The writer and TV star says he is overwhelmed by emotion as he talks about his dad’s condition and the sudden death of his mother two years ago.
The show My Family: Not The Sitcom gives a heartbreaking and humorous account of Baddiel’s experience and delivers some no-holds-barred anecdotes about his colourful upbringing.
“Parts of it are very emotional. It’s very real, everything in it is true and the emotions that I go through during the show I try and feel as much as possible. It has led to me crying on stage.
“I don’t do that every night, but it has happened. The show is primarily and absolutely funny, but it does have moments where it gets sad. That’s fine, I’m happy to let that happen.”
David’s father Colin, 82, has Pick’s disease, a type of dementia induced by frontal lobe atrophy. Symptoms can include swearing, sexual disinhibition and extreme rudeness. He is confined to his house, with 24-hour live-in care.
David, 52, says writing the show has helped him navigate emotions surrounding his father’s dementia and the devastating loss of his mother.
Sarah Fabian Baddiel died from pneumonia in 2014. Baddiel’s show lays bare tales of her uninhibited sex life and an affair.
“(Writing) it was therapeutic, definitely, and it is therapeutic performing it,” said David.
What's hot
“My mum died very suddenly in 2014 and I think part of what the show is doing is bringing her back to life for a while, which perhaps is what I need to feel with her being gone.
“I’m very open about my dad’s dementia which I think is a massive issue for lots of people.
“The show also deals with lots of family weirdness and family secrets and talks about them openly.”
The nature of the disease means David has not told his dad about the stand-up show, which currently showing at the Vaudeville Theatre, London.
“I can do it but it, unfortunately, won’t be held in his memory for longer than a couple of minutes.
"He won’t really understand what I’m talking about because he only faintly grasps who I am, really.”
David said his two children Dolly, 15, and Ezra, 11, have also been affected by their grandfather’s dementia.
Don’t miss
“In the course of time that they’ve been growing up my dad gradually got worse. They, I think, found that difficult.
"They do see my dad but he doesn’t know who they are and so they accept that.”
Becoming a dad inspired David to write children’s books.
He has published three books and is currently writing the movie screenplay for The Parent Agency, which has been commissioned by Fox2000.
His next book AniMalcolm is out September 29, published by HarperCollins. He has also written four other novels.
David has teamed up with Virgin Trains to write a children’s book for passengers. The Girl Who Had Never Been On A Train can be downloaded from Virgin’s BEAM app.
It was penned throughout the summer on David’s trips between Edinburgh and London, taking inspiration from fellow travelers.
David has talked openly about his battle with clinical depression during his 30s. He was prescribed antidepressants and had a decade of therapy.
David is characteristically honest when asked if he is now completely free of depression.
“No, but I’m very very much better. I was in therapy and I did 10 years and I found all sorts of ways of dealing with it.”
Talking about his fondness for making light of dark times, he adds: “One of the things you do as a comedian is say, ‘I’m messed up and this is why and it’s funny'.
"You don’t have to be successful at everything you do. It’s funnier if you’re not. It’s a way of expressing the things that are frail about you in a way that doesn’t feel bad.
“Laughing about some of the c**pier parts of life is a way through all that stuff.”
His frank omission comes after he revealed how he ended up in bed with two Spice Girls.
For tickets visit davidbaddiel.com or call Or call 0330 333 4814