Jack Dee Quotes

Whenever you’re in any acting role you are mortgaging your own character.

Well, I don’t ever get excited. I haven’t been excited since I got a Chopper bicycle when I was about 12. Once you get older you realise there’s always a catch to everything. So when I get, say, a commission to make a TV show, the catch is that you have to deliver something and then the sense of responsibility overwhelms the joy of the occasion.

There were a few teachers who just did not like me because of my face. Once, I was told to stand in the corner until I cheered up. The attitude was, ‘Oh, for God’s sake, what’s the matter with him?’ But it’s just a natural expression.

The jokes are great but what really matters for a comedian is his performance, his whole attitude, and the laughs that he gets between the jokes rather than on top of the jokes.

The good thing about ‘Have I Got News For You’ is it’s a compact show but it still gives everyone space to breathe, and everyone always gets a chance to say something if they want to. It’s a very difficult show to dominate, and guests who come on and dominate always fall foul.

The book is called ‘Thanks for Nothing’ and it’s really the story of how I got into comedy and traces back every strand in my life that is relevant to that story. It’s kind of an autobiography but isn’t, as it stops about 25 years ago. It goes right up to the first time I do stand up.