Regular listeners of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour may remember that back in 2013, the programme put together their first ever Power List – the 100 most powerful women in the UK today. The list included everyone from politicians to entertainers, entrepreneurs to heads of charitable organizations: what they all had in common was a profound influence on the world we currently live in. As supporters of women in comedy and beyond, this was great news for us – we even went along to the Power List’s broadcast and reported back. The Woman’s Hour list got us thinking about the world of female comedy, and some of the fantastic women who are shaping the way we laugh (and who we laugh at!) Readers might remember that we put together our own Power List last year, with the women that we felt were making waves in the world of comedy. With Woman’s Hour about to announce their second Power List, we felt it was only right to have another go too.
However, we’re running things a little differently this year: with so many incredible women shaping the way we watch, view and make comedy, it was too difficult to put together a top ten. As our dedicated readers, we’d like to ask you to vote for the women that you think are most responsible for creating the funny stuff that’s grabbing the public consciousness. Of course, even narrowing it down to twenty was tough; but here are the women we feel are the most influential in the world of comedy – from the comics to the agents, the actors to the writers, and everyone in between.
We hope you enjoy our picks, and don’t forget to vote for who you’d like to see on our Comedy Power List!
1. Zawe Ashton (Actress)
Perhaps best known for her turn as Vod in the BAFTA-nominated 'Fresh Meat', Zawe has arguably emerged from a cast of six talented comic actors (including current King of Comedy Jack Whitehall) as the show’s breakthrough character, with critics from all sides hailing her as one to watch. Aged only 29, her career to date has spanned theatre and film as well as television. Zawe is also a playwright, and is currently under commission to both the Bush Theatre and Clean Break Theatre Company.
2. Jo Brand (Actress, Comedian and Writer)
Jo Brand has shaped the face of female comedy since she first began her career in the mid-1980s. Her credits over the last three decades encompass too many critically-acclaimed works to mention, but we can’t miss a nod to her outing in 'Getting On' – which she both starred in and co-wrote – which earned her a BAFTA for Best TV Comedy Actress in 2011. She also made a special appearance at our BFF Launch Event, helping us to support women in comedy through Funny Women. With a range of future projects lined up, we think she’ll continue to be a big name for some time yet.
3. Katy Brand (Actress, Comedian and Writer)
Katy Brand is well known for her work as an actress and comedian, appearing on some of Britain’s best loved comedies and drama series. She’s currently making headlines for very different reasons however – her first book, ‘Brenda Monk Is Funny’, is going to be self-published as an e-book and funded through crowd-sourcing. We’re intrigued to see how Katy might change the face of the ever-growing wave comedy books of all shapes and sizes – watch this space!
4. Kathy Burke (Comedian, Writer and Director)
Her career in theatre, film and television as an actress is hugely respected (and has earned her six BAFTA nominations), and, since 2001, her work as a theatre director has been easily as successful. However, Kathy Burke’s comedy credits have also become legendary, with the creation of characters such as Perry of 'Kevin and Perry' and even guest host appearances on panel shows like ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ and ‘Have I Got News For You’.
5. Bridget Christie (Comedian)
We’ve been fans of Bridget since she made the Funny Women Awards final back in 2004. The last 12 months, however, have seen her go stratospheric – her BBC Radio 4 show ‘Bridget Christie Minds The Gap’ premiered in March 2013, and her upcoming book ‘A Bic For Her’ is due to hit shelves in 2015. Most importantly though, her show won the Fosters Comedy Award at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, before hitting the Soho Theatre for three sell-out runs.
6. Vivienne Clore (Agent)
Arguably one of the UK’s most prolific entertainment agents, Vivienne’s clients include Bridget Christie, Jo Brand, Sandi Toksvig and Susan Calman, along with other high-profile clients in both the comedy world and beyond. All of the aforementioned are top comedy movers and shakers in their own rights, but we felt the woman behind them deserved a special mention.
7. Olivia Colman (Actress)
Olivia’s comedy roles have included ‘Twenty Twelve’, ‘Green Wing’, ‘Rev’, ‘Beautiful People’ and ‘Peep Show’, as well as recurring spots alongside the latter’s co-stars in ‘That Mitchell and Webb Look’. Olivia is frequently as praised for her dramatic roles as her comedic ones – proven more than ever in the last year, which has seen her scoop not one, but two BAFTAs for ‘Accused’ and ‘Twenty Twelve’ respectively.
8. Dawn French (Actress, Comedian and Writer)
One half of perhaps the most famous female duo ever to come out of British comedy, Dawn French has seven BAFTA nominations under her belt. Her acting and writing careers to date both speak for themselves, but with her first ever foray into stand up due to tour in June 2014, it’s clear her legendary status in the world of comedy won’t be diminishing anytime soon.
9. Rebecca Front (Actress)
Rebecca’s appearances in political comedy encompass shows like ‘The Day Today’, ‘On The Hour’ and more recently, 'The Thick of It' – yet her career in comedy hasn’t become niche, and has spanned shows of all genres, including animation in ‘Monkey Dust’, sketch in ‘Big Train’ and traditional sitcom in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’, as well as guest spots on a multitude of comedy panel shows. This trajectory shows no signs of slowing, with roles in new series of ‘Outnumbered’, ‘Up the Women’ and Sky Living comedy ‘The Spa’ all coming up. Not to mention a ‘Psychobitches’.
10. Miranda Hart (Actress, Comedian and Writer)
Miranda is arguably one of the UK’s most-loved comedy personalities – her self-titled sitcom has earnt her four BAFTA nominations, three Royal Television Society Awards and four British Comedy Awards. Appearances in ‘Call the Midwife’ have shown her ability to balance comedy and drama, she released an autobiography in 2012, and she even co-presented segments of the Diamond Jubilee Concert. Her 2014 arena tour is well on its way to selling out, and takes her back to stand up, where she began her comedy career way back in 2002.
