Hugh Dennis

(on regrets)
Hugh: I don't have that many regrets. Not because I have led a charmed life in which I have always made the right choices, but rather because, as a comedian, I have always known that every disaster is a potential anecdote.

(on writing at a cafe with his partner Steve Punt)
Hugh: If you're writing the kind of stuff we do, it doesn't require the same discipline as writing a novel. It's really about the generation of ideas and different angles. Someone might start playing jazz and an idea comes to you. And if you're looking for inspiration, this week there's going to be a tea dance at two.

(on how he and his comedy partner Steve Punt got Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's leftovers)
Hugh: [Laurie and I] had the same agent for a long time and all the way through my career, whenever he couldn't do voiceovers, I used to whip in and do them! Steve and I always used to get scripts for ads and whatnot and sometimes they had just not bothered to cross out Fry and Laurie!

(on why he thinks the Internet is good for comedy)
Hugh: In the old days, you had to wait for people to give you money to go and make something. Now, you can post your own sketches online to get them seen. It means more talented people are coming through.

(on his comedy partnership with Steve Punt)
Hugh: We always get asked why we have worked together so long. Either neither of us has an ego… or both of us have got huge egos but they are exactly the same size. We know each other's ways now. And like any relationship, it works on how much you can stand the things you don't like about the other person. For instance, I know Steve will always be late.

(on his philosophy of life)
Hugh: If it ain't broken don't fix it. If it is broken, take the cover off, fiddle with it for a bit, pretend that you might be able to fix it even though you have no idea what any of the wires do, and then hit it with a hammer. Hard.