Simon Amstell

You see people who are still there doing things but their souls have disappeared so there's no joy in it anymore, so I'm scared of not listening to the part of me that knows when it's time to stop something and start something new.

I felt like there was something wrong with me in my twenties but, when I started doing stand up comedy, I learnt that if you tell the truth it's really funny and people connect to it. So I think if I keep doing that then I'll be happy.

I don't see the point of doing comedy unless it comes from pain.

I think as much as I talk about humour being a defence mechanism, I'm also really grateful that I developed it, because I now have it as a choice, rather than a panic button. I feel like it's there if I want to use it. It's fun.

By saying the thing that I'm most embarrassed about on stage, I end up witnessing the fact that it isn't a problem. People don't usually walk out, when I say the thing that I'm deeply ashamed of.