Stephen Mangan had to relax ‘terrified’ Pointless contestants during co-host stint-Gabriel Tate-Entertainment – Metro

Stephen Mangan is currently raising money of the National Brain Appeal (Picture: GETTY)

The Episodes star, 54, on flatulence, fundraising for the National Brain Appeal and the ‘other’ Stephen Mangan.

Congratulations on doing the London Marathon last month!

Thanks – it was horrific. The first half was sort of Hollywood, waving to cheering crowds, but I got to about 18 miles and hit the infamous ‘wall’.

I did it in 1999 and this time I thought, ‘I feel physically exactly the same, surely I can prove that I haven’t aged.’ Well, newsflash! I’m doing it again in April because I can’t leave it there – I have to do better.

How many people shouted ‘Dan!’, your character in I’m Alan Partridge, at you on the way round?

Maybe half a dozen. With so many people going past, I don’t think people have the time to work out who you are. I probably got 10% ‘Dan!’, 90% ‘Stephen!’, which is better than a normal day.

What is the idea behind the National Brain Appeal’s exhibition?

There are 720 pieces of original art on sale for £85 each. You have no idea who has created them – they’re anonymous. Some celebrities have contributed, some professionals artists, some amateurs.

You buy the artwork because you love it. You might own a piece by Andrew Marr or Jeremy Deller or my sister, Anita.

Stephen completed the London Marathon again this year, and he’s not finished yet (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Is any of it yours?

No, everyone can relax about that. I don’t think anyone owns an original Stephen Mangan – they were all burned many years ago by a mob that came from the village with pitchforks.

There is actually a very well-known Scottish artist called Stephen Mangan who does a lot of horse-racing scenes and I must be the bane of his life.

I walked past an exhibition of his in Soho once and thought I should go in but the woman on the door went, ‘Oh, my God, it’s you…’ If anyone’s buying stuff and thinks, ‘Wow, Steven Mangan’s actually good at art’, that’s probably him.

Why is the exhibition important to you?

I got involved because my father died of a brain tumour and I lost a cousin as well, who was only 45.

The work done at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery deals with all brain conditions – so tumours but also epilepsy, strokes, dementia, Parkinson’s and so on.

I wanted to help because I’ve seen first-hand how awful it is to lose somebody to brain cancer.

Your last children’s book was called The Fart That Changed The World. Have you ever had a bout of flatulence that changed the course of history?

Ha ha! Imagine sitting on the Graham Norton Show sofa in 25 years and saying, ‘Let me take you back to that fart where it all began…’ In the story, it was a king who was so ill at ease with himself and his wife that he couldn’t admit that he farted.

It’s a good lesson in how owning up early to your mistakes might save you a whole heap of trouble. I love the idea of something really daft and innocuous causing history to shift. We all have those sliding-doors moments.

Stephen went into an audition on top form, and it won him the love of his life, wife Louise Delamare (Picture: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Which were yours?

Going into the Green Wing audition and being on really good form changed the course of my life in many ways.

Also, meeting somebody at a random do who turned out to be the person I married and had three children with – if I’d decided I couldn’t be bothered to go out that evening, my whole life would have been different.

Did you enjoy co-hosting Pointless recently?

It’s really good fun but more complicated than it looks. Alexander Armstrong is an old friend, so I enjoyed trying to make him laugh and trying to relax the contestants – a lot of them are terrified, it’s a big moment for them.

I’d be up for doing it again, definitely.

Stephen enjoyed teaming up with old friend Alexander Armstrong to co-host Pointless (Picture: Can Nguyen/REX/Shutterstock)

Was it more nerve-racking than hosting Have I Got News For You?

No, there’s something about hearing that music, waiting to start your monologue down the camera. You think, ‘Oh my God, I’ve watched this show for decades and I can’t believe I’m the one about to do it’.

More: Sixty Seconds

What piece of work are you most proud of?

Going to Broadway with a play that would go on to win a Tony, Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests.

For this play set in East Grinstead to become a massive Broadway hit felt great and it was a special group of actors, including my old mate Paul Ritter.

On telly, the ridiculousness of Green Wing, the comedy and drama in Episodes, the more dramatic end of the scale in The Split – they all stand up.

Anything you’d scrub from the CV?

I did a few strange adverts back in the day, advertising chewing gum in Estonia and holidays in Spain.

In those days, they’d often have a beautiful model with a ‘characterful’ man providing the comedy. So that was me!

The National Brain Appeal’s A Letter In Mind – A Sense Of Movement previews online and in Gallery Different, 14 Percy Street, London W1T 1DR, today at 11am, with online sales from 11am tomorrow online. The exhibition runs until Sunday.

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