She hits the stage on impossibly fashionable heels and in tasteful High Street ensembles. It's not the garb one associates with stand-up comedy, but Julia Morris is not your average comedian, as Prague audiences will discover when Morris arrives here as the inaugural performer for Prague Fringe's new Fringe Comedy Nights.

A television star in her native Australia, Morris made a brave career move five years ago by abandoning the safety of Sydney's bright lights for the terra incognita of London. But she's done very well for herself in Blighty, following in the footsteps of her heroes from Oz, Clive James and Barry Humphries.

In what has been called a heckler-resistant delivery, Morris launches into her stream-of-consciousness act practically before she hits the spotlight. She is glamorous, gossipy and garrulous. "I once told Julia that she reminded me of Martha Raye," renowned British comedian David Benson tells The Prague Post. "It's her larger-than-life delivery, I think." Morris's Gatling-gun approach is not confined to the stage, as I happily discovered in a telephone conversation with her from London.

The Prague Post: Is this your first visit to Prague?

Julia Morris: Not counting a romantic getaway years ago with a young man. ... Where is he now, I wonder?

TPP: Has Britain become home?

JM: I'm not married to the UK. You see, I suffer from temperature depression. The weather absolutely dictates how my mood will be, and it's so seldom good in Britain.

TPP: Your fellow Aussies seemed preoccupied with your weight when you were working there.

JM: It's a country driven by weight-loss information, although no one wanted to hear how I managed, as it sounds too much like work: two years, half-portions and exercise. I should have just told them it was all thanks to drugs. Well, I've gained a bit back in London with what I call the "Heathrow injection" — I mean, it's all the disgusting food here. Still, it's excellent that the English don't gauge my weight. Not like in Australia, where people will actually come up to you and say, "You're not as fat as you look on television." Highly complimentary!

TPP: Speaking of compliments, how do you respond to praising critics who refer to you as housewifeish?

JM: It's my dream to become a housewife; have someone take care of the finances, while all I have to do is a bit of Hoovering and pop out a few kids. No more of this comedy call-girl business. An average woman, that's what I am deep down.

TPP: Yet you bear the title of Lady of the Manner of Gosforth.

JM: But I'm embarrassed when people curtsey. My fiancé bought me that title. Not so much that I could rise in society but revolt it. There are benefits, of course. I can freely coin words, as it all must now fall under the umbrella of the Queen's English.

TPP: Certainly you have the proper wardrobe.

JM: I have walked in Chanel. I have mixed and matched with a delicate eye. I simply can't wear knockoffs — not against my skin.

TPP: Is Julia Morris a snob?

JM: Not about people. Never be nasty.

TPP: Though wasn't there an encounter you had with a cab driver in Edinburgh recently?