"Every age sort of has its own history. History is really the stories that we retell to ourselves to make them relevant to every age. So we put our own values and our own spin on it."
"I'd always thought that if Python was going to go on at all, it'd be nice to get into storylines."
"Some people are passionate about aisles, others about window seats."
"We think of medieval England as being a place of unbelievable cruelty and darkness and superstition. We think of it as all being about fair maidens in castles, and witch-burning, and a belief that the world was flat. Yet all these things are wrong."
"The funny thing about history is that we imagine that people didn't laugh in the old days, but of course they did, at stupid things."
"I've never been good at improvising."
"Fatherhood is wonderful."
"I've been very lucky to have been able to act, write and direct and not have to choose just the one thing."
"You know, I've never thought of myself as a comedian."
"I don't think you need religion."
"I'm cheerfully optimistic about life. Optimism is very important!"
"I like my stories once removed."
"I like fantasy."
"I've got a soft spot for Theatr Colwyn because my granddad used to run the Colwyn amateur dramatic society in the 1930s."
"I'd like something that peels potatoes really quickly - that would be wonderful."
"I'm a good cook; one of my specialities is reindeer and potato pie."
"I spent my earliest years in Colwyn Bay in north Wales with my mother and grandmother, while my father was stationed with the RAF in India."
"Medieval learning was really advanced."
"It doesn't worry me what anyone says, except when publicity hurts others."
"I don't think people who have children are acting selfishly or unselfishly. Having a child who'll be loved, to parents who love each other, is the important thing."
