FULL DISCLOSURE. I DON’T LIKE STEVE COOGAN.

But when the Guardian asked me to interview the controversial funnyman, I jumped at the chance – and not just because I’ve been replaced by a younger presenter on the BBC’s magazine show This Time, and have time on my hands.

I have arranged to meet Coogan for lunch and let him select the venue. It’s a measure of the man that he chooses a location minutes from his house and over two hours from mine. First impressions are not good. I’m struck by how slight Coogan is. Although we look similar, Coogan cuts an altogether frailer figure – his shoulders noticeably narrower and he stands, what, two inches shorter than me? Then again, that may be his posture, crumpled by years spent hunching over a laptop computer or looking down on people (Coogan is left wing). His head is also wider at the top than mine and his hair isn’t very good.

He is wearing a cream shirt, under a thicker shirt or light jacket – a “shacket”, which I have to concede is a good word. I find myself thinking of other composite clothes –