At heatworld, we love nothing more than laughing in front of the TV and it’s not always a pretty sight: tears streaming, sides doubling over, and Jimmy Carr is a prime culprit in reducing us to such a hysterical state.

The man behind the new Jimmy Carr Being Funny DVD has a frank chat with heatworld and gives his opinions on being under the spotlight, what Ollie from Made In Chelsea is really like and why recording for TV is like being in a gang… 

Hi, Jimmy! How would you describe Being Funny in 3 words?

Jimmy Carr Being? Being Funny Carr? Hopefully it does exactly what it says on the tin! Jokes, jokes, jokes!

What’s your main inspiration for your comedy?

It’s not like experiential, observational comedy that I do, it’s just word play. I’ve always got the phone on me [heatworld notices the iPhone with a Gameboy cover on the table]. It’s got a dictaphone in it and a little note-pad. I constantly write things down, anything that occurs to me.

What attracted you to the one-liner style?

I didn’t pick it! The style picks you. If you tried to write stuff about things I noticed about making tea, I just don’t think it would work. That’s my sense of humour. It’s very organic, when you start writing jokes. What comes out is a surprise. It’s not like a grand design when you go, I will write these kinds of jokes. You just see what occurs to you. I think I might have ADD, I’ve always liked short things. I like three jokes a minute.

You’ve got the title of the UK’s hardest working comedian...

Well that’s like being the best looking guy in the burns unit, that’s not even a thing!

Do you ever get nervous when you go on stage for the first time?

Well, not really. You get so used to it. I work so much. I’m so used to being on stage. It’s no longer a big thing. When you do get nervous, you just lie to yourself – “I’m excited, I’m really excited! I can’t eat, I feel a bit sick, yay! ” But it’s not really excited, it’s because you’re nervous.

It tends to be one off things that make you nervous. I had to do a couple of outdoor gigs, which I got nervous about because it was daylight when I went on stage and that felt weird. Or when you do a big TV show like The Tonight Show in America. Or doing the Royal Variety. And you just think, that’s it. I’ve got to get it right.

Do you ever find you’ve gone blank on stage or made a mistake?

Well, no-one really knows what’s coming, so you can just say that it’s part of the show. You don’t really go blank. The nearest I can liken being in the spotlight to is like being in the headlights of a car. You’re in a heightened state of being when you’re there. You’re kind of in shock. It’s weird. I don’t think I’ve ever sneezed on stage…

Which do you prefer: stand up, or recording for TV?

They’re both great fun. Recording for TV is like being in a gang. And it feels like you’ve been made Head Boy on the first day of school. You get all the credit for all the hard work that everyone else does.  It’s a real team effort, making TV shows.  It’s more about the production and the writers that you work with, the runners, the researchers – TV shows are a collaborative effort.

But with stand-up, you’re on your own. It’s more like being a tennis player, not a footballer. You’re on your own, doing this thing with an audience, going back and forth. And that’s really exciting. But that couldn’t be my life because I think if you just did that, you’d get very lonely and you’d end up an alcoholic.

Speaking of your TV shows, what can we expect from the next series of 10 O’ Clock Live?

We’re trying to do the impossible. We’re trying to make politics fun. I don’t really care whether your Labour or Tory, but I think there are some issues that affect everyone.

And it’s that thing of giving people an outlet that’s fun and funny and informative. Charlie Brooker, amazing. David Mitchell amazing. Lauren Laverne, amazing. Hopefully, there’ll be more of us together on screen in the next series.

What’s it like to work with David Mitchell?

He’s naturally very funny. He’s just so right. That’s the thing with David. He’s a great comedic actor and he writes as well. He’s ludicrous. He’s the next generation’s Stephen fry, isn’t he? He’s annoyingly good at everything.

I think of him as the Head Boy. And we sort of mess around and I’m the naughty one. I think Charlie’s been excluded. And Lauren is just fantastic, she’s just so well-informed.

After the filming, do you spend much time together?

Of course we do. So much sexual intrigue you wouldn’t believe!

Who’s been your favourite celeb guest on 8 Out Of 10 Cats?

There’s the funny boys that come on. So people like Jeremy Clarkson, David Walliams, Jonathan Ross and celebrity funny guys that come on the show - and that’s fabulous fun.

And then there are the guys from TOWIE who come on the show. So we’ve had Amy Childs…

What was she like?

Brilliant. Really very aware of who she is, what she is. She’s enjoying her moment. She’s enjoying being famous and the centre of attention, the glamour and the glitz, she’s loving it.

We had Joey Essex on last night.

We follow Joey Essex on Twitter, and he said he’d “eated a prawn cracker”...

Adorable!

He’s very nice and we had Ollie from Made In Chelsea on. And you won’t find a bigger tool than Ollie. But I mean that in a nice way. He just comes across a certain way on the show and he’s very aware of he is and I think most people tend to be really fun and they’re really enjoying fame and not self conscious about it.

A lot of comedians and actors - fame is a by-product of what they do. And when they become famous it’s a little bit awkward, they don’t want to be famous. [But] the guys from TOWIE go: “I totally want to be famous. I’m loving this.”

Fame is like the new Heaven, isn’t it? It’s the new place you go where everything will work. They don’t believe in God anymore, but they believe in being famous. They believe everything will be fine if you’re famous.

When did you realise you wanted to be a comedian and how did you start?

It was when I was about 26. I had a boring 9 to 5 job in marketing and I just wanted a life less ordinary. It was like joining the circus. I left to go and do TV gigs in pubs. It was fun.

So did anyone actually tell you you’re really funny, or did it not happen like that?

A few people said ‘oh yeah, you should do something’. More than that, people just laughed. You’re just aware that there’s a lot of laughter when you’re around, so you just sort of think I might be good at this.

Some of your jokes are quite controversial. Do you ever find that you dispute or argue over it with those close to you?

No. They wouldn’t be my friends if they didn’t have a sense of humour. The whole thing is it’s just a joke.

I think the audience regulates comedy. The audience decides whether it’s OK or not because if they laugh, it is; but if they don’t, then it isn’t.

What do you think of comedy degrees that some universities are running?

Now they’ve got fees of £9000 per year, I think those degree courses may fall away. It would be difficult to get your Dad to pay for that!

But, I think it’s a really good thing. Why not? I think going to uni is one of the most brilliant things you can do. I think it’s a great, fun thing to do and, if you want to do a fun course, then do a fun course.

And finally, what’s your favourite book of all time and why?

The A-Z. I mean, the characters aren’t great, but the places just seem so real!

Jimmy Carr Being Funny is out on November 21st.