Arabella Weir
Encyclopedia
Arabella Weir is a British
comedian
, actress and writer
.
The daughter of former British ambassador Sir Michael Weir
, she is best known for her roles in The Fast Show and for writing several books including the international best seller Does My Bum Look Big In This? (a catchphrase of one of her characters in the show). She is also well known for her books Onwards and Upwards and Cupid for which she also wrote the screenplay now owned by Working Title. Arabella has written for The Independent magazine, which is included with the Saturday edition and the Guardian newspaper and Weekend magazine. She continues to contribute regularly to both newspapers.
Weir was a backing singer for a period in the band Bazooka Joe
, which featured one Stuart Goddard, better known later on in his career as Adam Ant
. She starred in the 2003 comedy series Posh Nosh
, which she also co-wrote with Jon Canter
. She contributes to the BBC2 comedy series, Grumpy Old Women
.
She made regular appearances in the BBC Radio 4
comedy series Smelling of Roses
and "Down the Line". She has performed in Exile
— a Doctor Who
audio play by Big Finish Productions
as an alternate female version of the Doctor
.
Weir was due to appear on new ITV1
skating reality television series Dancing on Ice
in January 2006. However, weeks before the series was due to air she broke her wrist and was subsequently replaced by fellow actress Bonnie Langford
.
Weir provides the voice for the puppet duck character Hana in forthcoming children's TV show Hana's Helpline.
She appeared in the E4 teen drama/comedy Skins
as the mother of Michelle Richardson
. She has also appeared in Nickelodeon's
children's TV comedy Genie in the House
as the Norton's nosey neighbour Peggy.
Weir will appear in the 2011 Christmas special of Doctor Who
, "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
".
Weir will be performing with the original cast from The Fast Show (with the exception of Mark Williams) in six online-only episodes due to launch on the 10th of November sponsored by the Fosters brand.
and then Camden School for Girls
and then studied drama at Middlesex Polytechnic
.
She is married to Dr Jeremy Norton; the couple have two children. The actor David Tennant
is a close friend and is godfather to her children. When Tennant first moved to London in the early 1990s, he lodged with Weir at her house in Crouch End
for five years; they had met on the set of the BBC TV series Takin' Over the Asylum
.
She is a supporter of the British Labour Party
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, actress and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
The daughter of former British ambassador Sir Michael Weir
Michael Scott Weir
Sir Michael Scott Weir, KCMG was a British diplomat. Born in Dunfermline, Fife, he went on a state scholarship to study oriental languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1942. A year later he joined the Royal Air Force, which sent him to London University to learn Persian...
, she is best known for her roles in The Fast Show and for writing several books including the international best seller Does My Bum Look Big In This? (a catchphrase of one of her characters in the show). She is also well known for her books Onwards and Upwards and Cupid for which she also wrote the screenplay now owned by Working Title. Arabella has written for The Independent magazine, which is included with the Saturday edition and the Guardian newspaper and Weekend magazine. She continues to contribute regularly to both newspapers.
Weir was a backing singer for a period in the band Bazooka Joe
Bazooka Joe (band)
Bazooka Joe or Bazooka Joe and the Lillets was a British pub rock band formed by John Ellis and Danny Kleinman in 1970. It featured Stuart Goddard, who would later change his name to "Adam Ant". Both Ellis and Goddard would go on to find success with The Vibrators and Adam and the Ants, respectively...
, which featured one Stuart Goddard, better known later on in his career as Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
. She starred in the 2003 comedy series Posh Nosh
Posh Nosh
Posh Nosh is a 2003 BBC television programme parodying television chefs; the title and basic outline a reference to a cooking show pilot pitched by Neil Hamilton and Christine Hamilton. Written by Jon Canter and Arabella Weir from an idea by Weir, and directed and script edited by Chris Langham,...
