The 5-Minute Interview: Paul Kaye, Comedian

'I'm actually just a scruffy chancer'

Paul Kaye, 41, who is said to have paved the way for Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G character, made his name as the shock celebrity interviewer Dennis Pennis in 1995. His new comedy show, 'Strutter', airs on MTV on Thursdays at 10.30pm.

Strutter is different to Dennis Pennis because ...

Strutter is East Coast rather than West Coast. He is 40 rather than 30. He is lazy rather than being in the field. I figure I have earned the right to hurl abuse at videotape rather than waiting for people to turn up.

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be ...

Doodling and listening to Stereolab, thinking about what to cook the kids for tea. It's going to be meatballs tonight.

A common misperception of me is....

That I am a comedian. I've never done stand-up. Jonathan Ross described me as a "scruffy chancer" and I'm much more comfortable with that.

I am not a politician but...

I always wonder why every major project in this country takes twice as long and costs twice as much as anywhere else in the world, if it gets finished at all. The Olympic Village is going to be like the Dome times 1,000. We just can't do that shit and we should just accept it.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:

Don't panic when you're trapped inside a nutshell - someone's bound to want a nut sooner or later.

Sara Newman