Paul Merton in Bath

Known for his intelligent and often surreal humour, Paul Merton’s weekly appearances on BBC1’s Have I Got News For You – as well as Radio 4’s Just A Minute and his travel documentaries – have made him an artfully rebellious fixture in our lives for over 25 years.

In his rich and beautifully ­observed autobiography, Only When I Laugh, Paul takes us on an evocative journey from his working-­class childhood in Fulham to the present day: from his school days and his run-­ins with the nuns, his disastrous first confession, taking acid, leaving home to live in bedsit, his early brushes with the opposite sex and his repeated attempts to break into the world of comedy.

Only When I Laugh is a hugely entertaining and uplifting memoir of Paul’s fascinating life, told with warmth, humour and a big bucket load of wit.