What got you started?
I was a bit of an oddball at school, so I used humour to get people to like me. I did impressions of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and various TV newsreaders. It was very sad.
What was your big breakthrough?
Winning the Time Out/Hackney Empire new act of the year award in 1993 allowed me to give up my day job; I was working as a teacher at a boys' school.
Who or what have you sacrificed for your art?
Peace of mind. This is a very superficial business, and a lot of the people in it are sensitive souls.
What's the biggest threat to the arts today?
The fact that satire is in danger of being strangled, because celebrity culture has become so extreme. On The Big Impression we had a sketch in which Salman Rushdie begged Jordan to write his new novel because he knew it would go to No 1. Now she does write books, and they do go to No 1.
Stage or screen?
Stage for the bond you get with the audience. In television, your material is often mediated by some young guy in an edit suite in a trendy T-shirt. But TV is brilliant for comic acting.
What advice would you give a young comedian?
Aim to be like a pair of brogues. They may not be the height of fashion, but they're too useful to dispose of.
Is it more difficult for women to get ahead in comedy?
Yes and no. You do get given certain opportunities just because they need a woman. But audiences are more comfortable with men being funny. I wonder whether, subconsciously, they're worried about a woman humiliating herself – which, as a comic, you have to be prepared to do.
What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
A fellow comedian once gave me a great heckle putdown. He said to me: "If someone shouts 'Bollocks' at you, you say back, 'You should know all about that, because you've only got one, and it's between your ears.'"
Complete this sentence: At heart I'm just a frustrated . . .
Fairy. I'd love to have wings or a tail.
What's the worst thing anyone ever said about you?
I've had many terrible things written about me – often in the Guardian.
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