David Walliams speaks to Event ahead of the National Television Awards

‘Yes, I am a workaholic,’ says the writer, actor and comedian David Walliams, trying to explain why he never seems to stop. ‘I feel so lucky to have had the success I’ve had and I feel like I’ve got to work hard to sustain it.’

The co-star of Little Britain and judge on Britain’s Got Talent is about to star in a new movie with Sir Michael Caine, he famously swam the Channel for charity and he has written some of the nation’s best-loved books for children. Gangsta Granny, Mr Stink and The Boy In The Dress – among many others – have sold millions and made him a fortune, so Walliams could give it all up and take things easy any time he likes. Instead he will take the stage at the O2 arena later this month to present the prestigious National Television Awards, in front of his most famous peers, a live audience of thousands and the millions of people watching at home. Why can’t he just kick back?

David Walliams, the co-star of Little Britain and judge on Britain’s Got Talent, is about to star in a new movie with Sir Michael Caine

‘I feel like I’m creating a body of work, so that’s exciting,’ he says. ‘I like working. I just feel like I’ve been given an amazing opportunity to have a career. You don’t want to just squander it by sort of turning your back on it.’

He sounds surprisingly worried, given the scale of his success. ‘If I was very secure in my talent I probably wouldn’t do so much,’ admits Walliams, a big man with a big, cheeky and playful public persona who happens to be dressed all in black today and ready to reveal his serious side, just for a moment. He has experienced depression in the past, but says that working helps. ‘Writing is a good distraction, because you’re doing something creative. You’re in a fantasy world and you’re dreaming up characters. The great thing about children’s books is that the only limit is your imagination. Some of the best children’s books are the most imaginative books ever written: Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard Of Oz, Harry Potter…’

So far, Walliams has sold 37 million copies of his books, the latest of which is The Beast Of Buckingham Palace. He’s been compared with the legendary Roald Dahl, but says: ‘No, I’m not him. I’m the Poundland Roald Dahl! I love his work.’

As host of the 25th National Television Awards (NTAs), he is taking over from Dermot O’Leary. ‘I think Dermot’s a brilliant presenter,’ says Walliams, ‘the ultimate safe pair of hands. I’m a different beast, aren’t I? I’m very much a beast!’

He laughs, because Walliams came to fame alongside Matt Lucas with the edgy, saucy sketch show Little Britain, whose over-the-top characters include Daffyd Thomas (‘I’m the only gay in the village!’) the errant Vicky Pollard (‘Yeah but no but…’) and Andy Pipkin, who pretends to be wheelchair-bound so that his carer Lou Todd will look after him. Will he bring some of that mischievous attitude to the NTAs? ‘Obviously I want to try and make it as funny as I possibly can and maybe more anarchic than before.’

In that case, will Walliams roast the stars like Ricky Gervais has done so notoriously at the Golden Globes? ‘Our tone is very different. I think you need some jokes at your own expense and probably a few at other people’s expense, but not ones that are going to upset them. Ones that are going to make them laugh. If they’re not laughing when the camera cuts to them, then it’s a bit eggy, isn’t it?’

Florence (Matt Lucas) and Emily (David Walliams) in a sketch from Little Britain, 2004

Florence (Matt Lucas) and Emily (David Walliams) in a sketch from Little Britain, 2004

Lucas and Walliams met at the National Youth Theatre as youngsters, bonding over a shared sense of humour. Little Britain started as a cult show on BBC3 but won the Most Popular Comedy award at the NTAs for three years running, from 2004. They teamed up again for the airport mockumentary series Come Fly With Me, but stopped working together in 2011 after reportedly falling out.

Reports of a feud were wrong and now they are back together, he says. ‘It wasn’t a feud. Matt moved away to the States and he was pursuing a career there. Then we were doing our own things and our moment in the sun had passed. Then when he was back in the UK it was like: “Let’s hang out. Let’s do something.’’ ’

A one-off comedy special for Radio 4 last October called Little Brexit went down well, so will the show return properly to our screens? ‘We’ll probably do some things together. Yes, Little Britain could come back in other forms. Potentially on television – be it for Comic Relief or for some specials.

‘We could probably do a live show if we wanted to, but I’m in a different place than I was when we toured last time.’

In the meantime there are the NTAs to do. As well as winning three times with Little Britain, Walliams won a Landmark Achievement award in 2012 and has been named as Best Judge for his work with Britain’s Got Talent three times. He’s up for that again, but will it be embarrassing to win as host? ‘No! I think it’s a wonderful idea,’ he says, grinning. Is it an honour in itself to be chosen as the best possible host for an industry event like this? ‘The best in the price range! I can’t imagine I was the first to be asked. If you’re doing anything on ITV you know that Ant and Dec have been asked…’

 Elton is a lot more normal than Simon Cowell. He’s very blokeish in a lot of ways

Those two have won the Best Presenter category together 18 times and are up for it again this year, so they will be among the famous faces looking up at him, expectantly. ‘Everybody in the industry that you would like to impress is there in the first 20 rows or so, staring at you. It’s quite weird to win when you’re starting out, looking out and going: ‘Oh my God, it’s Russell T Davies!’ [creator of the revived Doctor Who].’ He sounds starstruck. ‘I almost get starstruck by anybody who’s been on television. I get starstruck when I see Simon Cowell, even though I know him really quite well.’

