Well, hugely. I've read the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy at least once a year since I was twelve years old. A lot of my own personal sense of humour and sense of timing is very influenced by this, and whenever I occasionally try and write things I end up ripping off Douglas Adams which is probably something I should try and get away from, but it's a lot of fun.

What's your favourite bit of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy?

It's a different bit every time I pick it up and read it, because there's so many ideas that you can't possibly remember them all. Just the other day I was reading again the description of how the Heart of Gold, with the infinite impossibility drive, comes into existence, where you just enter the probability of it ever existing into the computer and then give it a cup of tea, [and it] appeared out of nowhere.

Do you have a favourite Hitchhiker's character?

The paranoid android's obviously a classic but it just depends what mood I'm in. I like Ford Prefect's odd reactions and Arthur reacts hugely to pretty trivial scenarios like not being able to get a cup of tea, whereas the fact that he's in space he's relatively chilled out about.