Perhaps best known for his Blackadder appearances
and his role as Oscar Wilde in the film Wilde, the comedian, actor
and writer grew up in Booton, near Reepham in Norfolk.
He briefly attended Gresham's School in Holt before
going to prep school in Gloucestershire.
He returned to Norfolk to re-sit his A-levels at
the college of West Anglia, formerly the Norfolk College of Arts
and Technology in King's Lynn, before going on to study at Cambridge
University.
A passionate supporter of the Canaries, Stephen
gets to as many matches as he can from his West Norfolk home, where
he can relax and get away from the buzz of London.
You spend your time making people laugh - but
what makes you laugh?

Mark Finch, Surrey
SF: PG Woodhouse novels, Peter Cook and Dudley
Moore tapes, Fawlty Towers, Alan Partridge - the usual suspects.
If given a choice between your career or a career
playing football for Norwich, which would you choose? 
Patricia Cherry, Lancs
SF: My career as is really - not that I would dislike
playing for Norwich but it is such a short thing, a career in sport.
You are seen by many as an ideal dinner party
guest, but which people (historical or contemporary) would you like
to invite to a dinner party and why? 
David Rayner, Norfolk
SF: Oscar Wilde, obviously really, for wit and
charm. Queen Elizabeth I too - a very witty and extraordinary woman.
Can you remember reading any particular book
as a child that had a profound influence on your view of life, the
universe, etc? 
Amanda Williams
SF: CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters. A mixture of wit,
insight and brilliance of the kind you rarely meet.
Your lack of enthusiasm for participating in
sport at school is well-known. If you could invent a sport that
even you would have enjoyed taking part in, what would it be? 
Helen Simmons, Norfolk
Stephen Fry: If there were a mixture of cricket,
poker and snooker that would be it, I reckon. Hard to imagine but
I wish someone would invent it!

Another radio interview for Stephen Fry |
You have a great command of language, but which
are your least favourite words and why?  Rebecca Hobbs, Derby
SF: 'Hopefully' and 'disinterested' are nearly
always used wrongly and, although it's silly to be pedantic, it
annoys me. But the worst is 'energy' when used in a meaningless,
new-age sort of way, as in 'positve energy' and all that arse-wallop.
If you were to appear in Star Wars would you
like to be on the dark side of the force, the goody-goody Luke Skywalker
side or would a whole new side have to be invented?  Ffion Rogers, North Wales
SF: Definitely the dark side. Better lines, better
costumes, better music and better opportunities to show off. Just
what an actor likes best really.
You obviously appreciate the beauty and tranquility
of Norfolk. How would you achieve the balance of keeping these features
and yet catering for and encouraging the vital tourist industry?
 Sally Rode, Norfolk
SF: It's a hard one. If the M11 were to continue
up to Norwich it would make it easier to get to, but would it be
deleterious to the county? I run hot and cold on this one.
When recording the Harry Potter tapes, what
triggers do you use to remind you which voice to use?  Lisa Hodges, from East Sheen
SF: Good question - the recording engineer made
a CD which contains all the voices and if I have forgotten one he
plays the voice through to me in my little glass recording box.
I think I would definitely forget otherwise. Children really notice
these things too - one 10-year-old told me that I'd altered Dumbledore's
age between audio books two and three.
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