Jimmy Rees can't get enough of Canberra - and we can't get enough of him

But his fans want more, so he's giving it to them.

Rees is performing an encore show from his Meanwhile in Australia tour in Canberra next month. It comes after a lot of fans who missed out on the fast-selling gig asked him to consider coming back.

"We had fun there, so why not?" he said. "It was pretty mental. But all the shows were great."

The comedian, who has taken his online routine to the stage, even regaled his fans with a video of his day in Canberra, including trying to fit in dinner between his second and third shows. In the theatre precinct. With nearby restaurants packed with his own fans.

"We were going to go just around the corner to Meat and Co but they were full and we tried to go to a dumpling place around the corner, can't remember the name, and then that was full. Ended up going to Betty's Burgers and I basically did a meet and greet in there because everyone was either coming or going to the show," Rees said, with a laugh.

The 35-year-old father of three who lives with his family on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula is on a roll and he's riding this train for as long as he can.

Rees likes to joke he is "totally that guy from that thing" but he is now a bona fide self-made superstar, selling out venues across Australia on what was his first comedy tour, with everyone now wanting a piece of him.

Beloved by children and families for his decade as Jimmy Giggle on the ABC kids' show Giggle and Hoot, Rees found a whole new audience when he started posting COVID-related comedy videos in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.

He would take on the persona of each of the states as they dealt with the lockdowns and social distancing, showing a skill for skewering the pomposity and double standards that came with much of the pandemic rules.

Rees says he wasn't trying to make a political statement with the videos.

"This might be a boring answer, but this is me in general, I'm just a giant fence-sitter. I'm not engaged in politics, it doesn't interest me at all," he said.

"I guess that kind of came across in my videos. A lot of people couldn't even tell what state I was living in. I guess that's just me."

But with Victoria enduring the harshest and longest lockdowns, Rees took to his camera to bring some light to the situation.

"There were things where you went, 'This is so annoying' and always questions like, 'How are we doing it wrong?' You know? And I guess everyone in Victoria felt that way," he said.

"We were always trying to abide by the rules and I guess the lockdown felt necessary at the time. But it's funny looking back at it. It was actually enjoyable for me to take the news and try to personify it in a way.

To be making videos in isolation, sending them out into the ether, and then seeing them take off, and then to be confronted with venues bursting with people who knew every character and laughed at the in-jokes, must have felt amazing but, also, discombobulating.

"It's been incredible. It's hard to explain, really," he said.

"I get feedback on the videos. People comment on them, they share them and I do sit there and read them all. Sometimes you can't read them all when there's 10,000 comments or something.

"But the thing I get told the most when I meet people, when I'm doing some meet and greets, is that I did provide a bit of light in a pretty dark time for people. That my videos were kind of what everyone wanted to say but nobody could say it. They said I was the voice of the people. And I didn't realise the impact, I guess, churning the news into something a little bit fun and silly.

"People thought it was funny but they were maybe watching them with a bit of a tear in their eye as well. It's been incredible, amazing." But it didn't end there.

His Point of View videos also went viral. Whether he was summing up a city or telling it like it is for a stay-at-home parent, he nailed it. People could see themselves - or others - in the videos as Rees went further than the usual stereotypes. He struck a chord. And it was hilarious.

His POV You're From Canberra video was a hit as Rees actually reflected the city back to its residents. Well, mostly. Nobody calls Batemans Bay "Bato". Nobody, Jimmy.

But he was spot on about other things like "a large groan if you have to drive more than 20 minutes", "posting a pic to Insta from the top of Mount Taylor", "a hangover after getting loose at the Moose", "lane one form", "never surrendering when merging", "bogans", "talking about your APS level", "over-priced rentals" and "lime milk - whatever that is".

He prides himself on his research.

"I try to put the feelers out to anyone I know who lives in Canberra or whatever city I'm doing," he said.

"After I've jotted down as much as I can, I put up in my Instagram Stories - 'Give us as many Canberra points as you can!'

"Part of the art is to sift through all the bogus ones or all the stereotypical ones.

"Things that keep recurring from random people - they're not talking to each other - that keep popping up, they're the ones that need to go in.

"When you find something so random, we research, look it up and it's like, 'Oh yeah, right, that's a thing' and put it in the video.

"It's funny, a few hundred people will respond and the same things will pop up and you're like, 'OK, that's something that's really annoying Canberrans'. Or 'This is something that people don't know about Canberra'.

"So it's fun culling all the crap out and getting to the really interesting bits of that city."

And all those views are being noticed by advertisers. Rees is now doing many more paid sponsorship videos as he becomes more and more popular.

"Yeah, it's been pretty crazy. Obviously I did Giggle and Hoot for 10 years and being on the ABC, you're not allowed to do any sponsorship things so that was all new to me when I started making content for online," he said.

"And it is world away, for sure. All of a sudden, everyone was reaching out, "Can you make a video for us? Can we send you something?' And all that sort of stuff.

"And I guess you put all these things out online and they're all free to consume and this is a bit of reaping the benefits of that and making an income. But now as we've gone on, and I've done a few, we can be a bit more picky and choosy about them too."

Rees also returned to the ABC to host Tiny Oz, a show in which craftspeople re-create moments from Australia's history, in miniature.

"Obviously the tour is amazing but I've also had opportunities for TV and hosting events and I've even auditioned for a few little films as well. I mean, I'm not an actor, I don't call myself an actor but people are interested in me for doing that stuff as well," he said.

And he's also writing books.

"I've got two kids' books out at the moment and I've got another one coming later in the year. I've also got an adult book," he said, with a laugh.

"But not an adult book in terms of a Mills or Boon or anything, it's called The Guy Who Decides and it's basically riffing on all the silly Guy Who Decides things which is exciting."

Rees is married to Tori and they have three boys - Lenny is seven and twins Mack and Vinney are three.

While he does say his show is for 18-plus, kids do turn up.

"Yeah, it's pretty funny. More and more kids are coming," he said.

"I think something I don't do in my content is swear. If it's in a video, I'll bleep it out. And in the show, I try my hardest not to let any curse words slip as well.

"So it is kind of, you know, OK I guess for teens maybe. I do talk a little bit about sex in the show so there are a few bits and pieces where you may want to cover their ears

"I had this show in Adelaide and I needed some guys up on stage for some audience participation and I saw this hand go up.

"I pointed them out in the audience, I couldn't really see, and this 12-year-old boy walked up to the stage. And I'm like, 'You know what man? How old are you?' And he's like 12. And I'm like, 'This isn't going to work'.

"So we just did a little dance, he wanted to floss or something together. And I had to make him sit back down and get someone else. So, of course, I knew what was going to happen but the audience had no idea if it was going to be a bit inappropriate. And later I was like, 'See?! It wouldn't have been good!'"

Rees also does a pretty spot-on impression of Chief Minister Andrew Barr in the show, probably one of the very few comedians who even know who Barr is and take the time to master his personal tics.

"It's been interesting doing those," he said.

"In Victoria, everyone was watching Dan Andrews and that purple banner behind him [in the COVID press conferences] and every time you saw that it was like, 'OOHHHH'.

"But Andrew Barr was funny and I just picked up on a few things he said."

Rees said his September show in Canberra was an encore one, but there could be a few tweaks.

"Who knows what could be in it? I always try to keep it up to date, If there's something going well online, I'll put it in the show."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.