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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Simon Pegg

In which area do you live?

Highgate, North London.

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I've never been to Africa. Hopefully when I'm older I can take over from Michael Palin and go there as part of a quaint and engaging travelogue, based on a work of literature. Right now, I don't have time.

Who did you spend New Years and Christmas with?

Spent Christmas with my Mum and Sister. They came up to London from Gloucester. Then Me, my family and Nick (Mike from Spaced), went down to Devon and Spent the millennium with Steve Coogan, his family and his P.A. Lyndsay. Got pissed, no fireworks.

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

One sister, Kate (20) and two brothers from my Dad's second marriage, Michael (17) and Steven (21).

How did you get into TV work?

Through stand up. T.V. companies frequently look to the stand up community for new people. They've been doing it for years. Particularly since the comic strip. It's a huge source of writer/performers. I did The Stand Up Show in '95 and a sketch show called Six Pairs of Pants, where I met Jessie and Sally Philips. From there, the offers came in. I did that fucking advert in early '96, it was only going to show for 18 months, after which, I had last word on whether it was shown again. They came back this year and I said NO! So they offered me more money and I still said NO but it seemed the more I said NO, the more they'd offer until it became riduculous for me not to accept. So I did and now it's on again I feel like a big sell out.

Do you have any favourite bands?

I listen to lots of music, I don't really have a favourite band. The bands I'm listening to at the moment are Sneaker Pimps, Day One, Rage Against the Machine, Dark Star, Underworld. The soundtrack to the film 'Ron Lola Run' is fabulous. Basically anything but pop.

What do you do in your spare time?

I don't get much spare time at the mo. I tend to read, or watch T.V. (religiously), go to the flix or play video games. Pretty basic stuff really.

Do you have any favourite comedians and TV programmes?

I love The League of Gentlemen, my favourite show is The Simpsons. My little sis has just got me into Buffy, as she did with The X Files before that. As for comedians, I'd say Bill Bailey, Michael Smiley, The Mighty Boosh. There are a lot great comics out there, too many to mention.

What was it like working with Rik & Ade?

Great. They are two of the nicest blokes you could meet. Very friendly and easy to work with. I'd ask Rik about The Young Ones days whenever we were sat waiting to go on set and he'd always be really happy to chat about it. He told me that during the making of the episode 'Sick', when Alexi Sayle hits Rik (the character) with a gun butt, he actually knocked out Rik the person, for real. Things like that are really fun to discover. This is a show I would watch on video in my lunch break at school. These were guys I would impersonate in the class room, so to work with them was a big thing for me.

Many thanks to Simon Pegg for all of his help.

Copyright of Simon Pegg for The "Ultimate Comedy" website. (12/1/00)