IN HIS OWN WORDS: Michael McIntyre

As the latest run of his Bafta-winning Big Show continues (8.10pm, BBC1), we hear from the 42-year-old comic about his life and hugely successful career so far…

On deciding to become a comedian: ‘Weirdly, my earliest memory is when I was about 21. I don’t know what I was doing before then, but I remember watching Woody Allen, and that was the moment something resonated and I just thought, “This is hilarious.”’ On how he didn’t fit in doing stand-up,

before his big break: ‘There was just a terrible vibe around the circuit. I don’t know why. Maybe people just can’t cope with how jovial I am.’ On why he doesn’t poke fun at

other people: ‘If you can help it, don’t be rude to people. When you’re rude about someone and the audience laugh, you can’t deny that it’s a bullying laugh.’

On his wife, Kitty, whom he married in 2003, and who often features in his routines: ‘I don’t think my career would have happened without her because I owe so much to her, for getting me through, for getting me focused.’ On how using his family for inspiration can

come back to bite: ‘I did a joke about the daily struggle to get your kids to put their coats on, and my children still refuse to do it. I say to them, “Put your coat on. I did a joke about this on the telly, and it’s gone viral. It’s got five million hits, and still you’re resisting.”’ And joking about being mugged for his Rolex watch, earlier this year: ‘They say time is the healer. I have lost my watch, how is time going to heal? I have no idea what time it is.’