6. What do your parents/children (delete as applicable) think of your job?

Well, my children like the idea of it, but I’m really not successful enough for them to be bowled over!  I was on telly on Comedy Central with K.S.I. the other day which meant more to my 12 year old son than anything.  K.S.I. is a bloke who does stuff on the internet - mostly playing FIFA16 and recording it on youtube as far as I can tell.  I don’t get it, personally. 

Last night my daughter announced she didn’t want to be an actress, which is a relief as she harboured desires for a while.

My wife indulges all my whingeing about my career so rarely goes to see stuff I do.  Some people think it’s odd, but I don’t blame her.  It would be 24/7 counselling for her, otherwise.

7. What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?

When it comes to stand up, it’s loneliness. It’s so great being in a double act now with Dan Skinner (editor's note - the man behind Angelos).  Doing stand up, which is sort of what I do (in character) it’s all down to the performer onstage on their own and what’s more they write the material, so it’s a feeling of great vulnerability.    And then there’s being lonely in hotels and on trains and in the car which stretches out a lot longer than the actual performing.  As for the other stuff, like acting comedy with a company, or doing my radio series, that’s lovely.  A great feeling of camaraderie with the other people involved.

8. I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?

I think I’m alright, and I am delighted with what we wrote for Barry’s Lunch Club, but with the stand up I’d be ten times better if I invested more time in writing for my circuit set. I’d like to be out of character too, just doing stand up as me (or a version of me) but to be honest I feel too old to put my body through the trauma of getting onstage above pubs and gradually building it up to a strong 20 minutes.

9. How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?

Luckily I have 5 comedy greetings card ranges which are sold in high street shops which keep me going all year in royalties if I’m not doing much else, but I would like to earn more money.  Obviously…dur.

10. How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?

I suppose luck is important.  I had a really lucky break as an actor when I started.  I was a child actor and worked with Kenneth Branagh in ‘Another Country’ in the West End.  When I was 22 I contacted him again and he came to see me in a play, he offered me a season with his Renaissance Theatre Company, then suggested agents to represent me, then gave me his phone number in LA where he was about to do a film and then told me to reverse the charges if I had any problems getting an agent and he would have a word with them.   On a plate. What a lovely guy.

11. Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into a third category?

A third category. I live a very normal suburban life out in Watford.  It’s the most conventional I know of all my actor/comedian friends.  I am a strange combination of those two categories that I find hard to reconcile. I am a neurotic wreck when it comes to performing but somehow I manage to come home to the suburban hedgerows and the kids and the football dads on a Sunday and it soon melts away. 

12. Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?

There’s a lovely bloke called John Jennings who painted our house a year or so ago.  A very jolly Irish bloke who loves painting (and even more) chatting.  I wish I could be as good humoured as him.  I’d love to paint all day, listening to the radio and then collect my money and go home.  Well, I think I would, anyway.  Maybe it would get dull. He had some lousy things happen to him growing up yet he seemed very happy with his life and wasn’t churned up with the boring existential crises I seem to be consumed with.  

13. Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not?

I’m afraid not.  I’d like to but we have kids to deal with and erratic work patterns and never enough time for that sort of thing. One day, I’d love it though.