TALKING about a childhood growing up with a psychopathic grandfather is a brave move for anyone, but to turn those experiences into comedy led to Sofie Hagen taking the reins of life back in to her own hands.

Dead Baby Frog comes to Colchester Arts Centre tonight, as part of Sophie’s 30-date UK tour, following her successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

“I never thought I would speak about my grandfather,” she says, “but last year I went back home and he was on my mind and my shows are always about what is turning in my head. So it is not courage, I did not have a choice. I do what comes naturally on stage.

“Many people who came to the show said how powerful it was and so to know that they are not alone in these experiences, others go through it too, I think is a good thing not just for me but them as well.”

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but now based in London, Sofie took her debut show, Bubblewrap, up to Edinburgh in 2015 where she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer although she insists the award should have been for endurance rather than her comedy.

“It was the Fringe and everything went wrong,” she admits. “I had a fractured coccyx and had to carry a donut pillow everywhere. I had broken up with a guy before the trip and ended up playing at a 500-seat hall rather than the 70-seat venue. I loved it on stage but then I had to stumble off.”

Since turning professional, Sofie has worked with Russell Howard on Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central and Alan Davies on Apres Ski for BBC 2 – both were her heroes when she was at home in Denmark watching comedy shows on television.

“Working with them was so weird,” she says. “I was so nervous meeting Russell Howard that I tried to avoid him. He had come back stage after my show and I kept turning left and he was chasing me through the theatre. It was incredible but made the whole thing real for me.”

Sophie Hagen: Dead Baby Frog, Colchester Arts Centre, Church Street, Colchester, doors 7.30pm. £11, £8 concessions. 01206 500900.