David Walliams may not be great at spreading fertiliser, but he is good at tossing about some joy.
The much-loved comedian and author is not a gardener but he appreciated the beauty of Floriade on Tuesday, ahead of his show at the Royal Theatre in Canberra on Thursday night
"The colours are gorgeous," he said, taking his own snaps of the flower beds, shimmying in the spring sunshine.
"I have taken my mum to the Chelsea Flower Show in London many times. She's more into than I am. But I have really enjoyed it actually ... because you go away thinking, 'Oh, I need a Japanese garden' but then you get back home and it's like, 'Hmmm, a bit impractical'.
"But, no, it's beautiful, and I'm really glad I've had the opportunity to promote it," he added archly, with a laugh.
His one-man show, An Audience with David Walliams, opened in Sydney on the weekend, with Australian fans the first in the world to see it.
Canberra is next to experience his cheeky, candid live stage show, with Walliams revealing anecdotes and stories from across his life and career, characters from Little Britain making an appearance and lots of wit, charm and, maybe a bit of mayhem, all being part of an evening with the 53-year-old.
"I think everyone had a really good time and that's what I wanted - for them to leave on a high," he said of the Sydney shows.
"I want to tell all my funny stories, but there's a couple of bits that are a bit more personal. I think you need to do that too. If people want to spend two hours with you, they want to come away with a bit of a sense of you."
Also a best-selling children's author, Walliams is incorporating a day-time book tour in Australia for children - but not Canberra. Maybe next time.
He's just released his first murder mystery novel for kids, Super Sleuth, adding to the 60 million titles he's already sold, from The Boy in The Dress to Gangsta Granny to Astrochimp, his first graphic novel.
His night-time shows, though, are better suited for adults and older teenagers, and he's glad to see the TikTok generation enjoying his comedy. His collaborations with Matt Lucas - Little Britain and Come Fly with Me - have found new fans on YouTube and streaming services.
"Come Fly with Me is on Apple and in the UK it's often the number one show, which is quite amazing. No.1 Come Fly with Me and No.2 House of Dragon. It's pretty crazy," he said.
Much of their humour is iconic, even entering the lexicon - including Little Britain's Carol Beer's "Computer says no" catchphrase. Walliams says he weirdly discovered it was an every-day phrase even in Iceland.
"You don't sort of dwell on it but it's certainly pleasing that things are remembered and enjoyed and being discovered by a new generation," he said.
And there may be at least one more collaboration between Walliams and Matt Lucas - another show is in the works.
"We're working on a couple of things at the moment, so hopefully they all come to fruition so we can come out to Australia and tour because we came out in 2007 and played Canberra then, actually," he said.
He also hopes while he's in Canberra to do some mountain biking, visit the arboretum and see the Gauguin exhibition at the National Gallery.
"But I've also been asked to speak at Parliament as well. They want me to sing first and then they've asked me to speak," he said, smiling.
Ok, we did fall for that.
- HarperCollins is giving away five copies of David Walliams' newest kids' book, Super Sleuth. Just email megan.doherty@canberratimes.com.au before 8pm Wednesday, September 11 and tell us which David Walliams book is your favourite and why? Please include your name, age and address so we can mail out the book if you win.
- David Walliams is appearing at the Royal Theatre in Canberra at 7.30pm on Thursday.
