The funniest standup I’ve ever seen
Harry Hill at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar in Edinburgh in 1996. It was a 60-minute show. I was breathless after 30.
The funniest sketch I’ve ever seen
Any teenage boy in the late 70s exposed to the mind-boggling wonders of Winky Wanky Woo by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, as Derek & Clive, would have been seriously affected. Damaged even. God bless them both.
The funniest book I’ve ever read
Alexei Sayle’s Thatcher Stole My Trousers: laugh-out-loud moments on almost every page and a great insight into the beginnings of the UK comedy circuit by its venerable godfather, who rather gloriously looks a lot like me.
The funniest word
Twenty-one years ago there was a line in my act that defined my existential angst: “I look like a short, fat kebab shop owner’s son but inside me there’s a tall, thin, high-cheekboned English ponce screaming to get out.” Ponce is a great word to emphasise on stage with visceral faux rage.
The funniest TV show I’ve ever seen
The season four Curb Your Enthusiasm finale, Opening Night. When it aired in 2004, I stood on my bed in a New York hotel and applauded. Multiple storylines come to stunning conclusions when Larry David is on Broadway doing Max Bialystock in The Producers. Thrilling.
The funniest item of clothing I’ve ever owned
Underwear with David Hasselhoff on the crotch. I wear them now and again when I’m ill or feeling slightly vulnerable.
The funniest film I’ve ever seen
Woody Allen’s Bananas. It’s such a silly film; I’ve only recently realised it’s a political masterpiece. It taught me an important showbiz lesson: funny first, politics second.
The funniest thing that shouldn’t be funny
The current rise of nationalism and fascism. We’re laughing all the way to the 1930s.
