Latest news with #HelenLederer
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Noel Edmonds is pushed to the limit as New Zealand gets a soaking
9pm, ITV1'I think I might have found my paradise,' says Noel Edmonds, gazing out across the majestic New Zealand landscape as this barmy series continues. In truth, this is an episode that pushes Noel's Zen calmness to the limit. Rain has kept visitors away from the bar-restaurant and a sharp frost could destroy the vineyard. It's a good job he has his voluminous collection of motivational catchphrases ('When it rains, look for the rainbows') to make sense of it all. Phil Harrison 8pm, Channel 4The squirrelling urge starts early: Shane has been collecting records, jewellery, bikes, lighters and bits of old china since he was 12. Consequently, he's now renting an incredible six garages to keep on top of it. Can Ronnie and Katie help him reduce his load? Ali Catterall 8pm, Channel 5More seaside fun for Calman as she takes a jaunty trip to Cromer on the north Norfolk coast. She quickly gets the obligatory crab-tasting ticked off before heading to the annual Vintage Sixties festival. She also bumps into comic Helen Lederer, who is revisiting fondly remembered family holidays. PH 9pm, Sky WitnessWay back in the first season of this long-running drama, righteous firefighter Cruz (Joe Miñoso) let a criminal gang leader perish in a blaze (to be fair, he did feel pretty bad about it). Now, that crook's dodgy cousin is threatening to reveal the truth to Cruz's bosses … unless he agrees to help with an audacious heist. Graeme Virtue 9.30pm, BBC OneSian Gibson's 90s-set sitcom opens with a nightmarish prediction of death, disaster and dodgy singing. It's Alison's 18th birthday, and Diane is suffering from stress after Sandy's disappearance. How will she get all her egg and cress sandwiches done? Alexi Duggins 10pm, Channel 4This slightly cringe reality show continues to offer a mixture of hokey intimacy coaching and out-and-out raunch. The series climaxes this week with a sexy pool party designed partly to help Jamie and Sharmayne loosen up. As they get up close and personal with Jen and Marc, a big decision approaches. PH
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Helen Lederer says 'I don't know what that means' and rules out retirement
Helen Lederer says 'I don't know what that means' and rules out retirement The 70-year-old comedian has joined the cast of Fawlty Towers – The Play in London's West End Helen Lederer (Image: ITV ) Helen Lederer has no plans to retire. The 70-year-old comedian has joined the cast of Fawlty Towers – The Play in London's West End and explained that she intends to carry on working for years to come. In an interview with the Metro newspaper, Helen said: "I don't know what that means. In Fawlty Towers, my co-star Paul Nicholas is marginally older than me, and he's amazing. If you've got it in the brain, and in the body, then you just do it." Helen is playing the demanding hotel guest Mrs Richards in the theatre production based on John Cleese's iconic sitcom and describes it as "liberating" to play a character who is vastly different from her. She said: "It's actually liberating to be such a cow because I've spent all my professional life trying to please people and beg for jobs, with all the obsequiousness that goes with showbiz." The Absolutely Fabulous star's attempts to land her own sitcom were never successful and she says that the frustration was at the heart of her memoir Not That I'm Bitter, which was published last year. Article continues below Lederer explained: "I put everything in because I'm that kind of person. The book is a window into how I navigated that world and my own family history. "Hopefully, it's funny, but it's funny because it's truthful. When people just list their successes, it's not that funny. I think you've got to have the dark stuff to connect." Cleese has often bemoaned the current state of British comedy but Helen has a far more optimistic outlook. She said: "I think new comedy is very exciting and I embrace how comedy moves and reflects the society we're in now. I'm not a person who despairs." Helen also believes that Fawlty Towers has stood the test of time, even though it aired back in the 1970s. The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant explained: "What's fascinating about it now is that I don't think it has aged and that's so unique when you think about a piece of comedy. Article continues below "It's about class and pretension, and all the stuff that still makes British people laugh – because we're so class aware, even though we say we're not." Helen appeared on the BBC series Pilgrimage earlier this year and explained how she bonded with The Wanted singer Jay McGuiness and The Traitors winner Harry Clark despite their differing life experiences. She said: "You can forget about age and background. The liberation of connecting with other people and finding things in common, is irreplaceable."
