There was never any career plan. When 'Red Dwarf' started I thought we were doing a curious little sitcom on BBC2, I didn't think I was becoming an actor. I didn't see that 21 years later I'd still be talking about it, let alone filming a new one. For me everything's always been an accident.

It's not supposed to be easy, if it's easy, it's no good, that's the way I look at it.

Once journalists have been rifling through your dustbins, you do try and keep them at arms' length.

Who needs drugs when you have Takeshi's Castle?

Critics called me 'egregious' - I had to look that one up - and 'creepy', but now I don't read them, I weigh them.

My life has been, I suppose, the most incredible series of highs and lows.

It's evolve or die, really, you have to evolve, you have to move on otherwise it just becomes stagnant.