So far, Walliams has sold 37 million copies of his books, the latest of which is The Beast Of Buckingham Palace. He’s been compared with the legendary Roald Dahl, but says: ‘No, I’m not him. I’m the Poundland Roald Dahl! I love his work’

So far, Walliams has sold 37 million copies of his books, the latest of which is The Beast Of Buckingham Palace. He’s been compared with the legendary Roald Dahl, but says: ‘No, I’m not him. I’m the Poundland Roald Dahl! I love his work’

The creator of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent chose Walliams as a judge in 2012. ‘I have to tell myself to stop and just relax, but then Simon creates an aura of fame around him. He definitely behaves like a famous person who arrives in a long coat and dark glasses, like Joan Collins did arriving at Monte Carlo in the Seventies.’

Cowell is his rival for Best Judge again this year, along with Tom Jones and will.i.am for The Voice and RuPaul for RuPaul’s Drag Race. ‘I definitely don’t want to lose to Simon Cowell, because I will never hear the end of it. He is a very competitive person even though he is hugely successful. He really is unhappy that I’ve won three of these awards and he has none. Really, genuinely.’

Walliams teases Cowell for a living on Britain’s Got Talent, but does he have to tread carefully? ‘It depends on his mood. Sometimes he’s in a really happy mood and you go: “Brilliant!” Sometimes he’s in a black mood about something in his life and you go: “Oh my God, this is going to be really tough today, because he’s not going to want me to make any jokes.” ‘Sometimes he’ll say: ‘That’s not funny. Shut up.’’ ’ Walliams frowns. ‘I say: “I’m just trying to make your show better. I can sit here and say nothing if you want.’’ ’

Walliams on being asked to host the National Television Awards: 'I can’t imagine I was the first to be asked. If you’re doing anything on ITV you know that Ant and Dec have been asked…’

Walliams on being asked to host the National Television Awards: ‘I can’t imagine I was the first to be asked. If you’re doing anything on ITV you know that Ant and Dec have been asked…’

Given the balance of power, can they be mates in real life? ‘Well, we always have fun when we’re together, but it’s weird. He doesn’t have a phone. I communicate with Lauren, his partner. We’re always texting and stuff, I’m always asking how he is.’

How often do they hang out? ‘I don’t see Simon on a weekly basis, but whenever I do see him it’s fun. We go out for dinner. He pays, which is the best part of it. There’s no question about that. You go: “Oh, Simon’s paying, what’s the most expensive thing on the menu?’’ ’ Walliams rubs his hands together in mock glee.

‘So yes, we are close, but I don’t see Simon as much as I see some of my other friends, like people I was at school with.’

Walliams was born in Wimbledon, south London. His mother was a school lab technician and his father a London Transport engineer. After Reigate Grammar School he studied at Bristol University. Is he still close to people from those days? ‘Yes, because they are your real friends, aren’t they?’

But there is no denying that Walliams is also world class at making famous friends. The last time I saw him in the flesh he was flirting with Shirley Bassey at the Ritz. He’s even been on holiday with Elton John in the South of France. ‘Elton is a lot more normal than Simon Cowell,’ he insists. ‘He’s very blokeish in a lot of ways. I’m not into football, but if you are then you’ll never be short of something to talk to him about. He loves music and comedy, he’s at ease with himself these days. He’s a dad…’

Walliams with his mother Kathleen in 2006. ‘My mum is in love with Paul Hollywood, as are my aunts. He’s catnip to women of a certain age, isn’t he?’

Walliams with his mother Kathleen in 2006. ‘My mum is in love with Paul Hollywood, as are my aunts. He’s catnip to women of a certain age, isn’t he?’

Walliams, 48, who has a six-year-old son with ex-wife Lara Stone, has recently been out to dinner with Michael Caine as they’ve been filming Twist, a reworking of the Dickens story. Walliams plays the doctor Losberne, with Caine as Fagin. ‘He had two things on his rider: a 45-minute nap after lunch and a cheese sandwich. Cheddar cheese, Branston pickle, brown bread. He didn’t have anybody with him. He’s just an actor. He just wants to muck in with everybody.’

One fellow comic he admires greatly is Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who is up for Best Comedy for Fleabag at the NTAs and worked on the script for No Time To Die, the new James Bond movie.

‘I went to visit the set. It was amazing because I’m a massive Bond fan,’ says Walliams. ‘I wondered if she was just doing a quick dialogue polish for a week, but it wasn’t that. She actually did quite a lot. She hung out with Daniel Craig in New York, acting out bits of James Bond in his apartment. That is my dream job, I’d say: writing a script for a James Bond film.’

Part of Walliams’s charm is that he is so boyishly enthusiastic about the world in which he now finds himself. And he loves to share it with his mother Kathleen, who will be coming to the NTAs and making a beeline for one star in particular. ‘My mum is in love with Paul Hollywood, as are my aunts. He’s catnip to women of a certain age, isn’t he?’

His mum even appeared on an episode of Britain’s Got Talent as a judge, sitting in on the judging panel when Cowell happened to be late. ‘There were all these people on Twitter saying: “Don’t get Simon back, just use David’s mum.” ’

Kathleen now gets recognised in public. ‘One woman at the Chelsea Flower Show went: ‘You’re David’s mother aren’t you? The brains behind it all.’ My mum just nodded. I’m like: ‘Mum, I don’t remember you giving me ideas for my books or for Little Britain!’ She said: ‘I did a lot for you!’’’

He smiles, a man whose son has taught him what love is and who is now happy to acknowledge the debt he owes to his mum. ‘You take it for granted when you’re young, but you understand it a bit more when you have a child. You understand your parents’ overwhelming love for you. I get that now.’ 

David Walliams hosts the 25th ‘National Television Awards’ on Jan 28 at 7.30pm on ITV

 

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