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Actress Helen Lederer needed a loan when the tax was due for her Celebrity Big Brother stint
Stand-up comedian, writer and actress Helen Lederer, 70, has enjoyed roles in TV shows such Girls On Top and Absolutely Fabulous. In 2015 her comic novel Losing It was nominated for the P. G. Wodehouse Comedy Literary Award, while in 2018 she launched Comedy Women In Print to recognise witty women writers, both published and unpublished. Since 2004 she's been married to GP Chris Browne and they live in south-east London. She has a daughter, Hannah, 35, from her first marriage to former Observer newspaper editor, Roger Alton. Her memoir, Not That I'm Bitter, is now out in paperback. Here she tells Richard Barber about her weakness for black coats, her gratitude to dishwasher tablets and why she won't buy any more gadgets. What did your parents teach you about money? My older sister, Janet, and I were given pocket money when we were young but, when we reached our teens we each got a monthly clothes allowance of 10 shillings. I was particularly keen on small pretend Pan Am shoulder bags and Mary Quant tights. I also ran errands and washed the car for half-a-crown. Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? I've never been in a position when I didn't have a roof over my head. My mother, Jeanne, worked at the Board of Trade but gave it up when she got married – you had to in those days – and my father, Peter, was a civil engineer, born in Czechoslovakia but raised in England from the beginning of the war. He died suddenly of a heart attack at 52, but my mother would never have seen me in the gutter. I've borrowed money in my time, and sold things. The life of a freelance is always rather chancy, but I've never had to sleep outside Debenhams under canvas. Have you ever been paid silly money? In 1995 I was offered £70,000 to star in a TV advert for Finish dishwasher tablets. It was a job that took a day and a half – one day to say my lines, then a half-day to show my hand inserting the tablets. This was 30 years ago, so it was an astonishing amount to be paid. What was the best year of your financial life? Well, 1995 was pretty good and 2017 wasn't too bad – I was invited into the Celebrity Big Brother house for which I was paid a six-figure sum. I spent some of it on a set of wicker garden furniture on Chelsea's King's Road. The trouble was I got through all the money and had to take out a loan the following year to pay my tax bill. The most expensive thing you bought for fun? Those days are well gone but I did buy a posh coat from DKNY in Bond Street with the money from the TV ad. I still wear it. I also bought a Max Mara black coat, stupidly similar to the DKNY one. All my clothes are black. What has been your biggest money mistake? So many. There was a stage when retail therapy and anxiety were somehow bound up together. For a long time I thought that if I bought something nice it would make me feel better. But it never did. I have a weakness for gadgets, which is stupid because I can never make them work. I once bought an expensive juicer which involved preparation and chopping and then having to get rid of all the gunge afterwards. I more or less fell at the first hurdle. Best money decision you have made? Using the small legacy my father left me when I was 21, which I put towards a flat in Finsbury Park [in North London]. It was modest but got my foot on the bottom rung of the property ladder. What property do you now own? A house in south-east London which I bought with my husband on equity release and which is far too large for just the two of us. My mother died three weeks before I married for a second time in 2004. The combination of her legacy, the sale of the house I then owned and Chris's house made it all possible. If you can use your property to manage the vagaries of infrequent fees, why not let it work for you? Will you pass your money down or spend it all? Chris and I intend pooling our money and dividing it between his children and my daughter Hannah. Do you have a pension? Yes, a modest one set up for me by an accountant when I was earning pretty well in the 80s and 90s and from which I derive a little money each month. If you were Chancellor what would you do? Exactly what seems to be happening – a rethink on the removal of the winter fuel allowance. It hit one of the most vulnerable sectors of society and didn't raise a huge amount of money. No one thinks less of you for changing your mind, and there must be other ways of raising income. Like taxing the wealthy a little more stringently, for example. What is your number one financial priority? I'm certainly no businesswoman so I can't say I ever think about a financial priority. I like being able to buy a round – I hate meanness. But writing my memoir is the best thing I've ever done: it sold well and gave me a kind of confidence. It's earned back my advance – now the jury is out to see what royalties might come my way. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to three months' solid work – and regular wages – in Fawlty Towers.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Friends of comedy giant Rik Mayall enjoy festival in his memory
