David Walliams: I'd rather be remembered for my charity work than Little Britain (Picture: Alan Chapman)
Did you mean to reveal as much as you have in the book when you started writing?
I wanted it be as honest as possible and leaving really big events out, such as suffering from depression, would be dishonest. Having read my friends' autobiographies I realised the best ones are the most honest ones.
The details of your suicide attempts have got a lot of attention – how do you feel about that now it's all out there?
The last one I wrote about in the book happened a decade ago, so enough time has passed to have some perspective on them. I knew newspapers would pick up on the most sensational aspects but it doesn't give a full account of the book.
What's the reaction been like?
Very positive. Lots of people have said it's good someone has been so honest about depression, as it affects a lot of people. There's still a stigma about depression and it's difficult to talk about, so hopefully people have found it helpful. The only thing that concerns me is when I'm on TV it's in an effort to make people laugh so I don't want people to see me as a really sad person – those events are a decade ago.
Have you learnt how to manage your depression better?
You don't necessarily recognise it as depression, you think you might just be feeling sad but when you're properly diagnosed, you can be helped with therapy and medication. It's a disease that comes and goes. At the moment, I'm very happy. My life's great – I'm married and work has never been better. My life's in a good place – ten years ago, it wasn't.
How did you feel when a newspaper ran a 'gay-o-meter' poll about you?
If you take the mickey out of people, you have to be able to take it back. I'm friends with Dale Winton, so if I was photographed at a restaurant with him I'd be on the pink side of the poll. If I was out with a beautiful woman, I'd be on the blue. When I was on the Parkinson show and kissed Will Young, the gay-o-meter exploded. I thought it was really funny. I was interested to see where it was swinging.
The implication would be you're secretly gay, wouldn't it?
Yes but how many people do you hear that about? I work with Simon Cowell – a lot of people say he's gay. He's not but it will follow him until the day he dies. What's the point of worrying about it? There's nothing wrong with being gay, so if people say I am, it doesn't bother me. I'm not going to sue about that. I'd sue if people said I was a rapist.
Are you still in awe of any comedians you admired when you were younger?
I've just had lunch with Ronnie Corbett, which I think is extraordinary. I'm still a fan of comedy and I'd hate to ever lose that. I can still get star-struck by someone I admire. Some people have an aura of mystery around them – you don't see Rowan Atkinson every day, so when I met him I was completely in awe.
Has anyone unexpected said they're a fan of your work?
Michael Caine asked Michael Parkinson to introduce him to me and Matt [Lucas]. He said we were the new Monty Python. I couldn't believe he knew who I was. I grew up watching The Italian Job and The Ipcress File and there he was saying nice things to me. I was embarrassed and tried to change the subject and he said: 'We're not talking about me, we're talking about you.'
What are you proudest of achieving?
Swimming the Thames for Sport Relief. When I go on trips with Comic Relief and see how the money is spent, I'm thrilled. If I want to be remembered for one thing I'd say that rather than the comedy shows.
Do any of the Little Britain characters have mileage left in them?
They all do if you can think of something new to do with them. You just need to move it on. You'd need to acknowledge if you were doing Vicky Pollard again her life would be different. We don't have a burning desire to revisit those characters. The danger of revisiting a past success is it won't be as good as first time round.
What are your unfulfilled ambitions?
I'd like to work with Judi Dench, write a novel for adults and keep doing new things. I could go on doing comedy forever but it would get boring. I didn't think I'd necessarily be any good [as a judge] on Britain's Got Talent but it turned out fine. I didn't know I'd be able to swim 140 miles up the Thames. I like it when there's no guarantee of a good outcome.
What's been your most extravagant purchase?
The engagement ring. The jeweller said: 'This would make a good investment,' but it's not as if I'm getting it back. My parents had prints by a painter called William Russell Flint and when I first made a bit of money I bought them an original painting. I was happy I could do that.
Camp David is out now, published by Penguin.
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