The Office and Extras gave you this reputation as the inventor of 'cringe comedy'. Do you worry that you're seen as a bit blokey? Most women I know find it tough to watch The Office...

"Yeah, I think most comedy is for men. Women tend to prefer a bit more, I dunno, depth of emotion. But I think The Office definitely has that. It also has women characters who are far more rounded and real. In a lot of sitcoms, women characters tend to be just props. But the excruciating social faux-pas, people acting stupid... That's more for men than women, yeah.

"In The Office, we portray men as boys and women as adults - because it's true. Men don't grow up. They really don't."

Yeah, it's that permanent mental age of about 15/16...

"Exactly. Women don't sit around at home, thinking, 'If I ever got mugged, right, I'd punch one in the throat, then... Might learn karate because then I could take down three at once and be on the news.' Women would just carry an alarm or something... They're practical."

Youve mentioned Springsteen... You always include a song link on your blog postings. Is there still a frustrated musician in there somewhere?

"Oh, more than that. Nothing moves me like music. I don't understand it. There's nothing that can get me like a certain chord. There's a chord in Vaughn Williams' 'Five Variants Of Dives and Lazarus' - I can't listen to it when I'm away from home, because it just hits me too hard.

"And it's not just missing England or whatever. It just makes me feel sick, it's so beautiful. It does what all art should do - it moves you.

"Art is man's greatest achievement. Some would say god's greatest, but... y'know..."

The Invention Of Lying is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.