Jodie Whittaker reveals ‘price to pay’ in hide and seek for competitive nature

Actress Jodie Whittaker has admitted she used to be so competitive when playing hide and seek that she would “wet myself”.

The Doctor Who star made the admission as she discussed the British sense of humour for Comic Relief.

The charity has released the results of a survey that found nearly four in five (79%) of Britons agree humour is needed now more than ever in the UK, while more than three-quarters (77%) feel that humour helps them cope during difficult times.

More than two-thirds (68%) agreed self-deprecation is a defining part of British humour, while Liverpool was named the UK’s funniest city with almost one in three (30%) saying Scousers have the best sense of humour.

Whittaker, who is taking part in this year’s fundraiser, was asked to name an embarrassing moment.

She said: “I’ve got so many. I’m wading through a list of complete humiliations. I’m able to laugh at it now – which I don’t think I did at the time – I was so competitive with hide and seek that I stayed long enough that I wet myself.

“I definitely stayed the longest and I think I won but there was a price to pay.”

The Censuswide poll saw more than 2,000 nationally representative UK respondents questioned about British humour.

The research was commissioned ahead of Red Nose Day on March 20, to highlight why the power of laughter and how this year’s theme, Take Yourself Funny For Money, is so vital.

Comic Relief co-founder Sir Lenny Henry said: “I think the theme of this year’s campaign is absolutely spot on. We Brits love a bit of self-deprecation and making fun of ourselves, don’t we?

“It’s never about putting yourself down, it’s about bringing people together. Laughing at yourself invites others in, it says, you’re welcome here.

“After decades of doing stand-up, one thing I know for sure is that having a laugh, especially at yourself, is one of the quickest ways to feel connected to a room full of strangers.

“For me, humour is one of our nation’s greatest coping tools. It gets us through the awkward, cringey moments, as well as the really tough stuff.

“And there is a lot of tough stuff right now – hardship, poverty, and people struggling beyond belief just to get by day to day.

“With all the money raised this Red Nose Day to help people eat, sleep and feel safe, we can make sure fewer people suffer hunger, homelessness and harm.”

Whittaker added: “I’ve based my entire personality on self-deprecating humour.

“In life, we don’t necessarily get all things right but I think, as a nation, we’re very, very good at having a sense of humour about ourselves and there’s nothing funnier than your own self, laughing at it.”