It's a weird thing, having a double act - I think Stew puts more energy into his solo stuff than I do, and tries to establish his independence more.Collection: Independence
Tim Minchin and Daniel Kitson are the two people that when I see them, I think I could never be that funny or that clever.Collection: Funny
We have nothing to fear but fear itself - and monsters.Collection: Fear
For me genius is '1% inspiration and 99% procrastination.'
Whoever said having children makes a comedian safer and less dark is an idiot. Having a baby has filled my whole life with fear, and totally destroyed all illusion that the world is safe or fair.
I was in awe of my older brother, but he was also quite a threatening figure - he used to beat me up.
My dad is a retired headmaster and my mum is an ex-teacher. I was taught by both of them.
I am nearly 5ft 7in, which is short for a guy. I have the upper body of a taller man, but my legs are only 28.5in.
It is rare for a joke to emerge fully formed and it is worth grafting away until it is absolutely right. Though perversely too much work, too much thought, can destroy a gag completely.
I would like to be strapped to a giant rocket and fired into the heart of the sun.
The show that first massively impacted on me was 'Tiswas,' with people like Lenny Henry, Chris Tarrant, John Gorman and the Phantom Flan Flinger. I loved that kind of surrealist, anarchic humour.
I had always been troubled by the liberal paradox of wanting everyone to be treated the same, while at the same time respecting their cultural differences.
I watched the whole of 'How I Met Your Mother.' I wanted to see how they could stretch it out for so long and if it was any good, but it just seems like a sitcom from the 90s.
The parents in 'You Can Choose Your Friends' were very much Mum and Dad but my brother wasn't like my brother, and he got quite annoyed because he thought I was saying that was what he was like.
My parents felt old-fashioned, growing up - they were quite disciplinarian. We went to church and had to learn music, but in hindsight it was a good thing.
I've long been obsessed with the fantastical and sometimes unbelievable story of the life and death of Rasputin.
As a comedian you have to remind yourself that it happens; every now and again you can just have a bad gig where things go beyond your control.
Watching Billy Connolly at the Hammersmith Apollo in the late 90s was a masterclass of long-form comedy.
The funniest book I've ever had read to me is 'I, Partridge.' It's a brilliantly written book, but it's the greatest audiobook there has ever been.
My Less Than Secret Life' by Jonathan Ames was a revelation, as shocking as it is funny.
Rick And Morty' is the most consistently brilliant, densely plotted and enjoyable television show I have ever seen. It's childish, yet super-clever, without ever being clever-clever.
I often go for ages without getting my hair cut, so every now and then I'll look like a tramp and have to go to a hairdresser.
I am reasonably nice-looking and have quite an expressive face, which is good for comedy.
I love pulling faces at little kids on the London tube to see if I can make them laugh, and I usually do.
It's easy to pass judgement on someone else's racism, but what about your own?
You realise that, with 'Rick and Morty,' each episode is so deep and dense it is extraordinary. It slightly annoys me that it's so good; it's almost unbeatable as a TV show.
I was just obsessed with Rik Mayall and I copied being him at school for years.
I wonder if Shakespeare ever had to write a play in 10 days while suffering from jet-lag? Probably. It would explain why his comedies are so crap.
Writing is one per cent inspiration and 99 per cent prevarication.
The gay community has a strength and identity that has been lost by dispossessed, guilt-ridden, straight men.
The truth is that we are all a bit gay.
There is a rhythm to a good joke, a certain pacing.
Like many nerdy youngsters I spent much of my childhood listening to Monty Python records, learning them verbatim, fittingly parroting them.
If you are a stand-up you can hone your material over successive performances, based on the audience response. Changing a single word or altering the pace or emphasis can make a previously failed witticism work.
There are comedic rules and formulae and, while these tenets should be respected, especially by a newcomer, perversely you can still succeed by openly contradicting them. Because comedy is about breaking the rules. Even its own rules. Though, as with many disciplines, it is wise to master the basics before you attempt to subvert them.
I like leaving things to the last possible minute, then letting blind panic be my stimulus.
Personally I find that deadlines are the best inspiration.
Most jokes are based on surprise. They take advantage of a confusion of language, or a twist in logic, or a contradiction of some perceived truth, or sometimes just saying something so shocking and offensive that the audience will gasp and then (hopefully) guffaw.
Some comedians make a marvellous living doing material that is completely predictable, that reminds people of things that they already know or jokes that they are already familiar with.
I love it when people try to manufacture an injustice out of a position of clear superiority.
I really like 'Community.' I like the way they're allowed to have a week when they go crazy and use stop-frame animation or a different pastiche. There's an episode with a fake clip show.
I was surprised that 'The Peter Serafinowicz Show' didn't get a second series. There are things like that that get stifled at birth and you wonder why they didn't happen.
I've said on one of my shows that I'd like to marry the character Amy Pond, not the actress who plays her.
I've got the whole of 'Seinfeld' on DVD and I keep on watching the first four series and then stopping.
As I remember it, we pitched 'Fist of Fun' as a sort of adult version of the kids' show 'Why Don't You?' We wanted to overload it with information, really pile it on.
I'd loved 'Monty Python' and 'The Young Ones,' so making something like that for our own generation would have been amazing.
All the religions are right when they say that all the other religions are wrong.
You can joke about anything. It just depends on your angle and the way you go about it.
If something's true you should be able discuss it or ask whether it's true. It helps me as a comedian. But it doesn't necessarily help my personal life.
People tend to be surprised when they realise I'm only 5ft 6in. Now I tell them on my website. I think you have to point out your own deficiencies if you're emphasising everyone else's for a living.