Being an outsider is good for a comedian, whether that means you come from a different country or you were the loner at school. Growing up with an artificial foot made me a little different and gave me a fresh perspective.
David Cameron said that he and his wife would sit in bed every night during the Paralympics watching The Last Leg [Hills's late-night TV show]. To prove it wasn't just lip service, he actually quoted bits of the show.
The Last Leg worked because it was instantly picking up on the way people were feeling. It was quite literally of its time – it wasn't even a few days out of date. We wondered whether the show would work outside the Paralympics, but I think we can do some good work.
I'm very glad sandals have made a comeback. As a kid I couldn't wear flip flops. My mother tried putting Velcro on my prosthetic foot, but it never quite worked. And there was a good 15 years, especially in Australia, when it was: "Oh my God, I can't wear sandals."
Australia is like Britain's slightly cooler younger brother. Britain will always look down on Australia, but also admire us because we listen to better music. Australia will always look up to Britain as the older brother who is looking out for them, but we'll always want to do one better.
"The person on stage is closest to the person I'd like to be in real life." Bono said that, so please excuse me, but I'd love to be that guy who never gets rattled and has always got a smile on his face. It's pretty hard to do that some days.
A lot of disabled people don't consider themselves disabled. They go: "Yeah, I'm missing a foot…" My parents were told early on to treat me like any other kid and to not make concessions. When I fell over, I had to pick myself up.
When everyone is being negative, positivity is sweet rebellion. For me, the idea of celebrating an audience member and turning them into the star of the show is just as edgy as tearing someone down.
Performing won't be a problem for my daughter. My wife's an opera singer and I'm a stand-up comic, so the thing I need to reinforce is that there's a lot more to life than just being up on the stage.
Politeness is really underrated. One of the things I've learned doing this job is that there are a lot of talented people out there, and one of the things that will help you break through is being nice to people.
There's something to be said for the royal family. I did the Royal Variety Performance in 2009 and I was standing next to Lady Gaga, and we both commented on how nervous and excited we were to meet the Queen. When an Aussie comedian and an American – when Lady Gaga! – can feel like that, she must have something.
The Last Leg is on Fridays at 9.30pm on Channel 4