, which she also co-wrote with Jon Canter
Jon Canter
Jon Canter is an English television comedy writer for Lenny Henry and other leading comedians. Canter was born and brought up in the Jewish community of Golders Green, North London and studied law at the University of Cambridge where he became President of Footlights.After a spell in advertising...
. She contributes to the BBC2 comedy series, Grumpy Old Women
Grumpy Old Women
For the live show, see Grumpy Old Women LiveGrumpy Old Women is a British television series, continuing in the same vein as its predecessor, Grumpy Old Men. Both programmes are shown on BBC Two. The first two series were narrated by Alison Steadman, and the third by Judith Holder...
.
She made regular appearances in the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy series Smelling of Roses
Smelling of Roses
Smelling of Roses was a BBC Radio 4 comedy series starring Prunella Scales and written by Simon Brett. There were four series, each of six episodes, broadcast from 2000 to 2003. Scales stars as Rosie Burns, manager of her own event management business in Brighton, "In Any Event"...
and "Down the Line". She has performed in Exile
Exile (Doctor Who audio)
Exile is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Unbound dramas pose a series of "What if...?" questions.-Plot:...
— a Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio play by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
as an alternate female version of the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
.
Weir was due to appear on new ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
skating reality television series Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
in January 2006. However, weeks before the series was due to air she broke her wrist and was subsequently replaced by fellow actress Bonnie Langford
Bonnie Langford
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford is an English actress, dancer and entertainer. She came to prominence as a child star in the early 1970s then she subsequently became a companion of Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's Doctor Who and has appeared on stage in various musicals such as Peter Pan:...
.
Weir provides the voice for the puppet duck character Hana in forthcoming children's TV show Hana's Helpline.
She appeared in the E4 teen drama/comedy Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
as the mother of Michelle Richardson
Michelle Richardson
Michelle 'Chelle' Richardson is a fictional character in the television series Skins played by April Pearson.-Characterisation:Michelle is portrayed initially as primarily interested in serving her boyfriend Tony Stonem's needs and in "looking shaggable" which she places as her primary function,...
. She has also appeared in Nickelodeon's
Nickelodeon UK
Nickelodeon is a children's television channel available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk TV and UPC Ireland in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including on demand on BT Vision. The channel was launched on 1 September 1993...
children's TV comedy Genie in the House
Genie In The House
Genie in the House is a British situation comedy broadcast on Nickelodeon about a widowed father with two teenage daughters who find a dusty old golden lamp while exploring the loft of their new home. A quick rub of the lamp releases Adil, a trainee genie from Balamkadaar who has been confined to...
as the Norton's nosey neighbour Peggy.
Weir will appear in the 2011 Christmas special of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe
"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Due to be first broadcast at Christmas 2011, it is the seventh Christmas special since the show’s revival in 2005....
".
Weir will be performing with the original cast from The Fast Show (with the exception of Mark Williams) in six online-only episodes due to launch on the 10th of November sponsored by the Fosters brand.
Personal life
She attended Bedales SchoolBedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
and then Camden School for Girls
Camden School for Girls
The Camden School for Girls is a comprehensive secondary school for girls, with a co-educational sixth form, in the London Borough of Camden in North London. It has about one thousand students of ages eleven to eighteen, and specialist-school status as a Music College...
and then studied drama at Middlesex Polytechnic
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
.
She is married to Dr Jeremy Norton; the couple have two children. The actor David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
is a close friend and is godfather to her children. When Tennant first moved to London in the early 1990s, he lodged with Weir at her house in Crouch End
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Haringey.- Location :Crouch End is in a valley between Harringay to the east, Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green to the north, Finsbury Park and Archway to the south and Highgate to the west...
for five years; they had met on the set of the BBC TV series Takin' Over the Asylum
Takin' Over the Asylum
Takin' Over the Asylum is a six part BBC Scotland television drama about a hospital radio station in a Glasgow psychiatric hospital. It was written by Donna Franceschild, produced by Chris Parr and directed by David Blair....
.
She is a supporter of the British Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
External links
- Column archive at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...