I love being an OLD stand-up

WRITER AND COMIC BEN ELTON TELLS HANNAH STEPHENSON ABOUT THE TRIUMPHS AND TORMENTS HE HAS EXPERIENCED THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER

- HANNAH STEPHENSON

IT'S clear from his searingly honest memoir that for every work of genius Ben Elton has created during his 45-year career, there's been someone waiting in the wings to put him down.

What Have I Done?, the title of the book, could be interpreted as an introduction to all his achievements, and there are many, from creating The Young Ones starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, to Blackadder, We Will Rock You, 16 novels, collaborations with Richard Curtis and Andrew Lloyd Webber and, most recently, the Shakespearean comedy Upstart Crow starring David Mitchell.

But the book title could also mean, 'What have I done to deserve the endless media slatings I received about my work and the personal attacks from columnists and celebrities?' as he recalls the bad reviews and general Ben-bashing over the years. One excerpt is headlined 'Why does everybody hate you?'

"I had to think really hard about whether I talked about all the c**p I've copped over the years because I know that nobody noticed it like I noticed it," says the 66-year-old award-winning novelist, playwright, TV writer and lyricist, who is still a motormouth.

"It's like when you get a bad review, most people haven't read it, although some of my slaggings were famous enough to make the news - We Will Rock You was one and The Wright Way was another.

"It was a major factor that for about 35 years, from the moment I became famous, and famous as a writer, I seemed to be a lightning rod for people wishing I'd shut up.