Ben Miller's having the last laugh

The movie, Huge, is a project he has nurtured since writing the story for the stage 15 years ago.

The play version was a hit on the Edinburgh Fringe. It was while touring the country with it afterwards that he met Alexander Armstrong with whom he went on to television fame in The Armstrong and Miller Show.

But nobody would back him at the time to turn it into a film. And it is only now that he has been able to raise the finance of under £1 million to turn it into a movie.

"Somebody decided to throw pennies at us," he said - while admitting that even then, the first few weeks of pre-production were funded by him withdrawing hundreds of pounds worth of cash from his own bank account.

Filming started last week [w/e 20 june] at Elstree Studios and at locations nearby with a cast including Noel Clarke, star of Adulthood and Doctor Who, Thandie Newton, Johnny Harris from RocknRolla, American Bionic Woman Michelle Ryan and Russell Tovey, one of the original History Boys most recently seen in Being Human on BBC3.

Miller, 43, who is directing the film but not appearing, said: "I wasn't in a double act with Alexander when we wrote the play, but I had been in other double acts. The film milks much of those experiences.

"Comedians are the most machiavellian, misanthropic, terribly uncooperative people in real life while being the most lovable, amazing, funny people on stage. The dynamic has always fascinated me."

He admitted that even with Alexander Armstrong, a happily successful partnership, comedy does not always run smoothly.

"We've had terrible arguments. Everything that happens in the film has happened between me and Alexander. All double acts hate each other and then they love each other again. It's like any relationship," Miller said.

The play was co-written with Mojo playwright Jez Butterworth and Simon Godley and was set entirely behind the scenes in London comedy clubs.

It had to be re-written to work on screen. Butterworth was unable to help because he is working on Fair Game, a film with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts.

But Godley, whose work also includes writing for Smith and Jones, reunited wth Miller to work on the venture.

When completed, Ben Miller hopes Huge will give momentum to another, bigger film, a romantic comedy, which he has been working on for the last five years.