The Ocelot 122 - Oxford and Newbury edition | Page 25

The Interview: Sue Perkins
“Births, deaths,
lemon drizzle
and getting
fondled by a
Cambodian
hermit.”

but the tour brings extra stuff to it. The audience adds so
much on top of that. It’s important to have that double act
thing going on with them.
So what subjects will you be covering in the show?
Births, deaths, lemon drizzle and getting fondled by a
Cambodian hermit. I’ll talk a lot about the catastrophising
that went on in my family. There was always a sense that
something awful, that imminent doom, was around the
corner. It came from my mum – she’s a worrier. Everything
was a potential trip to A & E!
I believe you will also be showing some slides.
Yes, there will be lots of slides. There is only one picture
of me in the book and I have this horrific haircut in it.
People say, “Surely that was just one bad haircut day.”
But I’m afraid I have 150 slides of myself at different
ages, all with the same haircut! My mum had someone
round to cut my hair who, it transpired, had only done dog
grooming before. So I had a low Dougal-style fringe that
was perfectly straight. It swayed like a trimmed, bearded
collie! A bowl for all seasons. Perhaps that should be the
title of the second volume….
You have a wonderful relationship with your fans. Do they
frequently stop you in the street?
Sometimes, yes. Often they’ll want to ask about the weird
things I’ve eaten. I’ve eaten everything. There’s nothing I
haven’t eaten. I’ve eaten peacock, rat, squirrel, wigeon,
teal, snipe, snake, moose and yak. Bear Grylls, eat your
heart out! In fact, he probably has eaten his heart out…

What else do the fans ask you?
They always want to know what Mary Berry is like. Well,
Bez is the best. End of. She’s the nation’s sweetheart. I love
her – so much so, I’ve been trying to get her to adopt me
for the last seven years.
Why do you think The Great British Bake Off has proved
so popular?
I think the chemistry between the four of us – Mary, Paul,
Mel and I – works so well. We’re all big kids at heart.
We’re all very playful. We don’t approach it as a job. We
approach it as a day out at a country fair! But the real
reason why the show is so successful is the 12 people who
come to bake every year. Although we four have received
a lot of attention, I really do believe that the bakers are
where the magic is.
Finally, do you believe that a sense of humour is vital?
Of course. Life is boring without the punctuation of
punchlines. If you laugh at a joke, it’s because someone
has put something you already know in a way you had
never thought of before. You’ve always been aware of
that idea, but it’s the expression of that idea that catches
you. The other person encapsulates it or puts a new twist
on it. It illuminates and cheers in one fell swoop. Without
humour, what’s the point? Life would simply be one long
argument with a man from the BT helpdesk.
Tickets for Sue Perkins’ tour, “LIVE! in Spectacles”, can be
found at http://www.sueperkinslive.com

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25/07/2016 21:37