And like the old stereotype, I overcame my shyness by making my friends laugh.
I think having an outsider's viewpoint is interesting and good, especially for a comedian.
In fact, I don't watch a lot of contemporary comedy for fear of being influenced by it.
Well, sanity, I suppose, is getting people to see the world your way.
In 1987, I was in Edinburgh doing my first one-man show. I took part in a kickabout with some fellow comedians and tripped over my trousers and heard this cracking sound in my leg. A couple of days later I went into a coma and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism.
If you stay in a house and you go to the bathroom and there is no toilet paper, you can always slide down the banisters. Don't tell me you haven't done it.