You end up with this succession of periods when everything was marvellous - from King Arthur to the medieval times, Ivanhoe, chivalry, Henry VIII, Merry England, the Blitz

I do have a residual belief that, if at all possible, you should try not to mock the weak.

In Britian we have a free press. It's not a pretty press, but it's free. The people who can't bear the Daily Mail, they say: 'you should ban it'. No, no, no, no, you don't ban it... you don't buy it.

I've seen the Pokémon movie, which is probably the worst movie ever made on any subject ever.

All the libel lawyers will tell you there's no libel any more, that everyone's given up.

Modest about our national pride - and inordinately proud of our national modesty.

I get paid to do what I enjoy, not that common a condition.

There's an awful lot of terrible television which I could do, but I mostly stick to Have I Got News for You.

The best comedy is where you attack the strong, not the weak.

You have a huge amount of confidence when you're younger, which slowly ebbs away for the rest of your life. You think: 'No problem. I can do that. Why shouldn't I do it?'

I've got a very peculiar sort of fame, based on being on the telly. It doesn't mean you have the lifestyle people expect.

Work hard as if there was no God and trust God as if you have not worked.

My dad said that the impossible is only impossible if you don’t even try. So I want to try.

Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are.

Poetry and preaching do not go well together; when the preacher mounts the pulpit the poet usually goes away.

The euro will raise the citizens' awareness of their belonging to one Europe more than any other integration step to date.

I know I'd rather have any amount of time with a dog I love and suffer the mourning than not have the time at all.

No man that has ever lived has done a thing to please God--primarily. It was done to please himself, then God next.

Why should I waste my good time making a straight dramatic film? The people who can't make you laugh can do that.

Men don't live well by themselves. They don't even live like people. They live like bears with furniture.

Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just look at it.