had done enough to make the final...but I didn't make it, and it was the most devastating moment of my career. I had given up a job I got after being unemployed for 3 years, and my financial security, but it didn't pay off.

I remember crying, properly crying, as it felt in that moment like I would never succeed, that I was destined to fail. Part of that comes from growing up with no money and always feeling inferior, and feeling like I didn't fit in the industry as a working-class, Uni dropout.

I didn't see any shows for the next 3 days in Edinburgh. I was talking to my girlfriend about giving up. It's crazy how the biggest success in my career made me feel like I couldn't do this career, but the bigger the opportunity, the harder it hurts to get knocked back.

But despite feeling the worst I have felt in my career, this did lead to me writing for The News Quiz just 5 months later. It made me think of my place in the world, and lit the fire which led to me writing I, Tom Mayhew: a show that sold out in Edinburgh, and then Soho Theatre.

That setback made me even more determined to write a show that proved I was good enough - probably more for myself than anyone else. And I did that.

I have reminded myself of this a few times these last few months. Everytime we go down, we get back up. It's all we can do.