11. Jessica Hynes (Actress and Writer)
Jessica is well-known for co-creating and starring in ‘Spaced’ with Simon Pegg, but her career since then has hardly missed a beat. Her acting career has been as prolific in theatre and film as it has on TV, and she’s been nominated for theatre-based Tony and Olivier Awards alongside BAFTA nods. She has currently just reprised the role of Siobhan Sharpe (last seen in ‘2012’) alongside Hugh Bonneville in ‘W1A’.
12. Lucy Lumsden (Head of Comedy, Sky)
In 2009, Lucy was named Sky’s first Head of Comedy after 11 successful years at the BBC – as Head of Comedy Commissioning there she brought us shows like ‘The Mighty Boosh’, ‘Nighty Night’ and ‘Gavin and Stacey’ to name but a few. Before Lucy took up the helm, Sky had little track record of producing great comedy; 18 months later, they’d won Channel of the Year at the Broadcasting Awards. Shows like ‘Moone Boy’, ‘A Touch of Cloth’, ‘Hunderby’, and ‘Mount Pleasant’ are just some of Lucy’s successes at Sky – as a producer, she’s arguably shaping and commissioning the comedy we see, love and create.
13. Sarah Millican (Comedian)
Sarah made last year’s Woman’s Hour Power List, which was no surprise as she’s one of the most well-known comedy names out there. She’s rung up countless appearances on panel shows, along with Live at the Apollo and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, and finished a second series of The Sarah Millican Show last year. She’s also performed to well over 200,000 people to date – with two national tours already under her belt – and is currently touring 2013 show ‘Homebird’.
14. Myfanwy Moore (Controller of UK Comedy Production, BBC)
Back in February, it was announced that Myfanwy would be returning to the BBC as controller of UK comedy production, having previously worked as editor of new comedy from 1997-2005, bringing us shows like ‘Little Britain’ and ‘That Mitchell and Webb Situation’. In the hiatus she was responsible for the scripted comedy output at ITV, and has also previously served as director of programmes at Paramount Comedy. Having brought us a wealth of programmes across different genres and indeed channels, she’s indisputably influenced the comedy we’ve seen over the last two decades.
15. Caitlin Moran (Writer)
Although Caitlin Moran started her career as a journalist at the tender age of 16, her 2011 best-seller ‘How To Be A Woman’ gained her a flurry of media attention – with it’s hybrid of feminist themes, autobiography and comedy musings, the book quickly sold well over half a million copies. Her follow-up, ‘Moranthology’, hit shelves in 2012, and ‘How To Build A Girl’ is expected later next year. And on top of that, her sitcom pilot ‘Raised By Wolves’ (co-written with her sister Caroline) premiered pilot in December 2013, and has recently been granted a full series by Channel 4.
16. Caroline Raphael (Commissioning Editor for Comedy and Fiction, BBC Radio 4)
Caroline is responsible for all comedy and entertainment output at BBC Radio 4, along with Book at Bedtime and Short Stories. She is also Commissioning Editor for Radio 4 Extra. Some of our favourite Radio 4 moments in the last year have included turns from female groups like the Boom Jennies on hit show ‘Sketchorama’, along with Bridget Christie’s first radio show, ‘Bridget Christie Minds The Gap’ – we’re glad that funny women are getting the representation on the airwaves that they deserve!
17. Katherine Ryan (Comedian, Writer and Actress)
You may have recently seen that Katherine Ryan is about to bring her second solo-stand up show, ‘Glam Role Model’, to the Soho Theatre later this month. Since winning the Funny Women Awards back in 2008, her career has been constantly on the up – shattering the male-heavy quota on panel shows with appearances on ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’, ‘Mock the Week’, ‘8 out of 10 Cats’ and ‘Q.I.’, guest-starring on sitcoms like ‘Campus’, ‘Episodes’ and ‘Badults’, and even finding time to host the 2013 Funny Women Awards final. Phew!
18. Jennifer Saunders (Comedian, Writer and Actress)
We’ve mentioned Dawn French already, but our Power List wouldn’t feel complete without an appearance from her equally-talented partner. Jennifer Saunders’ career has scooped her almost every major award you can think of, and has given us some legendary comedy performances (including Eddie in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’). Her writing credits encompass some of British comedy’s most notable credits (Ab Fab, ‘Comic Strip Presents’ and ‘Jam & Jerusalem’ to name a few), as well as her long-awaited autobiography, ‘Bonkers: My Life In Laughs’, which flew off shelves in October 2013.
19. Isy Suttie (Comedian, Actress, Writer and Musician)
Isy Suttie is perhaps best-known for her role as Dobby in ‘Peep Show’, but is also a well-established comic in her own right, and has arguably become one of the most well-known musical comedians on the circuit today. Her TV and film credits grow more extensive by the day, and she’s toured several solo comedy shows, and also works as a composer and musician. More recently, she’s just appeared in new musical ‘The A-Z of Mrs P’ at the Southwark Playhouse, to great critical acclaim.
20. Sandi Toksvig (Writer, Presenter, Comedian, Actress and Producer)
Sandi was appointed an OBE earlier this year for services to broadcasting – hardly a surprise, given the longevity of her career as a writer, presenter, comedian, actress and producer. Her list of credits is too long and varied to mention here, but she continues to be one of the most prominent faces of female comedy across all mediums and genres. Congratulations are also due – thousands of people helped to celebrate the renewal of Sandi’s vows to partner Debbie on the day that same-sex marriage was introduced in England and Wales.
Isabel Dixon
