Five Questions: Robin Ince

He won the 2006 Time Out Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, largely for his 'Book Club' nights. A friend of Ricky Gervais, he's appeared in 'The Office' and supported Gervais on the 'Politics' tour. He's written for 'Have I Got News For You', 'Alistair McGowan's Big Impression', 'The 11 O'Clock Show' and 'Dead Ringers'. And he's a thoroughly bloody nice bloke who can take a critical review in good grace. He, ladies and gentlemen, is Robin Ince.

What made you want to be a comedian in the first place?

I was brought up on The Goodies and Laurel and Hardy, then when I was in my very early teens, the alternative comedy explosion began and I was hooked on 'The Comic Strip Presents', Kevin Turvey and 'The Young Ones'. Rik Mayall is a comic genius in his wide-eyed portrayal of manic intensity and social embarrassment. Rather than scribbling the names of bands on my exercise books, I would scrawl the names of 'Comic Strip' episodes, attempting to perfectly match each individual font. By my mid teens I started to visit the Comedy Store and The Chuckle Club, delighting in acts such as Freddie Benson (aka Andrew Bailey), Tony Allen and The Joan Collins Fan Club (later Julian Clary). So I started shouting into microphones in my early twenties and now, at 39, I still do.

What's been your best gig to date?

I thoroughly enjoyed the gig I did last night at the Clockwork Comedy Club, a reasonably formless and unplanned 30 minutes of rage and ridiculousness. I also usually love doing benefit gigs at the Hammersmith Apollo, a 3500 seater that seems strangely intimate. I performed predominantly new material at the Stand Up For Animals gig and then ended the night dressed as a bear being kicked by Bill Bailey’s son while Bill and Tim Minchin played a wonderful song.

And your worst?

I am a reasonably harsh critic, so there are many gigs I haven’t enjoyed or have damned in hindsight. My first proper death was at a club in Croydon and that was an eye-opener. While supporting Ricky Gervais on his 'Politics' tour I had a particularly hateful gig at the Palace Theatre, with drunk men in suits mumbling and no one really paying attention, I hated that one as it put me in such a bad mood that The Pixies gig I went to afterwards was ruined.

What's the best heckle you've ever received? And how did you respond?

I have no real memory for heckles, I was booed on at the Belfast Empire, so I responded by staying on stage for twice as long as I was meant to.

Which other comedians do you most admire?

Billy Connolly, Laurel and Hardy, Simon Munnery, and Steve Merchant’s stand up makes me weep. The list is long.

What are you working on at the moment, and what does the future hold?

I am currently working on series 3 of 'Skins' and writing a macabre screenplay. I am also touring around art centres with a work in progress, promising a new hour every month as I slowly put together my next tour which won’t be until 2009. I am also writing and recording a documentary for Radio 4 about the time my record collection was destroyed by sewage. I have a replacement for the 'Book Club' night, called 'The School for Gifted Children' which mixes bluegrass with mini lectures and songs. Last week I ended up performing a double act with Alexei Sayle - beware Cannon and Ball.

Five Questions: Janey Godley

Welcome to the first in what we hope will become a comprehensive series of posts in which we ask some of the country's top stand-ups about themselves. And our first interviewee in the chair is Janey Godley.

Sometimes described as the female Billy Connolly, Janey is a down-to-earth Glaswegian whose comedy often derives from the streets of her home city. She is also renowned as one of the hardest working people in comedy, two years ago during the Edinburgh Fringe she was performing three full length shows every day. As well as headlining the top comedy clubs up and down the country she is also a bestselling author and a successful playwright and actress. Here's what she had to say in answer to our little quiz.

What made you decide you wanted to be a comedian (and when did you first decide)?

I owned a bar for 15 years and left it in 1994. I only wanted to become a comic to get my Equity card so I could act, but I liked comedy more eventually.

Which other comedians do you most admire/most inspire you?

Jerry Sadowitz performed comedy in my bar , so he was the biggest inspiration to me.

What's been your best gig to date? And your worst?

The best was performing at Glastonbury. The worst was in front of seventeen nuns!

What's the best heckle you've ever received? And how did you respond?

The best heckle was in Oxford when a wee obviously lesbian chick was sitting with 20 male squaddies. I was doing stuff about porn and asked 'Is it just me....or do other women flinch when they watch hard core porn and clench and worry about the pain? She shouted "NO, I love it" and all the men laughed.

I added "Well you weren't really in that demographic as you look like the kind of woman who likes to bang a hammer off her vagina, or lets another woman bang it for her"

She shouted "I am not a lesbian"

I replied " Really? Well you need to know someone has seriously fucked up your hair"

What are you working on at the moment and what does the future hold?

I am on tour at the moment and I also write a weekly column for The Scotsman newspaper. I'm about to go to New Zealand for the comedy festival. Then in April I have a run at the Soho Theatre.