Time’s up!
Donald J Makin says:
There’s no one to host the Oscars. If they asked would you do it?
Guardian contributor
The real question is probably, "if they knew I existed, would they ask me?"
Rickety_Cricket asks:
What was your favourite task to perform on Taskmaster?
And DaleMiniCooper adds:
Can I piggyback and ask for biggest Taskmaster regret?
Guardian contributor
DTMinter asks:
If you had to make a terrible choice and work only in music, standup or drama, which would you choose? Also: winning an Oscar or Crystal Palace FC winning the Premier League....?
Guardian contributor
I'd like to win an oscar for producing a documentary on Crystal Palace winning the Premier League
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archdeacon asks:
How much fun was Task Master to be in?
Guardian contributor
It was hell. There is no show more real on television. You genuinely don't know what is in store for you at any point. I was just constantly out of my depth.
telfordspa says:
Hi Ben, I was up against you for a Picture book award in 2016. It can be a real gruelling industry, but also one that is full of fun and wonderment. How did you find the whole experience and if you have any future plans in this area? (FWIW It was the Junior design awards best emerging author - I wrote I Have an Orange Juicy Drink - I read your book and felt really annoyed to be up against such stiff competition.)
Guardian contributor
Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't win either, so onwards and upwards for both of us!
Let's Groove
4legsgood asks:
You have many strings to your bow and have achieved success in a number of highly competitive fields, but is there anything that you’re really rubbish at that you’d really like to be able to master?
Guardian contributor
I'd love to be able to dance in a half decent fashion. Me and my wife are learning a dance we saw on YouTube to Earth Wind & Fire's Let's Groove. She's effortless and I'm so not. I just want to be able to look like I'm not trying. But I really am.
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Blah Blah asks:
How do you feel about being called Ben Baby Smith as opposed to Ben Bailey Smith?
Guardian contributor
reverendbow asks:
Have you found anyone to make you a cup of proper tea?
Guardian contributor
Spoiler alert: I don't really drink tea. I just knew it was something the whole nation was really fascistic about. And I don't fuck with coffee at all.
Hip-hop in the UK
MasterOfHisOwnDomain asks:
In regards to UK hip-hop, is there anyone you came up with who you felt would become a big start, but it never worked out for them? And is there anyone who is around now who you feel worthy of more exposure?
I’m a big fan of the artists on High Focus, and I feel like if you’d have continued down the hip-hop path, then maybe you’d have found a home on that label, would you agree?
And Millingabout adds:
For my part I think its absolutely mad that Jehst never really blew. Drifter and Falling down are both masterpieces, and I loved Dragon.
Guardian contributor
Good question. There were certain people I knew were irrepressible. I discovered a rapper called Lowkey and I just knew he would be a star because of his intensity. He had so much fire behind the eyes and in his belly, I just knew it wasn't going to be extinguished any time soon. And he was 16 so I also knew he had time.
On the whole, I just never fully believed the type of music any of us were making had the potential to make stars out of anyone, sadly. Maybe Klashnekoff ... he seemed to have something that bridged the gap between old UK rap and the new eave. On the whole we were still making an English version of an American art form; we hadn't evolved. Grime, the new wave of British rap, has evolved into something 100% British, which is so much more interesting, so much more exciting.
That said, I had my own superstars when I was young: Chester P, Skinnyman, Blak Twang, Fallacy, Skeme, Sway. And I thought my own group Poisonous Poets contained the most skilful rappers in the UK. But that's just me.
MrWhisky asks:
What music do your kids listen to?
Guardian contributor
They are about three years into an ongoing Taylor Swift obsession, but it seems to be gradually petering out now. But their main thing is soundtracks: they watch movies and become so emotionally tied to the music that that's all they want. My Apple music is full of The Greatest Showman, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again, Mary Poppins Returns. Spoiler surprise: I have two girls. I force them to listen to Paul Simon, The Lemonheads, Bob Marley and bits of De La Soul, all of which have their moments ... but probably the only album we all share is Two Door Cinema Club's Tourist History. We all love it.
Dealing with the strains of touring
MrDancingGecco says:
I listened to the interview you did with Stuart Goldsmith for his ComComPod podcast – well worth a google if you haven’t heard it – which has prompted my question. You discuss with Stuart how the loneliness you felt as a touring standup comedian had a detrimental effect on your mental health. Did you seek professional help to get over the issues? How has that helped you going forward?
Guardian contributor
I would say if you are able to, via the NHS or privately, you should always find a professional to speak to if you have the chance. A lot of the time it's just voicing the things that you haven't been able to articulate, which has a profoundly positive effect on your state of mind. It's good to remember that everybody has mental health, just like we have physical health; it's just where it is on any given day. If it's continually low, then it probably needs looking at.
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maschruhm asks:
Who would win in a fight between hedgehogs and tortoises?
Guardian contributor
A tough one. I feel strongly that both animals are inherently cowards and that while one clearly has a fantastic weapon and one has a fantastic defence, neither would even humour the idea of a contest. Which is probably for the best anyway, as it would end in a stalemate.
unklefu asks:
Hey Doc. Been listening to you since the Citizen Smith mixtapes. Thank you for all your music! Man can never steal ma thunder / whenever i appear ya shudder / people stare at with either fear o wonder cos they hear ma hunger.
Who are your three favourite rappers of all time? And does it make you angry that a lot of popular rap is such garbage when you take your craft and your wordplay so seriously?
Guardian contributor
Thank you very much. Very impressed by the quotation. I don't agree that a lot of popular rap is garbage. I think popular rap is always formed for whoever is the audience at the time, and rap is a youth culture so it's probably just not for us. As for top three rappers of all time, that is an impossible question that I am never going to be able to answer.
