New book out this autumn

Bill Bailey has written a new memoir, about his life with animals, to be published in October.

The comic has made several documentaries about natures and in 2016 published a guide to British birds. He has also turned his West London home into something of a menagerie, sharing it with  birds, dogs, frogs, chameleons, parrots  and an armadillo.

Bailey writes in the book – My Animals, And Other Animals  – ‘We even had a giant chicken at the house for a while, a huge Malay cockerel, Kid Creole. After a few stand-offs he took against me. He had to go in the end, I was being stalked in my own back garden.’

And in a 2021 interview he said: ‘We’re like a halfway house for rescue animals. It started out with a rabbit and now we’ve got all sorts like lizards and frogs and armadillos and God knows what, which we’ll eventually rehome. 

‘The only thing this place is missing is a turnstile and a gift shop.’

And he said his love of nature ‘can be quite distracting’ when it comes to trying to write comedy.

‘Sometimes as I might end up watching a squirrel scampering along the fence, then a routine that started out being about a trip somewhere might turn into one about the lightning speed of a squirrel,’ he said. 

Publishers Quercus say: ‘As anyone who has ever had a pet knows, animals are a constant source of joy, but they also connect us to the world and to each other, touching on a deeper, older human need for companionship. 

‘Full of the left-field humour, wit and wisdom that has made Bill Bailey such a beloved performer around the world, My Animals, and Other Animals is the story of Bill's life, but more than that, it's the story of how all of our lives are enriched by the animals who accompany us on that journey.’ 

Bailey previously made Walks With My Dog for Channel 4,

The book is out in October and can be ordered now from Amazon, priced £25.

Its impending publication was first spotted by the British Comedy Guide.

• A new industrial printer to create books for blind people is to be called Bill Brailey following a public competition to name it run by the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Published: 21 Mar 2024