You have a huge amount of confidence when you're younger, which slowly ebbs away for the rest of your life. You think: 'No problem. I can do that. Why shouldn't I do it?'

The best comedy is where you attack the strong, not the weak.

Modest about our national pride - and inordinately proud of our national modesty.

I've got a very peculiar sort of fame, based on being on the telly. It doesn't mean you have the lifestyle people expect.

There's an awful lot of terrible television which I could do, but I mostly stick to Have I Got News for You.

My mother was a terrific force in my life. Wartime-generation woman, hadn't gone to university but should have done. Was very funny, very verbal, very clever, very witty.

I like making films about old people because they are repositories of amazing stories that they tell well. And they're incredibly good telly.