Why I love to be hated

I’ve never been keen on the idea of popularity. Courting disapproval has been a large part of my career and I find it bracing, like an early dip in a cold sea. I remember back in 2003 feeling put out because the Most Hated People In Britain list featured me at a mere 85, sandwiched between Damien Hirst and Richard Branson.

So imagine my excitement this week on reading that the alleged comedian Stewart Lee had dispatched me into his New Year Pedal Bin, a list of his least-favourite people, alongside such chucklesome types as Ricky Gervais, John Cleese, Graham Linehan, Maureen Lipman and Dave Chappelle. I’ve always fancied myself as a comic — being laughed with or at, I’m not fussy — and here I was, tucked up snug in this metaphorical bin with all these drolls.

Also, I’m a big fan of the Jews and the first time I became aware of Lee was when in 2020 he was caught mocking people with Funny Foreign Names.