Chelsea Handler insists she is ''much smarter'' than 'Chelsea Lately'.

The 39-year-old comic quit her E! show last year after seven years and believes she deserved better than her previous programme.

She said: ''It was like junior high with people running around, throwing food, making jokes about celebrities that are stupid.

''I'm so much smarter than ['Chelsea Lately'] was and I wanted to be doing a show that was smarter than I was.''

Chelsea also hit out at E! executives, insisting she didn't ''respect'' their opinions in the way she does her new bosses.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, she said during the Code/Media conference in Dana Point, California: ''At E! I did what I wanted and I didn't listen to anybody because I didn't care what they had to say because I didn't respect their opinions.

''At Netflix, I do respect their opinions. It's like going out with a guy you're proud to be seen with.''

As well as her stand-up special, 'Uganda Be Kidding Me Live', Chelsea's Netflix deal also includes a number of docu-comedy specials and a talk show.

She said the latter, which will premiere in 2016, will be a ''healthy mix of everything that goes on around the world.''