Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I never thought I'd write one book, let alone three. I'm absolutely delighted and every night, thank the good lord for spell check.
One of the most awkward things that can happen in a pub is when your pint-to-toilet cycle gets synchronised with a complete stranger.
In showbiz one minute you're up there making thousands of people laugh, next minute you're picking up toffees, you know it's real life.
I believe that a man called Jesus did walk the earth at one time but I don't think he was the superhero that the Bible makes him out to be.
The best comedies are the ones where the person who's in charge is the one with the vision who's said, 'I'm staying with this till the very end.'
If you're struggling and you just get a sense when you're writing that you might be running out of ideas, that's when I think you should walk away.
If something doesn't feel right comedically I won't budge on it. You just have to dig your heels in and fight for it. And I mean fight quite intensely.
What a joy to be working on the second series of 'Car Share' with the wonderful Sian Gibson. The success of the first series has been completely overwhelming.
Fatherhood has changed me - it has to change you. It makes you much more aware of the minutiae of life, it's not about your needs any more, its about everyone else's.
Do I miss him? Of course I do. Every day. His death was devastating, he was just 51. But you know, in my stand-up my Dad will always be alive. He's so much part of my act.
The one thing we pride ourselves on the most with writing 'Car Share' is that it's hard to predict what's going to happen and that's hard to achieve, especially with comedy.
A lot of people have got into it because of money, but true comedians do it because they can't help it, and feel slightly removed doing anything else. That were case with me.
The truth is my dad was a lovely man who had to retire early from his job as an engineer because he had osteoporosis. It meant he was forced to wear a harness and could hardly breathe.
I might be collecting wheely bins in 12 months time but at least they'll be wheely bins outside back gates that I know, in a part of the country that I love. There's no place like home!
I've met so many older actors and comedians who've told me they wished they'd spent as much time with their kids as they did chasing the money. You've got to draw a line but it's a gamble.
None of my family had been entertainers. My Grandad liked to play 'The Ballad of Davy Crockett' on the comb and tissue paper every now and again but we never had Hughie Green knocking on the front door.
I loved doing 'Pop Factor,' though I know a lot of people were a bit uncomfortable with that, what with me playing a woman, but for me, as an experiment, taking on the wrath of that genre, it was worth it.
If I am popular across the board, from teenagers to pensioners, it's not because I'm trying to be family-orientated, it's because my mum vets all my shows! I always get a critique from her and she's very harsh.
I loved making it but when I saw it, I thought, 'Oh my God. I'm a big green lizard running around Cardiff? Is that it?' It's nice to have been in 'Doctor Who' but that is regarded by fans as the worst episode ever.
Sometimes people say, 'Oh I'm surprised you'd be in Staples buying a plastic box, I thought you'd have a servant to do that for you.' I'm like, 'What are you talking about? I still go to Tesco, I still do my big shop.'
I knew I could make people laugh but I was frightened of doing it. I thought, 'What if I'm crap, what if I'm no good at it?', but I knew I should have a go and shouldn't sit inside watching other people do it on television.
It's funny how comedy is, you look at people like French and Saunders, when they started out they were very alternative. A lot of those alternative comedians have ended up being mainstream, they know that longevity is about being mainstream.
Bernard Manning is controversial but he had incredible timing. I wrote the character of Brian Potter in 'Phoenix Nights' for him to play but unfortunately he was too poorly to do it. I thought it would have been perfect casting but it didn't happen.
Children don't mind when something was made - they don't discriminate in that way. I tape very early episodes of 'Rainbow' and 'Trumpton' for my son and watch them with him. He loves them. 'Trumpton' was made in 1967, but he still watches it like it's brand new.
That's basically all my act is - it's just listening all the time and watching for what people do with their hands and so on. It gets on people's nerves a bit - especially when you're at a wedding and you're scribbling on a table and they go 'stop doing that' and you go 'I can't.'
The Lily Foundation is an inspiring charity that helps to improve the lives of children with Mitochondrial Disease. I've had first-hand experience of the Foundation's work and I'm proud to raise both awareness and much needed funds to help with the inspiring work they provide to children and their families.