Paul Foot

I was born in Amersham in Buckinghamshire at an early age. Initially, I was unable to fend for myself. I could not work out how to walk or even say words. Luckily, a kind lady and gentleman took me home from the hospital.

My mother taught me to speak nicely and talk about the weather. My dad mainly used to cook a pie. It wouldn’t always go right. Quite often he would drop the pie on the floor. “I’ve dropped the pie on the floor!” he would shout. That’s what he’s like, because he doesn’t use oven gloves.

Later I became a teenager, and decided to have a go at stand-up comedy in a little bar. I did not have any jokes. So I just made up stuff like, “Can anyone here name a fruit? A peach, madam? Personally, I prefer a pineapple.”

Amazingly, it went well, due to comic timing, stage presence and luck and I resolved on the spot to become a professional entertainer.

17 years later, I became an overnight success.