A comedy festival in memory of Rik Mayall has been proclaimed a huge success with friends of the actor and writer saying he would have loved died 11 years ago and more than 200 performances have been taking place this week across 30 different venues in his hometown of Droitwich, in Worcestershire as part of a celebration of the Davies, Helen Lederer and Shaparak Khorsandi have taken part with Mayall's friend and collaborator Ben Elton the festival's patron."Of course he would love it what's not to love?" said friend Lederer. "He would say bring it on." "I know he would have loved it, because he got some stinky reviews - he carried on, it's a very competitive world and he believed in what he was doing and he's no different to anyone else."Earlier this week, Lederer took part in an intimate and no-holds-barred evening at a sold-out Norbury Theatre, where Mayall first performed as a child. She said the festival was "eight days of amazing comedy events, a mix and match of free events".Speaking afterwards, she described her favourite memories of Mayall, who she said was always encouraging and "accepting of everyone"."He loved what he did and he loved what other people did, and apart from being the most charismatic performer ever," she have said they would like to make it an annual event and local traders said the town had been extremely Fellows, landlady of the Old Cock Inn which sits opposite the theatre, has been hosting events. "It's been amazing. Absolutely fantastic, " she said."You just couldn't imagine I don't think the impact on Droitwich that's it's had."She said so much had been going on and that she had enjoyed hosting acts."We've just been rammed all day - Saturday was just a stupidly insane day busy-wise and I think the whole town was just buzzing with it and even for a Monday night we had two nearly sell-out shows here and we've got sell out shows all week which is great."It's not just for local people, there's people down from Scotland, from Dorset staying all week or the weekend." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Scottish Sun
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
80s icon reveals big mistake she made on set of classic Scots comedy show
'I can still smell Edinburgh, the breweries, it brings on a mix of terror and familiarity' COMIC legend Helen Lederer may have got her first big TV break in Scotland's iconic Naked Video series - but reveals she hit a bum note with her Scots co-stars. The veteran funnywoman has released a searingly honest memoir, Not That I'm Bitter, which charts her rise to fame and the following five decades in the industry. 4 Helen has written her memoir called Not That I'm Bitter. 4 Helen in Absolutely Fabulous opposite Joanna Lumley. 4 Helen taking part in the recent BBC series Pilgrimage. But a false start at BBC Scotland in Glasgow gave her a life lesson in being humble. Helen, 70, admits: 'I didn't quite get the hang of it.' The comedian lived in the Scots city for the taping of the first two series of the groundbreaking show, which starred the likes of Gregor Fisher, Tony Roper and Elaine C Smith. But for series three, an agent had advised Helen to fly in just to film her characters, including the famous boozy singleton Drunk Sloane. And the result was a frosty reception from her co-stars who felt the actress had 'declared herself too grand to be in the team'. Recalling the error, Helen says: 'That was when I had been advised to just turn up and record my monologues for the last lot of series. 'Oh my god, you look back, you go, 'Oh that was a mistake'. But then, you know, you do what you do, we all live to tell the tale. And you have to look back and just not be too hard on yourself.' Helen was born in Wales and brought up in south-east London where she was told at school she'd be famous one day. She went on to study at drama school and try her hand in both community theatre and stand-up before heading for the comedy Mecca, the Edinburgh Festival. And she was in good company, appearing in the same year as the likes of Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lenny Henry, who were coming on to the scene. Helen said: 'I can still smell Edinburgh, the breweries, it brings on a mix of terror and familiarity. 