Quote of the day

"I’m bored of irony. I got bored of it a long time ago. And also, I rail against acerbic cynicism, because to me it’s actually a very safe place to be. My adage is that the edgiest word to use at the moment isn’t 'fuck', 'cunt', 'piss' or 'shit'. It’s 'love'. That’s what really makes people’s buttocks clench. It’s about being vulnerable. If you are vulnerable, it’s counterintuitive, it ultimately makes you stronger. And that’s a very hard thing to grasp."

Steve Coogan gets all deep, meaningful and touchy-feely with the Guardian's Zoe Williams, who was posing readers' questions to him. I would have liked to ask either whether he feels that Alan has bounced back after a bit of a creative lull (personally, I'd say so - the autobiography and film are two of the best things he's ever done) or whether he feels trapped by having created such a cult character.