Matt Berry interview: Jon Hamm joins the comedian for the latest series of Channel 4 sitcom Toast of London

As Bafta-winner Matt Berry returns as the monstrously self-deluded thespian in 'Toast of London', he maintains that lots of actors he knows are just like that. James Rampton joins him and co-star Jon Hamm on the set of the cult comedy

Mad world: Jon Hamm and Matt Berry (benmeadowsphotographer.com)

At 8.26am on 1 September this year, the comedian and writer Matt Berry posted a photograph on his Twitter feed. It depicted the eponymous star of the Channel 4 sitcom Toast of London in full costume standing beside none other than Jon Hamm, the much-garlanded lead actor from Mad Men. The caption underneath was short and sweet: "Hamm on Toast".

In a scene from the third series of Toast of London, Steven Toast, one of the world's least celebrated actors, at first huffily claims never to have heard of Hamm, one of the world's most celebrated actors. Once again Toast proves that he has no interest in anyone but himself. The moment encapsulates the joy of Toast: ludicrous, self-absorbed, pompous, hammy, self-deluded, surreal and – crucially – unfailingly funny.

The first two series of the programme, which shows that while Toast dreams of the RSC and Hollywood, he is in fact being offered forgettable cameos in awful plays by his rubbish agent Jane Plough (the wonderful Doon Mackichan), did not set the ratings alight.

However, Toast of London, which portrays the increasingly desperate actor forced to demean himself by doing terrible voiceovers for an irritatingly fashionable producer with the glorious name of Clem Fandango (Shazad Latif), did garner very favourable reviews.

One critic wrote that the programme, which is co-written by Berry and Arthur Mathews (the co-creator of Father Ted), "Just gets funnier and funnier as it goes along… In Toast, they have created a monster, a fabulous thespian one. The whole thing is of great imagination and surreality."

Earlier this year, Berry also won the Bafta award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. To underline the show's following, Berry was delighted to see that Toast's catchphrase – "I can hear you, Clem Fandango" – is now appearing on T-shirts. The actor reflects that, "It's like someone's cult band. They're prepared to wear it on a T-shirt because they're confident that 90 per cent of people won't know what it is."

I am on the set of Toast of London observing filming for the third series. We are at the sort of faceless studio in a nondescript part of the capital where Toast has made countless walk-on appearances in ads for toilet cleaner.

I am watching a typically amusing scene in which Toast is enduring his worst nightmare. He is appearing in a Seventies play about swingers called Man of Sex and having to act not only with his arch-enemy and perpetual nemesis, Ray Purchase (played by Harry Peacock), but also with Ray's albino twin, Bill (also played by Peacock). It's double the trouble for Toast.

In addition to Hamm, the new series also features appearances from Sam Neill, Peter Davison and Brian Blessed. Berry reveals that, "Brian's playing Toast's father – it's obvious because he speaks at the same volume as Toast."

In between scenes, Berry, Peacock and Mathews come over to discuss with me this latest piece of Toast. Peacock, who has teamed a gravity-defying black bouffant hairdo and 'tache combo with a cream polo neck and matching suit, says that the main character in Toast of London is eerily recognisable. "Of course, I know actors like Toast. It's a very familiar world to me. Most actors are bitter, and a lot of the time they can't see how ridiculous they're being."

Peacock, who jokes that "my hair has its own agent – it's represented by Jane Plough", continues: "These actors fool themselves that what they're doing is important. In one episode, they're doing Measure for Measure in a tiny venue and the actors say to one another, 'if we get this play right, we might solve the problems in Syria'."

The actor, who has also just starred in the Seventies-set BBC1 sitcom, The Kennedys, says he thinks it is a good thing the show is taking aim at his own profession. "If you can't take the mickey out of what you do, you shouldn't be doing it. If you have a pop at it every now and then, it keeps everyone in check."

Peacock, who also starred as the psychopathic South African sports teacher Preet in Jack Whitehall's sitcom Bad Education, says, "Actor friends of mine really like Toast of London, although they're often annoyed that I'm in it and they're not – just like Toast!"

Mathews, who has also written the spoof memoir, "Toast on Toast: Cautionary Tales and Candid Advice", agrees, saying with a laugh, "Lots of actors say they know someone like Toast, but don't realise they're actually just like Toast themselves!" What makes Toast so compelling is that, like so many great sitcom characters down the years – David Brent, say, or Alan Partridge – he is fatally deceiving himself about his abilities. "Toast's self-delusion is crucial," comments 41-year-old Berry, who has also starred in House of Fools, The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh.

"Anyone who thinks they deserve to be more respected is always funny. That's key to his character. He'll always be with us. I know actors who say, 'I should have my own series by now'. Of course, I take note of that. Anyone who thinks they should have their own show by rights is automatically ridiculous." The actor adds that, "For me, it was a huge honour to get my own show. I didn't expect it, and I don't think it's my right. If Toast got his own show, he'd think, 'About time! Why didn't it happen 10 years ago?'"

Berry with ‘Toast of London’ co-star Doon Mackichan (benmeadowsphotographer.com)

Mathews, 56, weighs in that another essential ingredient to this comedy is the fact that, "Like Father Ted – who always thought he would end up in Vegas flirting with female novelists – Toast has ambitions that can never be realised.

"Thwarted ambition is always funny. The more arrogant a character is, the greater his fall. It's vital that Toast constantly fails. He couldn't ever be successful."

All the same, the show wouldn't fly if Toast were an irredeemable monster. "Ultimately, he's sympathetic because he's on his own," Berry muses. "Yes, he has ludicrous, grandiose expectations, but we see him constantly fail. Even though he's horrible to everyone, we can't help feeling sorry for him.

"If he didn't make such a fuss about being entitled and complain, 'I should be richer and more famous', it wouldn't work. He elicits empathy because he's always getting beaten up. After all he's been through, you'd have to be very hard-hearted not to feel for him."

Toast of London also works because the retro setting enhances the comedy. It has a deliberately Seventies vibe – check out Ray Purchase's look, which is pure Jason King. "If it were set now, it wouldn't be real," observes the lead actor, also a successful musician whose new album, Matt Berry and the Maypoles Live, is released next week, and whose tour starts next month.

"Nowadays all actors talk about is what they don't eat and what kind of juicers they've got. That wouldn't have been a conversation John Hurt would have had with Tom Baker."

But perhaps the strongest reason behind Toast of London's success is the fact that it is not trying to do anything apart from make us laugh. "It can be funny even if it doesn't make any sense," argues Mathews. "People might say, 'It would be better to make something like Girls which has a lot to say about modern life'.

"But this doesn't have anything to say about anything, and I think that's fine. It would be odd if Toast of London had a message. You wouldn't take it seriously if it tried to be didactic. It's just flights of fancy and odd things happening. It's just knockabout fun – he said in a po-faced manner!" Are there any similarities between Berry and his fictional alter ego? "No, I'm afraid there's nothing at all," Berry says with an almost apologetic smile. "Toast thinks he's pretty important, whereas I realise that what I'm doing is not very significant in the grand scheme of things.

"It's basic clownery. It's good that people are entertained by it, but I'm not saving anyone's life!"

'Toast of London' starts on 18 November at 10.30pm on Channel 4. 'Toast on Toast: Cautionary Tales and Candid Advice' is out now. 'Matt Berry and the Maypoles Live' is released on 20 November. They start a nationwide tour in December