The funniest sketch I’ve ever seen
I love the Nazi sketch by Mitchell and Webb. Two Nazis worrying about the prevalence of skulls on their uniforms leading to the brilliantly plaintive question: “Hans, are we the baddies?”
The funniest TV show I’ve ever seen
The Thick of It is my favourite TV show of all time. I’ll never get over the fact I wasn’t in it. Ever.
The funniest hairstyle I’ve ever had
When I was 12, I was obsessed with New Kids on the Block. They all had rat tails, those awful long braids, worn at the base of the neck. I had long hair, so decided one day to cut it into a bob but leave one, long strand of hair down the back so I could plait it and look like Jordan Knight. Boys would tease me and pull it like it was a lamp cord, so I cut it off pretty soon after.
The funniest book I’ve ever read
I, An Actor. A mock-autobiography by a fictitious actor called Nicholas Craig, but actually written by Nigel Planer of The Young Ones. If Withnail had written an autobiography, this would be it. At one point, Planer uses the word “truth pumping” as a way to describe what actors do when they’re doing their best, showing-off acting. It’s a phrase I now use a lot to describe bad acting.
The funniest word
Brustwarze. It’s the German word for “nipple” and, literally translated, means “breast wart”. There couldn’t be a less erotic word for what is arguably a pretty erotic part of the body.
The funniest person I know
My comedy partner of many years, Lorna Watson. She makes me howl like no one else.
The funniest item of clothing I’ve ever owned
When I was in Munich a few years ago I bought a full dirndl [German national dress]. I’d just gone through a break-up and inexplicably thought I’d cheer myself up by dressing like a Bavarian barmaid. I’ve never worn it.
Ingrid Oliver: Speech! is at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, to 27 August
