The Gift: Ben Miller

Interview by Gemma Calvert. Main image © David Reiss.

Actor Ben Miller (pictured below), 57, found fame in BBC One’s The Armstrong and Miller Show in the late noughties. He now splits his time between acting and writing children’s books.

“I realised the gift of escaping the real world through fiction when I was 11 or 12. Both my parents were English teachers and knew all the best books to read. I started reading Charles Dickens when I was 11. Most of it went over my head, but I found the books so funny and accessible. From then on, I read books that were slightly above my pay grade. While the other kids were reading Stig of the Dump, I was ploughing through Oliver Twist, which I really loved because it made me feel like a grown-up. I felt part of a secret club.

I feel lucky because my parents read to me a lot, particularly my dad. Even when I was a teenager, at our home in Nantwich, Cheshire, he read to me in his study or sitting up in bed in my room. I came up with the idea for my first children’s book a decade ago, the year my dad died, and I definitely think there’s a connection there. Since Dad passed away, those childhood memories of us reading together have become even more precious. It was hugely bonding for us and is why now, as a parent myself, I continue to do that with my own children.

Over the years, I’ve written stories for my three children to read. I wrote my first, The Night I Met Father Christmas, for my eldest son [Jackson, 17], in 2014, then others for my middle son Harrison [12] and eightyear- old daughter Lana. When I ran out of children, I wrote one for my dog, Stevie. My joy now comes from reading the stories to children at book festivals and primary schools.

Getting youngsters excited about books is the greatest reward as a children’s author, but I do feel a responsibility to write a story that will have a positive influence, full of adventure, magic and excitement that children, parents and grandparents will want to read. When I get a letter from a parent saying that one of my books has got their child into reading, it feels enormously moving.

Writing children’s fiction has massively improved my life because, rather than being away filming, I spend half the year at home writing, so I see [my wife] Jessica and the children more. That’s wonderful. Writing is less lucrative than acting, but it’s good for my OCD. For me, anxiety comes when I can’t control things. I get stressed when I don’t know what’s going to happen next. While I have no say over whether I get a new role, writing and promoting my books happens under my own steam, which is a calming feeling.

“Getting youngsters excited about books is the greatest reward.”

I’ve had cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in the past to help with my OCD. Rather than trying to figure out through talking therapy what causes it, CBT is a very practical therapy that helps you figure out strategies to use when you’re experiencing extreme OCD behaviours.

Emotionally, I’m more of an open book now than I used to be. Jessica has helped with that. She’s not afraid to speak her truth and that’s encouraged me to do the same. A problem shared is a problem halved and within a marriage, honesty means a lot less sulking because you process difficult emotions quicker. In my 20s and 30s, I could brood for England but as you get older, there’s really no time for that!”

Diary of a Big Bad Wolf, written by Ben Miller and illustrated by Elisa Paganelli, is out now priced £12.99.