And like the old stereotype, I overcame my shyness by making my friends laugh.

What I never overcame is a kind of shyness.

If you became a comedian in the '80s, you had to work the circuit and make people laugh. Canned laughter is cheating.

We overcame 27 turnovers despite everything that was going on and we found a way. That's the key about it. This team is showing a lot of heart with the injuries we've got.

When things are difficult, awful, stressful, the thing that always gets you through is a sense of humour. I don't mean - well, maybe I do - laugh at the hangman as he puts the noose around your neck. But an eye, an ear, for the ridiculous, the absurd in life, can get you through a lot.

I was always making my friends laugh, but I never wanted the attention of the whole classroom.