Q&A: Bill Bailey, comedian, 55

Comedian Bill Bailey on weird lockdown dreams, his new book on happiness — and practising the art of listening.

Hat-trick of happiness: Bill Bailey

Locked down in London, you wrote: “I had a dream in which I saw everyone I’ve ever met, while I drank sherry wearing just a towel. Things are not right.” How deeply has the pandemic penetrated your subconscious? It’s a global phenomenon. People are having these powerful, vivid dreams. I read an article in Scientific American where so many people reported similar dreams: “I was outside, I was just covered in tissue paper, and I could see all these people, all my family...” The tissue paper, or the towel, is our vulnerability; the people are a projection of what we want. For me the sherry was real, though [laughs]. We’d drunk all the wine in the house.

Amid all this, why write a book about happiness? During lockdown I was archiving all my old stand-up routines; I realised a lot of my comedy wrestles with the subject and I thought, yes, this is something I’ve been thinking about for years. There are thousands of books that have the word “happiness” in the title and I’ve got to say, a lot of them don’t make you happy. They’re quite depressing, if anything. They offer a quick fix, and it’s much more elusive than that. I wanted to say: These are the everyday things that can give you a little shot of contentment, or delight, or satisfaction. Even, maybe, happiness.

What little things might form what you call a “hat-trick of happiness”? Right now I’m on stage one: starting the day with a really good cup of tea. Then maybe going outside: a walk, listening to birdsong, the wind in the trees... and then, I always try to get a conversation with someone – a neighbour, a family member. Really practise the art of listening.

Are the English any good at joy? No, we’re not known for it! Here, no one’s going to say “fantastic!” when you ask how their holiday was. They’ll say “It was OK, it could have been worse...” It’s what defines us, in a way: this grudging sense that, “Oh well, things aren’t as bad as we thought.” We endure – and that in itself is a good starting point.

Extreme adventures in nature are your thing... how does swimming in a glacial fissure in Iceland or skydiving over the Gold Coast bring a sense of wellbeing? Everyone has their way of testing themselves – being in nature is mine. It’s about confronting things you find difficult. Over time that can give you a sense of achievement and self-worth.

Like strutting your stuff in Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC? It’s quite a daunting prospect – it’s a very popular show here and every move will be forensically dissected. But yes, it’s a challenge, and I love learning a new skill. I’m going to be getting a lot fitter, I hope, over the next few weeks!

How about comedy gigs? I was supposed to be in Australia right now on tour; instead I’ve done two gigs this whole year. But I just did a socially distanced outdoor gig in London and it was so lovely to be on stage again. We’ve tentatively put in dates for December 2021; that’s the earliest we can contemplate.

So in the meantime... I’m working on an idea for a TV program where I follow in the footsteps of great naturalists and explorers like Alfred Russel Wallace. I hope to compile all these drawings I’ve done of moths and butterflies and birds. I’ve also been doing some voiceover work, and taught myself all about studio production – I’ve soundproofed a little booth in the corner of my home studio. We’re all having to adapt.

Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to Happiness (Hachette) is out now