With a third series of their sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look starting on BBC2 on Thursday 11 June, David Mitchell (left) and Robert Webb settle down to talk comedy, movies and men in tights… This will be the third series of your sketch show. Is it getting easier or harder? Mitchell: "The key thing is to break the back of the writing early so that, when you’re getting close to shooting, you’re able to pick from strength." Webb: "So that you’re horribly spoiled for choice…" Mitchell: "And you’re able to throw out loads." Do you enjoy taking the sketch show on tour? Mitchell: "Going on tour is a great way of collecting hotel shampoo. If I’d been organised on the last tour, I wouldn’t have needed to buy any shampoo since. But I wasn’t organised, I have had to, and I’m bitter." What sketch shows did you grow up watching? Webb: "A Bit of Fry and Laurie was a TV highlight, and I saw a few repeats of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. David was a big fan of them. I’m just old enough to remember bits of Not the Nine O’Clock News, but I was usually sent to bed just as it came on." You’ve written sketches for other comedians, including Armstrong and Miller. Do you prefer writing for yourselves? Mitchell: "Writing for other people is fundamentally less satisfying. We always wanted to perform our own stuff. But it was great fun working on The Armstrong and Miller Show." Webb: "They would have these writers’ meetings once a week, and you knew you were going to turn up and spend three hours laughing." Robert, what feedback have you had from your brilliant Flashdance routine for Comic Relief? Webb: "There’s been a lot of chat about my legs, which are apparently better than average. I think that’s the tights, which are very flattering. That’s my fashion tip – wear more tights! It was nice to do something look-at-me and show-offy for once." Are you big film fans? Webb: "I went to see the new Star Trek film recently. It’s fantastic." Mitchell: "I loved the Bourne films. I also loved, in a posher way, The Lives of Others. But I’ve not been to the cinema much. There’s more guarantee of quality from the popcorn than the film." Webb: "I like to eat my way through a large box of popcorn until my lips go weird from the salt. That’s part of the experience." Do you spend much time watching comedy on television? Mitchell: "It’s a joy that has been spoiled by doing it professionally. It feels like work." Webb: "The comedy that feels not like work is the stuff we don’t make. Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe was great fun, and I also enjoyed Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle." Mitchell: "They’re so different in style from our shows that we’re able to watch them as punters." Finally, could you imagine the Peep Show boys ever getting together with the girls from Pulling? Webb: A sort of cross-media bunfight? Mitchell: "They’re certainly shows in a simil
