As an old scholar of Solihull School I was interested to find out that both you and Richard Hammond are alumni. Is the ‘hatred’ that you express towards him in your Top Gear skit based on any schoolyard feuds?

I never knew R Hammond at school, as I explain in the piece. I thought about how libertarian right wing comedy like Top Gear is based on the idea that it is silly and PC to be offended and so everything is fair game. I wondered what it would be like for Top Gear types if tasteless jokes were done about things close to home for them. It was at this time that Hammond had had his crash. Reading about him I realised he had gone to the same school as me. This made it very easy to imagine a scenario in which we had been friends and he had renounced me for friendship with Top Gear school bully types, as I could easily place him in my own childhood environment with a degree of truthfulness. I never knew him and don’t remember him. I have no feelings of any sort about him.

Your style of comedy seems to be a concentrated amalgamation of the most
unique aspects of British humour, i.e. irony, satire and bitterness. How well
received are you in other countries where these aspects of British culture are
traditionally misunderstood?

I did well in Montreal 1996-2005, and usually got offers of US work, which I never followed up. I was underattended in Australia 1997-2005, though well reviewed. I did well in NZ 2005. I have no ambition to work outside of the UK and EIRE any more. I have kids and it is too late in life to think of carving out a career elsewhere.

You revel in mocking popularity, including your own popularity. If you were to wake up tomorrow a household name, how would you deal with this?

I would be worried by this. It would be difficult for me to do what I do if I was a household name. I was relieved that I was unable to pick up my 2 2012 British Comedy awards in person and that my BAFTA acceptance was cut from the TV broadcast.  I like to be able to live a normal life and snipe at celebrity as if I were not one, which I am not.

Can you give us any insights into your future plans? Are we likely to see you play a stadium, feature in your own sitcom series or Channel 4 comedy show?

I will do a 4th BBC series in 2015/16. Then I will write and tour a new show every two years until 2023. Then I will slow down. I am not interested in doing anything else except stand-up for the rest of my life.

We hear a lot about comedians that you seemingly don’t like but could
you give us a few names of stand-ups both old and contemporary that you do respect?

US: Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Maria Bamford
UK: Max Miller, Ted Chippington, Daniel Kitson, Paul Sinha, Josie Long, Bridget Christie, Kunt & The Gang, Simon Munnery, Harry Hill, Paul Foot, Andy Zaltzman,
SCOTLAND: Jerry Sadowitz, Chic Murray, Janie Godley, Arnold Brown, David Kay, Stephen Carlin,
EIRE: Dave Allen, Kevin MacAleer, David O’Doherty, Eleanor Tiernan,
AUST: Greg Fleet, Judith Lucy
GERMANY: Henning Wehn

In attending a recent gig of yours in Bristol I was pleased to find out that,
like me, you are a ‘stout’ fan of the bottled beers. With so much choice out there – this may be a hard task – but is there a particular brand you’d name as your favourite?

Noel’s Chemical Effluent