RiichardC asks:
The first book my little boy and girl (twins) learned off by heart was I Am Bear because you got them to rap to it! They still adore it. Any new books on the horizon they can look forward to?
Guardian contributor
YES. The sequel, Bear Moves, is released next month. I also have a series of new books coming out for little ones next year, which use rhyme to encourage them to read.
Working with Ricky Gervais
garythenotrashcougar asks:
What was it like doing the video for ‘Equality Street’ with Ricky Gervais? You looked like you had an absolute blast. How many takes were involved, I’m guessing hundreds?
Guardian contributor
I did have a very good time, but believe it or not it was only a couple of takes. Ricky never likes to overegg the pudding and I 100% agree. Nothing is that funny after you've done it too many times. We'd just dick around, go to the monitor, watch it back and if we all laughed, that was it.
southlundon says:
My family’s all time favourite CBeebies story time episode is of you doing My Big Shouting Day. We quote it regularly (especially my 10 year old) and I could watch it personally over and over - it’s just fantastic! I just wanted to say thanks and have you recorded or considered recording any more TV for young children?
And count_duckula is a fan too:
Same! The delivery of the story is just spot-on. Our 2yo is mystified as to why his dad and I find it quite so funny. “I have a hurting foot!”
Guardian contributor
Thank you. It's also in my top five children's picture books. I recently read it at a school and got more laughter than most of my standup gigs.
I'm still writing for small children, and am in the process of developing a new series for CBeebies, about a teddy who never listens. I find a great deal of freedom creating for children, because they're ... just a bit more grateful. And open-minded.
And here’s an iPlayer link to that story – for now or for bedtime.
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Ben or Doc? On having two work names
ZongoTheSneaky asks:
Hi Ben, I was interested to hear you on the Comedian’s Comedian, saying that you wished you hadn’t kept the “Doc Brown” name when you moved into standup.
Given that your profile as “Ben” is a lot higher now, do you think that, if you go back to stand up, you are now well enough known to do so under your own name, and keep “Doc” for your music?
Guardian contributor
I really don't even know anymore. I guess Doc is kind of associated with comedy and rap so I may as well keep it going as long as people are interested. I think maybe the Rebrand ship has sailed.
DWFan1 asks:
What’s your favourite Pixar film?
Guardian contributor
I actually loved Coco. Any film that's made me really feel something or reassess something regarding emotions or deep rooted feelings shoots right up the standings for me. Coco had me in tears, wondering whether or not my life had been worthwhile.
I also like Finding Nemo for the line "I'm gonna touch the butt."
Swings and roundabouts
And Ccfc11 follows up with:
Do you keep up with politics much? What is your take on the current situation with regards to Brexit?
Guardian contributor
I stand firmly and unquestionably alongside Danny Dyer. IT'S ALL A MAD RIDDLE
That Dyer take in full:
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Ccfc11 asks:
Do you still keep up with the UK rap/grime/drill scene much? If so do you have any favourite artists or songs? If not what other kinds of music do you listen to now? What did you think of the recent uproar over drill music and it’s link to knife crime – how true is that in your opinion?
Guardian contributor
Yeah I keep up with as much as I can. I have plenty of young actually fashionable friends who tell me what to listen to. Right now I have Ghetts Ghetto Gospel The New Testament on constant revolution- I'm slightly obsessed tbh- followed closely by Lost & Found by Jorja Smith. I also check for Dave, Giggs, Ocean Wisdom and Loyle Carner. Huge fan of Loyle.
lewisdenson asks:
Which is your favourite book by your sister? [The novelist Zadie Smith]
Guardian contributor
On Beauty. She was in the zone on that one, at the height of her powers. For truly great artists, I find that debuts are always blood and guts and passion, sophomores are always too self conscious. Third time's a charm.
Richard Smart asks:
Are there any plans for more Strange Hill? My son and I discovered this gem last year and thinks it’s brilliant, great for father-son bonding – oh and hello to Jason Isaacs.
Guardian contributor
I wish! It was such an expensive show to make the Beeb weren't too over enthusiastic about doing more... HTJI
Here we go
Ben is with us at the Guardian, and answering your questions.
Ben Bailey Smith webchat – post your questions now
If you’re not familiar with the name Ben Bailey Smith, you’ll like recognise the moniker of his on-stage alter ego, Doc Brown.
The younger brother of the novelist Zadie Smith, Ben emerged as rapper Doc Brown in the early 00s and went on to perform alongside Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse as part of Mark Ronson’s live show. In the middle of the decade, he stumbled into comedy after working on a Lenny Henry series for Radio 4. He quickly gained acclaim for his standup sets – also performed under his stage name – which played the bluster of his hip-hop years for laughs. Among his fans was Ricky Gervais, who invited Smith on tour as his warm-up act and incorporated him into the Office spin-off film David Brent: Life on the Road.
In the years since, Ben has added “actor” to his packed CV, appearing in Law & Order: UK and Doctor Who, and becoming the first black actor to appear in Midsomer Murders, a fact that he says he is “weirdly proud of”. He has also written the children’s book I Am Bear with the illustrator Sav Akyüz and in 2017 returned to music with his album Stemma. He is now appearing alongside Sheridan Smith in ITV drama Cleaning Up, which tells the story of an office cleaner who begins insider trading.
Ben will be joining us for a webchat on Tuesday 22 January at 1pm GMT. Post your questions for him in the comments section below.
That's my time y'all. Thanks for all your questions, I'm off to poach some eggs and learn some new moves. Big ups, and down with the etc...