RUSSELL HOWARD

Genuinely, the first gig I did when I was 18, it felt like the world shifted. I realised that I had stumbled upon a mechanism through which you could view life.

It's a bit of a cliche but throughout London, even in places like Notting Hill, you'll see utter luxury alongside council flats - it shows the tapestry of life and I adore that.

The strange thing about people considering me upbeat is that I'm really not.

But I did break my mum's heart, because I turned down 'Strictly' twice. I just couldn't do it. It's not for me.

You can make bleak things funny but if you're glib about it, it doesn't work.

Mum's side of the family are daft, beautiful and brilliant.

There's a lot of brilliant comics who are amazing, but you can see them doing the same 20 minutes that they were doing five years ago, verbatim. I think that doesn't lend itself to progressing.

Britain is perceived as a laughing stock and a mess. It's a very scary and divided place.

My life is quite normal and for me it helps with my comedy. If you jump headlong into celebrity life it affects who you are and what you talk about.

The Edinburgh Fringe is a tough beast and you do whatever you can to get through it. But it's really the worst place to see comedians; everyone is so tense and nervous because it feels like Ofsted inspectors are out there.

I'm happy when I'm working.

I'm really not into technology at all. My brother has to plug the Xbox in for me.

In the summer Regent's Park is one of the best places in the world with every nationality playing every sport.

I don't want to be one of those comics who says, 'Hey, what's wrong with air travel?' and stuff like that.

I don't want to do a rabidly left-wing show. I think it's much more interesting to turn the knife on yourself.

I've reached the age of 32 with little wisdom, I'm afraid. It's tragic. I still have to turn to my mum and dad for every decision I make in life.

There's a club called Headliners in Chiswick where I do a lot of my warmups for tours. For me it's a nice 'big-small' room: it's a 300 seater, which feels small but you can still get big laughs.

I'd been writing jokes since I was 16, not very good ones though, but I was always trying to make my mates laugh.

I've never been on Facebook. My page is run for me. It is the same with Twitter.

Chappelle is incredible. He is comfy on stage and he talks about big things and small things. He's a version of himself. That's what I've always wanted to be and hopefully I still am.

I just assume a lot of people hate me. You just have to suck it up.

Portland is incredible. It's the most amazing place.

If you want any attention in the Howard household, you have to shout quite loudly and try to develop a personality.

I always found it strange, when I went round to other people's houses for tea and that, how strict their parents were.

I've been doing stand-up for 15 years and I've never even been invited to the Comedy Awards! How mental is that?