No pain, no gain

Writing, for me, has always been the most arduous chore, never a labour of love. It's only when you get to the other end, and something half decent has emerged, that it becomes rewarding.

So said David Renwick, a man who is responsible for some of the most successful British comedy and comedy drama of all time.

Of course, some people are geniuses. You might be a genius, and it all comes very easily - wonderful comedy, to paraphrase David Croft on his friend and co-writer Jeremy Lloyd, simply pouring out of you.

But we would argue Renwick is a...