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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
Scottish Sun
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Inside the moment Sir Alex Ferguson phoned an impersonator to tell him EXACTLY what he thought of his impression of him
It wasn't the reaction you might have expected FERGIE REACTION Inside the moment Sir Alex Ferguson phoned an impersonator to tell him EXACTLY what he thought of his impression of him Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IF you make a living doing impersonations, naturally some will be more daunting than others. But Sir Alex Ferguson? Perhaps the most daunting of them all... Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the most recognisable faces - and voices - in football Credit: Action Images - Reuters 5 Jonathan Watson impersonated Sir Alex regularly throughout the years Credit: BBC 5 It was one of his most common sketches Credit: Handout Many a footballer has been on the end of the hairdryer treatment from the Manchester United legend. So imagine if you tried to make a mockery of him on television? Well as it turns out, he took it surprisingly well. Long before his Two Doors Down fame, Jonathan Watson was a regular on our TV screens with Naked Video and Only an Excuse. It was the latter programme that made him a fixture for footie fans, as he did impersonation of famous faces within the Scottish game and beyond. Sir Alex was one of his most frequent skits, and the United icon took notice. So much so that he called up Watson one day after seeing his impression of him, after obtaining his number from former Rangers manager Walter Smith. But it WASN'T to have a go at him. Watson recalled on the Some Laugh podcast: "Years and years ago he actually phoned me. "I came back from rehearsals one day and I had the old fashioned answer machine, the wee light was going so there was a message there. The Coffee Club assess who could be Rangers' next manager as doubts emerge over Daniel Farke's future at Leeds "So I put it on and it played and this voice goes 'Hello John it's Sir Alex Ferguson here, hope you don't mind me calling you. I got your number from Walter and I wonder if you could do me a wee favour and give me a call either at home or at Carrington Training Ground. It would be lovely to hear from you.'" Watson was shocked to say the least. He said: "I'm staring at this thing going, 'What?!' "I couldn't believe it. "Sir Alex used to say 'You canny do me, Ryan Giggs can do me but you canny'. "But he was great. He really was. "One of my favourite sketches was with Kirsty Wark, where she was interviewing me as Sir Alex releasing a book." 5 Watson spoke about his experience with Sir Alex on the Some Laugh podcast Credit: SOME LAUGH PODCAST 5 A still from Watson's favourite Sir Alex skit, with broadcaster Kirsty Wark Credit: BBC Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
