Hello and welcome to Meet the Writers.
I'm Georgina Godwin.
My guest today has shaped British comedy for more than five decades from the revolutionary energy of BBC radio in the 70s through not the nine o'clock news,
spitting image and black adder to QI and the Museum of Curiosity.
He also co-created a book that quietly rewired the English language.
The meaning of Liff written with his friend Douglas Adams.
It's a dictionary that gives names to the everyday experiences we recognise but never had words for.
Now, more than 40 years later, it's been refreshed and reissued,
still sharp, still mischievous, still painfully accurate about the human condition.
We're going to talk about the collaborations that changed comedy, The moment everything collapsed,
the rebuilding that followed, and the power of curiosity to pull life back into shape.
John Lloyd, welcome to Meet the Writers.
Thank you for having me, Georgina.
Let's start talking about your childhood in Dover, your family,
and where that humour first became part of your life.
Well, I wasn't in Dover very long, although that is where I was born, yes.
And my granny lived there for a long time.
She lived to 108, would you believe?
Amazing age.
And she was one of my favourite people.