Agatha Christie, calligraphy and cooking like a TV chef: Stephen Fry reveals his tips for dealing with anxiety in isolation

Everyone's favourite stand-in uncle Stephen Fry has popped up to offer us his tips on self-isolation in these difficult times.

Appearing on The Andrew Marr Show this morning in his capacity as president of mental health charity Mind, Fry offered his advice on "how to get through the day".

Marr suggested most of us may have an image of Fry reading Greek mythology and "working his way through Wagner", and asked whether we should follow Voltaire's advice (who doesn't?!) and take this time to "cultivate our gardens".

And Stephen Fry, because Stephen Fry, laughed off the slight jab at his pretentious persona and replied:

Certainly yes, and even if it's just a question of a new pot plants and bulbs if you can, inside.

So what is Stephen Fry reading now that he can't leave the house?

PG Wodehouse and Agatha Christie at the moment. That seems to me somehow to speak to my soul.

Cute! Relatable! But what about when he's not reading? Has he taken up any new hobbies?

I've been online to reacquaint myself with calligraphy. YouTube and various other sources have people who will – for free – teach you how to shape letters and you can slowly get out a pen or a pencil and do things like that.

OMG YES Stephen Fry! We knew he was a millennial at heart! We can only assume he's practising his calligraphy for his bullet journal which he'll be posting on Instagram imminently.

Marr was not vibing the calligraphy chat though, and asked him instead whether he was learning a new language.

Esperanto, I'm thinking of! Just for fun.

Because of course Stephen Fry is using self-isolation to learn a language everyone was obsessed with in the 1970s but absolutely no one uses. We must stan.

Tbf now might be a good time to get back onto that Duolingo train you started last summer when you went on holiday to France and then ditched a week later.

His final tip for combating anxiety? Take things slow.

Even cooking the smallest thing now, I prep it, I put little pots and I do the garlic in one little pot, you know, just like a TV chef! It's preposterous, but it just slows my life down and stops me getting too anxious and too nervous.

Oh Stephen Fry. Never change!