6. What do your parents/children (delete as applicable) think of your job?
My father thinks he’s the funnier one, and tells me mildly bigoted jokes he’s sure will make me a star. He suggests I do TV, and when I do, wear a tie.
My mother is dead, so we’re closer.
7. What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
Waiting to go on stage in Lincolnshire.
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’m different, in that I don’t apologise for what I say. Humour makes unpalatable subject matter easier to swallow, and the sooner I can approach a tragedy, the less cowardly I feel. I like the immediacy of my act, it draws attention to peoples’ own hypocrisy and that makes me laugh.
9. How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
I do ok. But money is power in my biz, so it would be nice to make buckets-full so I can call the shots. Meaning, I want a Netflix series where I travel to all my fave places and eat a lot.
10. How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
Luck and timing have a lot to do with success I guess, otherwise we’d all be huge.
Have had some luck, and some I've squandered. When I was younger, I took criticism so personally. Wish I’d been more myopic, but I prefer intimacy and reaction to owning lots of cars.
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?
Probably I’m a bit of both. I avoid stressful situations and practice yoga daily so I don’t put my fist through a wall; I also enjoy seeing fear in the eyes of those in the front row as I approach my Grenfell Tower material.
Just wondering which category Alan falls into. He has a lovely, warm presence on stage, but let’s face it: comedians are attention grabbers, and enjoy humour as an aphrodisiac, which immediately makes us contentious. Good stand up is vocational, the high from the crowd’s approving response is addictive, and chasing that dragon is never easy.
12. Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Dead: Gore Vidal. I’m in awe of his brain and envious of his lifestyle.
Alive: Gary Lineker. He really seems to enjoy everything about his life, and he has youthful hands.
13. Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
I’m very tidy, to the point of argument with the cleaner. In fact both my homes had an infestation of various sorts recently, and large bags of drawer stuffing (old phones, ugly candles, character glasses) were tossed. I love love love throwing things away which might explain my being single for so long.
My husband is a Virgo, he’s like velcro, and no matter how many times I ask him to sleep in the park he always comes home. Lucky me.
