Twelve Questions: Jeremy Corbett

Jeremy Corbett says becoming a father at an older age is an amazing experience. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Comedian, broadcaster and 7 Days host Jeremy Corbett has written a book about babies. The 50-year-old - who has two daughters including a 4-month-old - says he never worried about being an older father.

1. Isn't the whole 'have baby write a book about it' gig a bit of a cliche?

Yes. And I have a large feminine side. I was approached to do a book and the baby thing just evolved. It's not really straight humour. It's light ent. That's where the market is, light ent. I offended someone once when I was working in radio when they said I was among the top 10 light ent entertainers in the country. Top 10! It would have been all right if she'd capped it at top five ...

2. Did you worry you were too old to be a dad?

Never crossed my mind. I suppose the male biological clock doesn't have an alarm. One day it just stops. I'm fortunate being a bit older. I'm not sitting at home as a 20-something worried because my friends are out having a great time. I know they're not.

3. What has been the biggest surprise about fatherhood?

Just the depth of feeling you have for a child. The biggest downside to that is the worrying that comes with it. I'd never said "I can't wait to have kids". I never thought about having kids. But it's amazing. I love the new eyes you see the world through and the sheer joy in things you would normally take for granted. The excitement about anything. I'll say "why don't you get your hairbands from your room" and Charlie will leap up and go "Yes! Hairbands" and run to her room.

4. What kind of dad did you have growing up?

The same one I have now. Great dad. Smart. Hard working. Funny. Believed that if you read everything you would be smart. He's still working on that theory. He introduced us to the Goons and much other silliness. None of his four sons followed him into medicine. I think he would've liked that. He'd ask us what we wanted to do but I never had a good answer. Probably because "I want to talk crap and have spare time for video games" might not have gone down too well as a life plan back then. I've made it, though.

5. Did your family worry with how you'd cope with failure in your career?

I don't think so. Early on I was a bit of an extrovert and that saw me shamed a few times. I guess they thought I'd be okay if I could handle that sort of self-inflicted embarrassment.

6. Has being tall helped you in life?

The fact that I haven't thought about that probably means the answer is yes. Not on planes, yes at concerts and on TV everyone is the size of your screen.

7. One of your early jobs in radio was with now-Government minister Steven Joyce. What was he like?

Focused. Driven. Messy eater. Good personal hygiene.

8. Why do comedians need scriptwriters for 7 Days?

I need some young vital minds to create winning laughs in my hosting role. Otherwise I'd just do fart noises. The producers found this out in the early episodes.

9. What happened to Jesse Mulligan?

Jesse's great. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat. Very clever man. A great husband, dad and a generous lover (apparently). When Seven Sharp started we sent out a press release from 7 Days saying we hope it turns to crap. He knew that was a joke. But the vitriol he got in the early days of the show from social media ... He read all of the tweets which is an interesting personal flagellation. I think it's hard with three presenters. Getting the chemistry right with two can be difficult.

10. You quit More FM last year after 18 years on the breakfast show. Are you missing it yet?

Not at all. It was time for me to go, so I was ready. When [co-host Kim Adamson] got fired my wife Megan and I sat down and had a discussion about it. I had a two-year contract and after that I wanted to be in a position where I could say yes or no, where we could downgrade our lifestyle if times got tough. Thankfully we haven't had to. I do a bit of corporate work, write a column for the Woman's Weekly, 7 Days of course and a bit of stand-up. I've said I'll never quit that.

11. Does Megan ever get annoyed at the jokes you and the other 7 Days comedians make at her expense?

She's never told me to stop it. When I do stand-up and make jokes about Megan I go "ooo she won't like that one". But she's mostly fine. With 7 Days sometimes the writers will come up with different ideas for Megan jokes. They stepped over the line once and she said "no, I'm not happy with that one". I can't remember what it was. Mostly it's about our age difference and me being a paedophile so it's not too bad.

12. How would you write your own epitaph?

He was all right in certain situations.