We all have days where we can't pronounce things or give it the emotion it deserves.

I think it sort of dawns on you that if you're not gigging constantly you're not actually relevant. You may be relevant to a different part of the media now, to television commissioners and editors, but to a young live-comedy audience you're not, really.

Comedy's so subjective, and if someone comes to watch, doesn't get it, doesn't find it funny, then fine.

I also want to return to doing stand-up. I've become frightened of live audiences. This is a really telling sign that I need to go back on the comedy circuit again.

I came back from university thinking I knew all about politics and racism, not knowing my dad had been one of the youngest-serving Labour councillors in the town and had refused to work in South Africa years ago because of the situation there. And he's never mentioned it - you just find out. That's a real man to me. A sleeping lion.

I've got my finger in a lot of pies.

My forte is playing drunks down the ages. When my agent rings me about a role, I don't ask what the part is, but what century it's in.