That’s all from Alexander Armstrong!
skintman asks:
Your new album – I’m getting it for my great-gran for Christmas. Will you do a follow-up next year?
Guardian contributor We're already putting an album together for next year which is going to be different. It's bloody exciting. We're talking to a producer who, if we can make it work, will be a really exciting project.
Conrad_Turner asks:
What’s the story of how Happy the Crocodile came to be adopted by two elephants?
Guardian contributor One of the many charms of Hey Duggee is the way it is effortlessly inclusive. It's just an added lustre that the show happens to include different family set ups without banging any drums about it.
Is being born into privilege the reason you're in the entertainment business?
theoutsider38 asks:
What are your feelings on social mobility? Do you think being born into privilege and having a top-class private education has been the main reason you find yourself in the light-entertainment business?
Guardian contributor In a healthy society, social mobility should be entirely frictionless. And a person's talents and abilities should be their only claim to success. Undoubtedly I have had huge privileges and a blessed life. But I'm the son of an NHS doctor and we were pretty penniless, I don't come from any wealth at all. But I grew up in a house with a lot of books and an awful lot of music. And I have seized every advantage I was given to make the most of it.
LyntonCrosby asks:
What is it that makes you believe the oboe is more masculine than the cello?
Guardian contributor Garrison Keillor once described the stance of a cellist being like a parent buttoning up a child's coat which I really love. There is something a bit manspready about a cello, whereas an oboist stands like a reed in the wind. I guess when it comes to masculinity the cello wins that one hands down. I did have my tongue firmly in my cheek when I said that, which incidentally is not good technique for the oboe.
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Are small eyes an advantage in a stare-off?
MisterSmiff asks:
Who has the smallest eyes between yourself and Julian Barratt? Do they offer any particular advantages in stare-offs?
Guardian contributor I think mine are just smaller than Julian's. No advantages in stare-outs but nobody can tell if I'm smiling with my eyes or asleep.
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PatLux asks:
What is the size of the “coveted Pointless trophy”? We never see it being handed to anyone and we never see it in relation to any other object.
Guardian contributor When they show the trophy being rotated, just out of shot is a grain of rice dwarfing the thing. It's a very beautiful thing when seen under a microscope.
TedLegge asks:
You rub you hands together like Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet). Are you a fan?
Guardian contributor 
OverLunder asks:
How many times can presenters do a formulaic show and avoid burnout?
Guardian contributor The answer is - for as long as they love doing it. And people don't mind watching. I get tired but never bored doing Pointless and we do four shows a day. That says a lot about the quality of the contestants we put together, the peculiar chemistry of eight random people being brought together, the imaginative questions that our brilliant team comes up with and the depth of my friendship with Richard. Having someone you've know and love to work with is brilliant.
EricThiery asks:
Where did you get your quite good pronunciation of French? Studies, holidays, maybe a romance (ooh la la)?
Guardian contributor A brilliant teacher called Dennis Sullivan who taught us all to roll French around our tongues and love it. I've been lucky enough to have three or four fabulous teachers and they change your life in the most fabulous way.
carrick_77 asks:
Which of Duggies badges is your favourite?
Guardian contributor Anything with Chew Chew The Panda. Lucy Montgomery does the voice and they are just the best episodes. The theatre badge and the river badge are probably my two all-time favourites. But Hey Duggee as a whole is a work of ruddy genius they are just brilliant. Long after our children have gone to university we will still be watching it.
IvanBunin77 asks:
Are you surprised by the fact that Pointless seems to be changing people’s knowledge of countries (eg Tuvalu) and chemical elements?
Guardian contributor Short answer - yes. But there is definitely a Pointless effect. Countries such as Vanuatu, Central African Republic, Suriname etc, once Pointless havens, have now found currency and these little known outposts are now everyone's go-to low scores. So where they were once shoe-ins for Pointless answers, they're now scoring in the high single figures. There are four new elements that were introduced to the Periodic Table this year – oganesson, tennessine etc. They were pointless literally for only a few months and are already climbing up the ratings.
LeeInChina asks:
Have you and Richard considered doing a sitcom together? It’d be a hoot.
Guardian contributor I would love to do a sitcom with Richard. We had a sneak preview of what it might be like when we did an episode of Not Going Out that was based on Pointless. Richard is a surprisingly good actor and his comic timing is peerless.
Dodesy asks:
What is your favourite track on the new album?
Guardian contributor My favourite track on In A Winter Light is Little Girl Blue with Jools Holland. It's funny because he's a honky tonk pianist but if you get him to play something slow he's got this wonderful country sensibility that is just beautiful. He rolls around the chords and it gives such bottom to the texture.
'If anyone will take me seriously as an actor again I'd love to keep my hand in'
gatz asks:
Would your acting career be where Ben Miller’s is if you didn’t have to devote so much time to Pointless, and if so is that a sacrifice worth making?
Guardian contributor The truth is, as an actor you can't really afford to make career choices. You pretty much take what you're given. I'm often asked "why did you do such and such?" and I think the honest answer is "because they offered me it". There are some things you just think "I'm not going to do that" but in the main you can persuade yourself that any job you do is justified by the fact you'll get a wage from it. Pointless has been incredible for me because it's a job I get to do as myself. It works very neatly around family life. And I'm very proud of it so it's kind of a win win for me. If anyone will ever take me seriously as an actor again I'd love to keep my hand in.
philipphilip99 asks:
Was dressing up in fetish wear and whipping your friend’s wife ‘Holly’ a career highlight?