'It takes me right back to a really stinging review, when I was up at the Gilded Balloon. You think 'it can't get worse than this', and then it does. 'On the other hand, I have had some great festivals there. I just think it's exciting, it's unique. I was up there last year to see my friend John Hegley, just to support people that you know. 'I love the individual poet scene and the comedian scene. There's nothing to replace it, really.' She adds: 'And in those days, you just had to be there. I remember being in the Assembly Rooms bar, you'd be having a drink and everyone would be looking at the door to see who would come in. 'You'd would have one eye on the person you were talking to, and the other eye to see who was around 'Like The Flying Pickets, they were a really cool political, agitprop group. Everything was vibrant and we were making points. I don't know what the points were, but we were busy making them.' Helen started landing some major TV roles after her stint at the festival in the early 80s taking one-off parts in now cult shows such as The Young Ones and Happy Families, then her long-running role in Naked Video. And later she also had a regular slot alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley in the brilliant Absolutely Fabulous as magazine employee Catriona. But while she was working in the public eye, it wasn't easy being a female comic in the 80s and 90s, with fewer women in leading roles than men. The performer said: 'When we join something in the moment, we don't have any control over that era, as a human being you can't affect society's values that much, so I didn't go around going, 'Oh this is unfair, I must wave a banner and change the system'. 'It was actually much more naive, I just wanted to do comedy. 'Now as an older woman I think about what motivated us.' And in the spirit of looking back, now also seemed like the ideal time to pen her 'alarmingly honest' memoir, which was published last month. Helen, married to GP Chris Browne and mum to Hannah Lederer-Alton, said: 'A lot of people did it in lockdown, I've been wanting to do it for a while but I couldn't quite find the right voice. 'It just felt too worthy, everything felt too earnest, just listing your so-called achievements. My main goal is, and continues to be, to make a reader laugh when they open the book and to do that someone like myself has to be honest, otherwise people smell a rat. 'Also there was a part of me that wanted to remind myself, let alone anyone else, that I actually had been a stand-up comedian in the 80s because there weren't that many women writing and doing their own material in that era. 'I think maybe it was to convince myself that I actually had had a life, maybe it came from complete insecurity, who knows, but I just thought I'm just going to go there and see what happens.' Now, as a result of the autobiography being released, the comic is getting to travel the UK for literary events, including the Boswell Book Festival, held at Dumfries House, this month. And she is loving her new audience. She said: 'I enjoy doing the book festivals, it's taken me all this time, 40 years, to actually love going into a room, whether it's 20 people or 200 people, and just doing something different each time. 'I love the Q&A section, to just hear what people think and the discussion is just amazing. 'It can go into lots of different, quite serious areas, which actually leads to a bit of an analysis about how we can be with each other or modern comedy - there's always loads to talk about.' And despite her tricky time with Naked Video, Helen can't wait to come back to Glasgow - and looks back at her time on the show as an amazing opportunity. She says: 'In the book I do talk very honestly, I hope, about my time there and the people. 'The show had this kind of fast-paced joy, it was a very unpretentious sketch show at a time where there was a lot of political correctness. 'What an opportunity, I absolutely loved it.' And there was clearly no long lasting hard-feelings between the funny woman and her Naked Video co-stars. Helen added: 'Gregor sold me his house in London when he moved back to Scotland. 'At one point it even looked like they were going to do our Naked Video characters Bernard and Miriam as a spin-off series, but it was actually Rab C Nesbitt that grew out of that show and became a phenomenal hit. 'But Gregor and I have stayed mates for years.' Helen Lederer appears at Boswell Book Festival on May 10, for tickets and more information, visit
