Latest news with #HelenLederer
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- 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Literary Award, while in 2018 she launched Comedy Women In Print to recognise witty women writers, both published and unpublished.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
2 days ago
- 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
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: a lovely series about a bunch of celebrities taking a pilgrimage
9pm, BBC Two The return of the lovely series in which a group of likable celebrities with different faiths embark on a pilgrimage and share profound moments. This time it's a 300km hike through the Austrian and Swiss Alps, starting with the Salt Road. It's a particularly sentimental route for comedian Helen Lederer, whose Czech Jewish father took her skiing there. The group also includes Catholic Traitors star Harry Clark and Muslim journalist Nelufar Hedayat. Hollie Richardson 7pm, BBC One Paris may be terribly romantic, but by the 1960s the Seine had become so polluted with sewage it was declared 'biologically dead'. Ade Adepitan follows efforts to completely detoxify it ahead of the Olympics (before going for a quick dip himself), while in California Liz Bonnin witnesses the largest dam removal in US history. Ali Catterall 7pm, U&Dave In 2021, the government raised the maximum sentencing limit for animal cruelty from six months to five years. You may wonder whether that is severe enough after this painstaking but upsetting investigation, in which the RSPCA's special operations unit and Essex police uncover a dogfighting ring based in Chigwell. Graeme Virtue 8pm, ITV1 A woman is discovered dead in her flat and it looks like a break-in gone wrong, but if that's the case, why are her phone and laptop the only valuable items missing? As DSI Roy Grace (John Simm) discovers more about the victim, further suspects and leads emerge, all pointing towards one devastating conclusion. Ellen E Jones 9pm, BBC One This Liverpool-set crime drama has been carried by a magnetic central performance from the charismatic James Nelson-Joyce. There's an unexpected personal curveball for Michael as Diana (Hannah Onslow) drops a bombshell about her past, while back in gangland, trouble is brewing from an unexpected source. Phil Harrison 9pm, Channel 4 Sun, sea and sonatas – these are the three crucial elements for an enjoyable weekend away with the travelling piano at Brighton Station. Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Jon Batiste hope to discover ivory-tinkling talent in a street cleaner and a model railway enthusiast. That is, if they can be heard over the incessant sound of gulls. EEJ The King Tide, out now, Paramount+ Like The Wicker Man from the islanders' point of view, plus a dash of Celtic myth, Christian Sparkes's dark fable is a slow-burning treat. A baby washes up in a boat after a storm, and is adopted by Grace (Lara Jean Chorostecki) and Bobby (Clayne Crawford), the mayor of an isolated isle dependent on fishing. Ten years later, the girl, Isla (Alix West Lefler), turns out to have healing powers, as well as the ability to attract large shoals of fish. But when she loses her magic, the community starts to panic about the end of their traditional way of life and demand Isla saves them. A cautionary tale about what happens when a child's welfare conflicts with the common good. Simon Wardell Oliver!, 3.40pm, Channel 4 Who will buy this wonderful movie? Lionel Bart's musical version of the Charles Dickens novel sidelines a lot of the novel's darkness and social edge, but when you've got fantastic, earwormy tunes such as Food, Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two it's hard not to prioritise pleasure. Carol Reed's colourful adaptation is well served by Ron Moody's sneaky Fagin and a menacing Oliver Reed as Sikes, while Jack Wild's spirited Dodger makes up for a relatively insipid Oliver – a fault of Dickens, not angelic youngster Mark Lester. SW
BBC News
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Seven celebrities take a pilgrimage through the Austrian and Swiss Alps for brand new BBC Two and iPlayer series
With Easter approaching, the annual Pilgrimage series is returning to BBC Two and iPlayer next month, as seven well known personalities, of differing faiths and beliefs, tackle a challenging 300km pilgrimage, through the majestic and awe-inspiring Austrian and Swiss Alps. Across 3 x 60 minute episodes, the brand new, Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps, will follow celebrity pilgrims, as they take a personal journey along a revived medieval Catholic route, travelling from just outside Innsbruck on the Austrian Camino and finishing near Lake Zurich in Switzerland. Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps will be part of the BBC's forthcoming Faith and Hope Season, details of which will be announced soon. Taking part in this physical and spiritual journey are; agnostic Jay McGuiness, singer from boy band, The Wanted; actor and comedy legend Helen Lederer who is from a mixed heritage background, with a culturally Jewish father and a Protestant mother; practising Catholic, Harry Clark - The Traitors (series two) winner; standup comedian Daliso Chaponda, who grew up in a Christian family but is exploring the Baha'i faith; presenter Jeff Brazier, who went to Catholic schools but now is spiritual and meditates as part of his everyday life; retired Paralympian and practising Christian Stef Reid and journalist Nelufar Hedayat, who refers to herself as a modern Muslim. The seven pilgrims begin their Camino in the picturesque village of Inzing, 17km outside the Tyrolean capital. Over twelve days, they will face strenuous climbs, high into the Alps, even reaching the snow line. They will follow the ancient path west across the Arlberg pass, the highest point on the Camino, and continue to their final destination in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, Einsiedeln Abbey. Originally inspired over a thousand years ago by followers of the famous hermit St Meinrad, the abbey attracts almost a million pilgrims and visitors every year. They are drawn by its venerated Black Madonna, its unique history and the Benedictine monks who live and worship there. Armed with a backpack each, the pilgrims will stay in local guest houses, as well as sharing rooms in a convent and pilgrim hostels. Revealing their thoughts on their faith