Clary pens his autobiography

Julian Clary is writing his autobiography, to be called A Young Man's Passage.

The comic says work is "coming along nicely" for the book to be published next year.

It will cover his life from being expelled from an abbey school in Ealing, West London, his various relationships and his progress through the comedy scene.

The 44-year-old told The Age newspaper in Melbourne, where he is attending the comedy festival, that the writing process is uncovering mixed memories.

He said: "I was reading an old diary and an old boyfriend had said to me in 1993, 'You are just a transvestite who hasn't come to terms with it yet.' So I had a delayed sense of outrage and I phoned him up and said, 'What did you mean in 1993?' "

"Then there was a guy I had been seeing very on and off for seven years. He would disappear for six months to a year. He told me he was a professional basketball player.

"Turns out he was an illegal Albanian immigrant and he was part of this gang that targeted people. Tie people to the bed, do unspeakable things and get their PIN number. The gang was caught and they found my phone number in Emmanuel's pocket."

And of his schooldays, he said: "I was ostracised but I turned it round to be a kind of celebrity status."

Clary was targeted by bullies, and remembered: "Someone set fire to me on the bus once. It sounds funny. Saint Joan-like, isn't it?"

But he admits he doesn't like to talk about those experiences to journalists because "sometimes in print it looks like 'woe is me'".

The Age interview

Published: 20 Mar 2004