TV fame made me want to live underground like a mole

Someone said to me the other day ‘has it crept up on you?’ and I think that is about right. Sixty when I was a kid was actually old. Old people were 60 and people would retire at 65 and then they'd live for about half an hour. (Laughs) That's how it used to be.

- Comedy favourite Alan Davies talks to MARION MCMULLEN

My grandfather lived to be 77 and he was ancient. Nowadays people, like my wife Katie's parents, are in their 80s and thriving. The world has changed.

Have you ever been tempted by plastic surgery or Botox?

(Laughs) You mean do the Jimmy Carr? No thanks. Even when men dye their hair it is noticeable. Women are more used to colouring their hair and Katie colours hers all the time. God, knows what she looks like naturally without it...

In the Nineties, people used to shout 'perm' at me. I remember being in a hotel on tour in 1999 and there were some women in the restaurant and I could hear them talking about me and one was saying 'it definitely is, I've worked in salons for 20 years and I know a perm when I see one.

I was really, really tempted to go over but I knew if I said 'I've never had a perm in my life, why would I do that?' she would have still said I was lying, so I wisely said nothing.

Do you get recognised a lot?

At one period in my life I went from anonymity to being recognised everywhere. I was recognisable from Jonathan Creek being on a Saturday night with 12 million viewers but I did adverts for Abbey National as well and they were on when Blind Date was on and Coronation Street and Emmerdale all these shows that were getting 15 million viewers and that really was a game changer. It made me want to live underground like a mole.

What has led to your new stand-up tour Think Ahead?