I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.

English television from the Fifties to the Nineties was the least bad in the world, and now it's just as bad as it is anywhere.

When people say 'I'm not a prude, but ...' what they mean is 'I am a prude, and ...'.

Some actors, I think, want to feel that they are as creative as the writer. And the answer is, frankly, they're not.

I think you can write very good comedy without a partner, but what I love about it, working with a partner, is that you get to places you'd never get on your own. It's like when God was designing the world and decided we couldn't have children without a partner; it was a way of mixing up the genes so you'd get a more interesting product.

I've always found life quite difficult to explain to people or to myself.

I think humor is incredibly positive, I think it is life advancing. There's medical research to show that it improves your antibodies. It's all about sense and perspective.