‘A martini makes me feel like James Bond’

The comedian, 69, tells Scarlett Dargan about her mother’s wondrous cocktail cabinet, going big on beer as a student and the joy of the Groucho Club drinks trolley

My favourite drink as a child was himbeere wasser.

It’s a cordial that’s basically like a raspberry Ribena. My father was Czechoslovakian and we’d often spend holidays in Europe, so it reminds me of summer in the Swiss or Austrian mountains. We’d always have cordial with chocolate cake, which was a delicious combination.

The first alcohol I tasted was my mother’s Dubonnet.

I was about 12. It was her favourite drink, just like the Queen Mother. She kept it in this huge cocktail cabinet along with bottles of vermouth, and there was whisky in this gorgeous crystal decanter. I’ve now inherited the cabinet.

As a student, my friends and I would buy Party Seven beer.

It was basically seven pints’ worth of beer in one can. When I was studying in Hertfordshire in the 1970s it was our absolute favourite. You would be in a slightly grimy kitchen at a house party desperately looking for a can opener and trying not to end up soaked in seven pints of alcohol.

I only have decaffeinated coffee, but I like it as dark as possible to pretend it’s the real stuff.

In the old days, I used to go to a place on London’s Old Compton Street and get the strongest continental beans freshly ground. I loved how the smell of coffee would follow me around when they were in my bag. Now I settle for the decaffeinated version to be healthier. I go to a market in Dulwich, South London, for my decaf beans. When they hand them over in the little brown bag, I can almost pretend it’s the good stuff.

I was drinking cava when I first met my husband Chris [Browne, who Lederer married in 1999].

It was at a Freemason dinner dance – I’m not a Freemason, I only went along because a school friend invited me. I remember I was in a terrible mood, thinking, ‘Why on earth has my friend dragged me here?’ Then

I met Chris, and straight away I thought, ‘I’d better behave for the rest of this evening so I can impress him.’

The most famous person I’ve shared a tipple with is Dawn French. [right]

It was the late 1980s or early 90s. Her career had already taken off and I was a couple of years behind her, but she still took the time to chat with me. If I remember correctly, she loves amaretto. There’s nothing better than sitting with a celebrity you admire and them saying, ‘Go on then, I’ll have something alcoholic.’ It’s exciting, because you get to see an intimate side of this person you revere.

I’m not a fan of the aniseed spirit ouzo.

Who wants a drink that tastes like a medicinal substance? It’s closer to an anaesthetic than a cocktail. You can mix anything with it and it comes out like it’s been through a laboratory.

The drink that makes me feel most stylish is a martini.

Specifically the ones in London’s Groucho Club, which come round on a trolley. There are certain times of the day you can get them for cheap. Well, cheaper. I’m not a fan of olives, but mixed with the strong spirit in a martini it’s an amazing combination of aromas. I feel like James Bond or Audrey Hepburn when I’m drinking it.

My favourite song to sing after a few is ‘Come on Eileen’ by Dexys Midnight Runners.

At my first ever Edinburgh Fringe show in 1982, we had it blaring out as people were trooping into the venue, to get them smiling. It’s one of those songs that lifts people’s spirits, whatever else is going on.

Helen’s memoir Not That I’m Bitter is published by Mirror Books, £20*

THE AUSTRIAN ALPS REMIND HELEN OF THE CORDIAL SHE LOVED AS A CHILD. DUBONNET WAS HER FIRST TASTE OF ALCOHOL