OVERRATED, OVERBLOWN AND OVER THERE

He's smug, he's slightly creepy and you can imagine that he's equally comfortable in the intimate company of both gentlemen and lay-dees. No, not Robbie Williams, but David Walliams, who has taken a long, cold look at his career and declared himself mightily satisfied with the result - though he is now aware that the luck might be running out.

"We'd have been happy to be less successful. We were hyped, and that means you have an in-built shelf life. It's pleasing to be part of the zeitgeist, but worrying because we were overexposed. People see so much of you they want to laugh at something else," he said, narrowing his eyes, flaring his nostrils and patting himself on the back for his use of the word 'zeitgeist'.

"That's how it should be. You don't need to sustain success at the same level. Even Morecambe and Wise peaked," he said, modestly comparing himself to Ernie Wise.

Walliams and Matt Lucas signed a three-year deal with the BBC in 2006, worth £6m. So that's £1m a year a piece of our licence fee for... not a lot, to quote an equally brilliant showman. Instead, the pair are preparing an American version of the show for the HBO channel, while we flounder in the comedy doldrums wondering where our next catchphrase, lunchbox and replica tie-in doll will come from. Hurry up, boys, we don't want to have to think for ourselves!