Tears of laughter

At first glance, these books have an awful lot in common. Indeed, all three might have been produced by the same self-centred chatterbox, so similar is the slightly manic, self-consciously jokey, self-interrupting, lower-middle class vernacular in which they are all written. Fluent, full of ideas and, above all, conversational.

All three authors treat their imaginary readers like members of a live audience. ‘Sorry, I’m rambling,’ confesses Jo Brand at one point. ‘Tear this bit out and use the pages to make paper aeroplanes or something,’ advises Jack Dee at another trick moment. And in his opening remarks, Peter Kay goes right over the top by mysteriously including Jeremy Irons in a list of great comedians of the day, only to add the footnote: ‘Just checking you were paying attention.’

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Ross Clark

Britain is living beyond its means

Inevitably, the experiences and tastes of these three ‘much loved’ public figures often overlap.