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Saturday, 24 May 2008

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Catherine Tate: Being funny gave me confidence as a kid

Dr Who star realised she was good at making people laugh

Catherine Tate used humour to cover up her insecurities

Comedy star Catherine Tate became the class clown at school to deal with her insecurities. Growing up, she was a worrier who did not like her fiery hair and was self-conscious and unrelaxed in company.

‘I used to go red when anybody spoke to me. It’s awful because you absolutely cannot control it,’ she says.

'Because I was a shy and awkward child I used humour to deflect attention.

'It was a controlling mechanism. Because I could use it to control my image.'

Catherine, 40, who now stars in Dr Who, admits she latched onto the fact she could make people laugh.

‘I subconsciously made myself become the funny one so that would be my label rather than the ginger one or the red-faced one,’ she tells Weekend. 'I built my personality around it.'

Claudia Tanner