David Baddiel at the Princess Pavillion

Written by Verity Borras

David Baddiel is a man with a list of creative pursuits longer than many can dream of; comedian, author, screenwriter, songwriter, and singer to name just a few. Although possibly best known for his stand up and comedy partnership with Frank Skinner, he has also appeared on panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and QI and even found success as a lyricist on the successful football song ‘Three Lions’. The list doesn’t stop there, as Baddiel has written many children’s books including The Parent Agency, and four adult novels along with non-fiction books such as 2021’s Jews Don’t Count. So, when the line-up for Falmouth Book Festival was released, many were excited to find Baddiel as the headliner in support of his new book My Family: The Memoir.

On Thursday 17th October, Baddiel took the stage at the Princess Pavillion to a packed audience. He was joined by fellow author and Falmouth resident Cathy Rentzenbrink, whose new novel Ordinary Time was the subject of her own event on Sunday 20th.

Baddiel opened with an all-too familiar anecdote: his trouble with Cornish transport. Even after spending all day on various delayed or cancelled trains and arriving at the venue just before the event began, Baddiel remained jovial as he recounted his day to a room bursting with laughter at the age-old tale of GWR’s unreliability.

Prompted by Rentzenbrink’s questions, Baddiel told stories from the book which, even if you had already read it, were just as hilarious when he told them as if you had never read them at all. He gave readings from key parts, shedding light on his family’s past and his experience of his mother and father as individuals as well as parents. Baddiel has a knack for storytelling both in writing and in front of a crown, switching the room from howls of laughter to contemplative silence with ease. In both cases, he remained sincere in his tales of those closest to him.

Rentzenbrink questioned Baddiel on his ability to take the story from the stage (his show My Family: Not the Sitcom) to book form in such an effortless fashion. He responded with such enthusiasm about the writing process, stressing that he had more to say following the death of his father in 2022 and after going through his mother’s belongings. Not only this, but he expressed an interest in writing another fiction book for adults as he has focused on non-fiction and children’s literature for quite some time.

At the end of his talk, Baddiel welcomed questions from the audience and spoke with sensitivity to those who told them about their struggles with a parent who has dementia, just as Baddiel had with his father. It says something about how respectfully Baddiel conducted himself at the event that people felt safe enough to speak about such difficult topics to him in front of an audience.

Outside the auditorium, My Family: The Memoir was for sale at the Falmouth Bookseller stand, prompting many purchases from the audience. Baddiel gladly signed copies for the long queue of people excited to meet and have their book signed by the comedian.