Dave Gorman talks controversy

Skinny: Hi Dave, so tell us a little bit about your show.

Dave Gorman: Unusually for me there’s no particular theme. It’s a regular stand-up show, back to one man and a mic.

S: The show is called Dave Gorman's Sit Down Pedal Pedal Stand Up Tour – are you cycling up?

DG: Last year I was cycling from venue to venue but it’s impossible to keep doing shows 30 miles away from each other, so I had to stop. But we thought we’d be honest and keep the name the same so nobody was fooled into coming twice.

S: Who are your favourite comedians?

DG: Bill Bailey is phenomenal; John Hegley is probably my favourite comedian ever. I love Laurel and Hardy, and there’s a French film comedian called Jacques Tati who is amazing. For up and comers, Nick Doody is doing amazing stuff at the moment. Danielle Ward and Martin White who do the radio show with me every morning are both absolutely hilarious too.

S: What are your thoughts on the crack down on “controversial comedy”?

DG: People have weird ideas that if you talk about something at a comedy show, you’re somehow inherently mocking it, but the joke can be completely elsewhere. A comic can talk about the Iraq War without mocking the soldiers involved. People have a kind of knee-jerk reaction nowadays. The people who often write letters of complaint are those who watch Antiques Roadshow and Songs of Praise. If they win and we lose the licence fee then we will lose those shows too. You’ve got to be careful. The BBC is such a wonderful, wonderful institution and it provides great variety. Instead of getting upset about something Jonathan Ross said, think about all the BBC shows you love.

S: What about the think tank who claimed We Need Answers is a waste of licence fee money?

DG: We Need Answers is an amazing, brilliant show, a fantastic mix of being both clever and stupid at the same time. The annual budget for the think tank would be enough to make 30 episodes!