Ian Hislop

I've got a very peculiar sort of fame, based on being on the telly. It doesn't mean you have the lifestyle people expect.

I get paid to do what I enjoy, not that common a condition.

I like making films about old people because they are repositories of amazing stories that they tell well. And they're incredibly good telly.

For a long time I thought I should be a civil engineer. That seemed to be the only thing worth doing, and I chose the wrong subjects at A-level. I read all the sciences to start with, and then had to admit, 'This isn't what I want to do' and changed course.

You can't understand Twenties England until you appreciate it was under a cloud of mourning. Nearly everyone was grieving.

They may well say not only is this not true, but I will put in an injunction to prevent publication. No, stories don't go in unless I'm convinced by the people who write them that they're true. And if I'm wrong, then so be it.