and why they wanted to take part in this Pilgrimage, the celebrity pilgrims commented: Harry Clark 24, Slough 'I've always had faith. I was baptized and all my family are Catholic. I was an altar server in church and played the violin in church with my sister, so I was always around faith. I'm so excited to go on this Pilgrimage, to meet the other pilgrims and find out about their religions, what they believe in and why, and if they don't believe, why? Because I've questioned who God is my whole life, not in a bad way, but as in no one knows who God is.' Helen Lederer 70, London 'The concept of a Pilgrimage is probably one of endurance, challenge, pain, anxiety, difficulties. So obviously I was drawn to it! I think it's an opportunity that probably won't present itself to me again. My faith is that I believe in God but I'm not sure what the God is. My father was born into a Jewish family. Although my Czechoslovakian grandparents were cultural Jews, they never talked about faith. My mother came from the Isle of Wight, and I'm told I was christened. Being a mix means that you have respect for both things and there is a particular quality I'm learning and feeling more as I get even older, that you can't shed your background. So, with my mixed background, with all the pain of my family that isn't mine, but theirs, I want to be able to turn it into something that will give me a bit of peace.' Jay McGuiness 34, Los Angeles, California (originally London, via Nottinghamshire) 'I agreed to go on this Pilgrimage because it just sounded the perfect thing to do. I was born and raised in Nottinghamshire to an Irish Catholic family and we'd go to our Catholic school and sing church songs and on Sunday, we'd all go and sit next to each other on the pew. But as time's gone on, I think that the rule book that comes with being a Catholic, is too judgmental for where I am. I think the closest I can get to what I am, would be considered agnostic. I don't believe there is a God, and I don't believe there isn't. I think it's impossible for us to know, and maybe that's what being a human is; we are stuck here in this mortal realm, and you only find out once you go beyond the curtain. But I would love to know a little bit more about what I am. So, I'm looking forward to that. Who knows what I'll find on this Pilgrimage.' Jeff Brazier 45, London 'The best way to describe my faith is spiritual. I would say the universe is what guides me, the universe just chucks whatever I need at me, whenever I need it. To answer the question – what is God - is a really tough one, but for me right now, I would say God is love; so God can be within all of us. I also love learning from people and on our Pilgrimage, there is every chance that there might be some sort of transformation in terms of my beliefs, my views. So, I see it as a wonderful opportunity to just explore some themes and some conversations that I probably don't have very often.' Daliso Chaponda 45, London 'I think I will struggle a lot with the physical part of the Pilgrimage. I mostly live a very sedentary life. Typing is the most physical I get. I am expecting to be in a lot of pain, very tired, and possibly the slowest person in the group. I believe in God, and I believe there are many paths to worship God, so I am hoping this Pilgrimage will help me find some definition. I grew up in 14 different countries, and my family was religious, but I don't know yet which is the perfect path for me. I feel weird labeling myself with a particular faith because I feel like I'm no faith and all faiths. I know that I'm close to Baha'i, I know I'm close to Quaker, I know I'm close to Unitarian, but I'm not anything yet. Maybe by the end of the Pilgrimage I'll be able to say, 'this is what I am'.' Stef Reid 40, Loughborough 'I would describe myself as a Christian and for me, the fundamental thing is to ask if we believe that Jesus was the son of God, and are we trying to live like him and make the world a better place? And if so, awesome. I have a strong faith, but it doesn't mean that life doesn't get really hard, and I've had a lot of questions to answer recently. I need time to think but I've just not given myself the time, even though I know it's so important. I have never done a Pilgrimage and it's scary because thoughts are going to come up, but they have to come up, otherwise we're never going to move on and think about newer or better things.' Nelufar Hedayat 37, London (originally Kabul, Afghanistan) 'I was born in Kabul, in Afghanistan. When I was a young refugee in Britain, my faith took a firm back seat as that was part of my past and why I was here, so I didn't want anything to do with it. Those feelings lasted for quite a while, until I was at secondary school when I was with other young Muslims, and I realised I could be both British and Muslim. As a modern Muslim, I'm trying to find a way through the faith that I was born into, and even now, it's strained at the very best. I get really annoyed when people think that faith is a box ticking exercise. Faith is an experience and it's one you can be drawn to and drawn away from. So, I want to bring a sense of openness to this Pilgrimage. I want to bring myself, but I'm angry with God and I want to find a connection to God that isn't me feeling anger or disillusionment and that's what I'm most looking forward to. Daisy Scalchi, BBC's Head of Commissioning, Religion and Ethics, says: 'The cast of this year's Pilgrimage embraced the challenge of the journey - and then some. They each laid their souls bare as they got to know one another, trekking together through stunning, and often challenging, landscapes. I hope viewers will connect with their honesty and genuine curiosity about what guides us all through life.' Caroline Matthews, Executive Producer and CEO, CTVC says: 'Pilgrimage always delivers something new and unexpected! Against the epic backdrop of the Alps, our incredible celebrity pilgrims take a deep dive into faith, whilst pondering life's big questions. Cue tears, laughter, struggles and an outdoor bathtub with an Austrian hostel owner…' Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps (3 x 60 minutes) is a CTVC production and has been commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The series is Executive Produced by CTVC's Caroline Matthews and Michele Kurland and Series Produced by Toni Williamson. The Commissioning Editor is Daisy Scalchi, Head of Commissioning, Religion and Ethics. GD
