Regular panelists on shows can be terrifying. They own that space, and many guest comics suspect they are favoured in the edit, while their own hilarious jokes end up being ejected into the ether.

There are lots of people who believe that caricature of me the tabloids created, so they think they don't like me.

It's actually very hard when you're settled in one place to completely uproot yourself and go.

I think there's a far more general audience now because I've done more populist stuff on telly.

I think people tend to believe that women who are successful are probably neglecting their children, possibly a bit hard-nosed and that they don't really support other women very much - that they're men-haters and ball-breakers. I've certainly been on the receiving end of those 'compliments' for most of my career.

An overweight guy went to the doctor who advised him to try a keep fit DVD. But the guy said he couldn't be bothered. “Well” suggested the doctor, “try something that leaves you a little short of breath.” So the buy took up smoking.

It wasn't a conscious effort to have kids later. It was just the way life goes.