The comedian on getting permission to be silly from Eric Morecambe, meeting the Spice Girls and how Comic Relief brings people together
What made you get into comedy?
It seems like a scripted setup when I reflect on it now. It was as clear as day to me, even though I can only have been eight or nine. I remember being told to “stop being silly”, as all good, tired family members will say at times to children, and it being a dagger to my heart. For surely that was a key part of life: to laugh and be silly. The next day I was watching Morecambe & Wise and lo and behold there were some grownups being silly. When Eric Morecambe looked down the camera and smiled, I felt he was my friend, and I knew that I had to get inside that television and play.
Can you recall your first gig?
It was in my parents’ sitting room. My sister and I had learned some Victoria Wood sketches and I’d learned some Joyce Grenfell monologues. We hid behind the curtains until my parents and a few friends came in, and then burst out in all our glory. Just your standard Friday night for most teenagers …
