Lee Mack

I'm not a comedian who wants to spend far too long on stage.

Everyone told me that British sitcom was dead. Then I looked at 'Seinfeld' and 'Frasier' and thought, ‘No it's not, it just needs more gags.'"

I love buying things I wouldn't normally buy, especially cigars.

I'm on my own when I say this, but I'm one of the few people that think that 'Everybody Loves Raymond' is better than 'Seinfeld.'

I know comedians who go on weird day trips in order to have random experiences they can talk about. They'll go on their own to Thorpe Park waiting for something hilarious to happen. That's really sad.

When I was 24, I went back to the academic life and did a degree in film and television at Brunel University.

I suppose if your parents die in their 50s and you are approaching 50, you see that you are definitely not in the first half of your life any more.

I remember being captivated by Steve Coogan and Eddie Izzard and wanting to do what they did. That generation of comedians was my main influence.

The rules of comedy are, don't complain, it's a brilliant job. You complain, and you're seen as losing touch with reality.

Comedy was an easy choice for me because I didn't have a career.

Don't get me wrong, I'm under no illusions, I've got a very old-school, mainstream leaning to the way I present my comedy because I actually like jokes and don't just do observational stuff.

The best comedy you can ever have is when you're in the pub with your mates. You can never beat that. That's what I try to recreate in stand-up.