Guardian contributor Yes. Although I find it hard to watch that sketch back and see beyond my man-boobs. That was one of those sketches we performed in front of a live audience and there's always a sense of "alright we're really going to do this" that carries you through.
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How do I get to be one of the 100 people Pointless asks!?
Morgal asks:
Who are these 100 people who Pointless asks?! How do we get to be one of those 100 people?
Guardian contributor They're found online. It's done through an online polling. You can't apply because that would affect our averages. They have to be people chosen totally at random. If we can be sure of one thing it's that the BBC takes its polling and research - if anything slightly too seriously. They are very particular about it.
writeronthestorm asks:
Is it intentional to call the celebrity edition “Pointless Celebrities” given the calibre of celeb on there? I particularly enjoyed it when Jennie Bond had her brother’s gardener (or something) on as her partner.
Guardian contributor From the very beginning we've made as much hay as we're allowed out of the fact the programme is called Pointless. Even at the pitching stage we were aware of – not so much the rod we were making for our own back, but the comic possibilities for us if we got to seize it first. That doesn't stop people, even eight years on, pointing out to us the great irony of the show being called Pointless. It's hilarious. There's a moment when I say "let's meet this evening's pointless celebrities" where I can sense eight egos to my right coming off the top of the rollercoaster.
CarlBr0wn asks:
Hi Alexander – you recently did narration for a production of Peter and the Wolf. How does being a singer inform being a narrator, and vice versa? Is narration even a kind of music?
Guardian contributor It's funny because I'm often booked particularly at this time of year to read at carol services. And I'm also booked to sing at carol services. And when I'm singing I always wish I was reading and vice versa. Reading and thereby narration is definitely something improved by a sense of musical intonation and phrasing. I would say the same of comedy as well actually. Acting in general is always improved by a comic sensibility. I've seen more comedians make good actors than actors make comedians and it all comes down to a sense of phrasing. Good oratory should always have a musical flair. I've got a recording of Michael Foot doing a speech that is a pure aria – he hurls himself into it, it's a feat of musical performance.
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Quartus asks:
With a remarkable family tree such as yours, do you prefer to identify with being posh?
Guardian contributor I think being posh is quite a burden all things considered. On the balance sheet, for all the obvious advantages it's an unwieldy and definitely not cool thing to carry around on your back. You just have to embrace it really, that's the point. Oh sod it, I guess I'm posh. And try your hardest not to be an arsehole at all times.
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'Behind Joe Pasquale's squeaky voice is a formidable brain'
ktwill1 asks:
Which celebrity has surpassed your expectations the most on Pointless?
Guardian contributor Joe Pasquale every time. It's no fluke that he gets into the final every time he's on. Behind that squeaky voice is a formidable brain. Todd Carty and Shaun Williamson always do well too.
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TheShiftyShadow asks:
Do you prefer building sandcastles or snowmen?
Guardian contributor Sandcastles every time. Because the architectural possibilities are so much greater. With damp sand it's possible to achieve quite impressive detail on your filigree work.
xenomorf asks:
What was the thickest answer ever given on pointless?
Guardian contributor Seven wonders of the world was the category: The Hanging _____ Of Babylon. Answer: Baskets.
Nimrod Ping asks:
Will Richard Osman donate his body to medical science?
Guardian contributor I'm pretty sure he will in a Jeremy Bentham style where he will insist on being stuffed and presiding over senior common room shenanigans at some university or other. And he can have the answer to the question he is asked almost hourly carved into a piece of slate: "six foot seven"
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Alexander Armstrong is with us now …
And ready to answer your questions!
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Alexander Armstrong webchat – post your questions now!
Alexander Armstrong once complained that he rarely got stopped in the street, unlike his comedy partner Ben Miller. That’s unlikely to be the case these days, given that he’s on telly almost every day as the genial host of Pointless, the teatime quiz show you can watch without wanting to throttle everyone involved. It’s turned Armstrong into a modern-day Monkhouse, the presenter of choice whenever a new gameshow comes along. He’s also fronted factual programmes on everything from hidden Italian cities to British weather. And even if you can’t see him, you can hear him – on Classic FM, or as the voice of kids’ shows Danger Mouse and Hey Duggee.
On top of all this, Armstrong has recently carved out an unlikely new career as a successful crooner, with two Top 10 albums to his name and a third – In a Winter Light – currently tempting Christmas shoppers looking for something to buy their great aunties. We say unlikely, but Armstrong has always been a talented singer: aged 11, he was a chorister at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh and he originally went to Cambridge on a choral scholarship. Keeping with the musical theme, Armstrong has recently narrated Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf in a collaboration with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
So what would you like to ask him? The list is long: Cambridge Footlights reminiscences, chart rivalries with Bradley Walsh, hot Celebrity Pointless green room gossip, oboe-playing tips, going method for Peppa Pig’s Captain Dog … and what’s the earliest he’s ever called Pimm’s o’clock? He’ll be answering your questions at 10.30am on Wednesday 6 December. And please remember, we’re looking for the answers that none of our 100 people knew …
Thank you for all the questions. They were brilliant and I would have loved to answer every single one. Let's do it again if the Guardian will ever have me back.