Molly Wilkinson surprised mum Hilary Whitehall by admitting she thought there was a man in the family funnier than her comedian brother Jack Whitehall on the latest episode of the Mail's 'The Apple & The Tree' podcast.

The podcast, hosted by the Reverend Richard Coles, pits parents against their adult children to ask questions about their shared family history they've always wanted answered.

Explaining how theatrical agent Michael had tried to dissuade his children from pursuing acting, Hilary remembered that it wasn't clear at the time which of the Whitehall clan would steal the limelight.

'My youngest, Barnaby Whitehall – as a child, when there was a camera around, would be up on a chair declaiming: I want to do a speech!', Hiliary said.

'You couldn't pay him to do that now – although he is very good at public speaking and a very, very funny man.'

Molly replied: 'He's arguably funnier than Jack. People always say to me, I'd love to meet your brother, he's so hilarious. Of course, they mean my older brother.

'But my younger brother is honestly one of the funniest, most hilarious people I know.

'There's quite a lot of space in the Whitehall family taken up by Michael and Jack that he never really gets to have a moment. But get him to a pub on his own, and he's hilarious.'

Molly and Barnaby, unlike their parents and older sibling, have chosen lives outside the public eye.