Dead Famous by Ben Elton, is published by Bantam on Wednesday, November 7, price £16.99.

For the last few years, Ben Elton hasn't been out much. Instead the former angry young man of British comedy has been spending his days and nights, up to his ears in babies and books, and he's exhausted.

He wrote his latest book in two months in Australia, where they have a home near to his in-laws, who were able to have a good fix of their grandchildren.

The hit TV show Celebrity Big Brother sparked the idea for his latest novel, Dead Famous, a dark but witty story set in a reality TV show in which one of the contestants is murdered.

"Big Brother is interesting nonsense and I got quite gripped,'' he reveals.

But Elton would never dream of taking part in any form of reality TV himself.

"I would never do that in a million years because I couldn't think of wanting to spend a week in a house with a bunch of people I didn't know being filmed. They (the celebrities) did it for charity and all power to them, but I wouldn't.''

It is evident that fame sits uneasily on his shoulders and he is frustrated that he has never been able to cast off the "smug git in the shiny suit'' image of his early days of comedy.

"I enjoy some aspects of celebrity quite a lot,'' he admits. "I've never queue-jumped in my life but I know that I can get a table in a restaurant more easily and that's quite nice.

"But of course this is all history because I've got children and I don't go out any more. Soph and I used to eat out three or four times a week. That's how we had our tea. We were lucky, we had money, we had time and no kids. We went to restaurants.

But he has also fallen victim to the darker side of fame. Some years ago Elton was the victim of a female stalker, an issue upon which he won't dwell.

He has been even more aware of the hazards of fame since having children.