I'm determined to be annoying!

Comic, writer and actor Jenny Eclair on her new role as a nana and why she's refusing to conform to older stereotypes

- JORDAN PARAMOR 

It's hard to be in Jenny Eclair's company for more than five minutes without bursting into laughter at one of her observations on the absurdity of life. Whether she's ranting about traffic or gushing about her baby grandson, she somehow manages to do it all with finesse.

She's come straight to our interview after performing nana duties for her one-year-old grandson, Arlo. 'Oh, he's the light of my life. Because of various holidays and being out gigging, I hadn't seen him for nearly three weeks,' she explains. 'I was getting really anxious about him not recognising me and not wanting to be with me, but we had a sweet reunion and I think he still loves me,' she says, beaming. 'He's still very smiley. I only ever had one daughter and I didn't think I'd ever get a grandchild, it is a complete and utter bonus. He's the sweetest boy, he's no trouble,' she adds. 'He's nearly 14 months old but he's refusing to walk. Instead, he crawls very fast. It's joyful but I'm very glad I don't have to do it every day.'

Jenny openly admits she found it hard bringing up her playwright daughter Phoebe, now 33, while trying to establish her comedy career. 'I was only 28 when I had Phoebe and I was trying to get my career off the ground, so I did fob her off a lot. I mean, I was quite a negligent and absent mother. With Arlo, I'm enjoying the baby years much more. I'm enjoying watching him develop. I just wish it wasn't going so fast.