Dawn French
Encyclopedia
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Dawn Roma French is a British actress, writer
and comedienne. She is best known for starring in and writing for the comedy sketch show
French and Saunders
with comedy partner Jennifer Saunders
and also for playing the lead role of Geraldine Granger in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley
. She has been nominated for seven BAFTA Awards and also won a Fellowship BAFTA along with Saunders.
, Anglesey
, Wales to English parents Denys Vernon French and Felicity "Roma" O'Brien of Irish origin from Plymouth
. She was educated at the independent St Dunstan's Abbey School (now absorbed by Plymouth College
) boarding school on North Road West in Plymouth, Devon, England. She has a brother, Gary French, who was born in 1955. Her father, Denys (5 August 1932 – 11 September 1977), was a member of the Royal Air Force
, being stationed at RAF Valley
. The RAF partly funded her private education. When her father was stationed at the former RAF Faldingworth
, she attended Caistor Grammar School
in Lincolnshire, boarding in the school's Lindsey house. She later won a debating scholarship that brought her to study at the Spence School
in New York.
French has claimed that her self-confidence and self-belief stems from her father, who told her how beautiful she was each day. She stated, "He taught me to value myself. He told me that I was beautiful and the most precious thing in his life." He had a history of severe depression and attempted suicides but managed to conceal his illness from Dawn and her brother. He committed suicide when French was nineteen and he was forty-five, having left the RAF.
She then went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama
in 1977, where she met her future comedy partner, Jennifer Saunders
. Both came from RAF backgrounds. They had grown up on the same base, even having had the same best friend, although never meeting. At first, as far as Saunders was concerned, French was a "cocky little upstart". The hatred was mutual: French considered Saunders snooty and aloof. The comic duo originally did not like each other as French actually wanted to become a drama teacher whereas Saunders loathed the idea and thus disliked French for being enthusiastic and confident about the course.
French and Saunders shared a flat whilst at college and were influenced to do comedy by their flatmates as part of their projects for college. After talking in depth for the first time, they came to be friends. During her time at the college, French also worked as a chambermaid to earn money. It was while at college that she broke up with her fiancé, David Smyth, a former Royal Navy Officer. After they graduated, they formed a double-act called The Menopause Sisters. Saunders has described the act, which involved wearing tampons in their ears, as "cringeworthy." The manager of the club where they performed recalled, "They didn't seem to give a damn. There was no star quality about them at all." French and Saunders would eventually come to public attention as members of The Comic Strip
, part of the alternative comedy
scene in the early 1980s.
French has also written a best-selling epistolary autobiography, which she has titled Dear Fatty. Released in 2008, French was paid a £
1.5 million advance for the book. On an appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show on 6 October 2008, French said that "Fatty" is her nickname for Jennifer Saunders, as a joke about her own size. French said that she became great friends with Saunders well before they started working together, which was "over 30 years ago." The book is composed of letters to the different people who have been in her life.
's The Comic Strip Presents series in an episode called "Five Go Mad in Dorset" in 1982. Each episode presented a self-contained story distinct from other episodes and, in addition to French and Saunders, showcased Comic Strip
performers Peter Richardson, Rik Mayall
, and Robbie Coltrane
and Adrian Edmondson
. She acted in twenty-seven of the thirty-seven episodes and wrote two of them. One week featured a parody of spaghetti westerns, and another a black and white film about a hopelessly goofy boy. Some of French's first exposure to a wider audience occurred when comedy producer Martin Lewis recorded a Comic Strip record album in spring 1981, which featured sketches by French & Saunders. The album was released on Springtime!/Island Records in September 1981 and presented Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders to an audience outside London. In 1985, French starred with Saunders, Tracey Ullman
and Ruby Wax
in Girls on Top
, which portrayed four eccentric women sharing a flat in London.
French has co-written and starred in her own successful comedy series French & Saunders
with Saunders, which debuted in 1987 and still airs sporadically to this day. On their show, the duo have spoofed many celebrities such as Madonna
, Cher
, Catherine Zeta-Jones
and the Spice Girls
. They have also parodied films in the series such as The Lord of the Rings
, Star Wars
, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
. After twenty years of them being on television together, their last sketch series, A Bucket o' French & Saunders, began airing on 8 September 2007.
French and Saunders have also followed separate careers. During French's time starring in Murder Most Horrid
from 1991 to 1999, she played a different character each week, whether it was the murderer, victim or even both. In 2002, French appeared in the comedy/drama mini-series Ted and Alice. In the series, which was set in the Lake District
, French played a tourist-information officer who incidentally falls in love with an alien. She has also appeared in the BBC sitcom Wild West along with Catherine Tate
, in which she played a woman living in Cornwall
, who is also a lesbian, more through lack of choice than any specific natural urge. This series did not meet with as much success as her earlier roles had, and it ended in 2004 after two years.
French's biggest solo television role to date has been as the title figure in the long running and popular BBC
comedy The Vicar of Dibley
, which Richard Curtis
created specifically for her. She starred as Geraldine Granger, a vicar of a small village called Dibley. An audience of 12.3 million watched the final full-length episode to see her character's marriage ceremony. Her last appearance on The Vicar of Dibley was with Sting and Trudie Styler
in a special mini episode made for Comic Relief in 2007. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance in the last episode of The Vicar of Dibley. Repeats of the show on BBC One still attract millions of viewers, and it also retains a following amongst PBS viewers in the United States.
More recently, French played a major role in Jam & Jerusalem as a woman called Rosie who had an alter ego
. She co-starred alongside Sue Johnston
, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley
. She also made a guest appearance in Little Britain
as Vicky Pollard
's mother, Shelly Pollard, who was seen defending her daughter in the dock in Thailand as she was charged with drug smuggling, and who was sentenced to twenty years, ten more than her daughter. French also appeared in a special version of Little Britain Live
which featured several celebrity guests and was shown by the BBC as part of Comic Relief. She played the part of a lesbian barmaid in a sketch with Daffyd Thomas. In 2006, French played a role in the television series Marple
in the episode "Sleeping Murder
." She also appeared as Caroline Arless in the BBC television drama Lark Rise to Candleford
in 2008. Talking about her role, she has stated, "I'm quite a vibrant character. She's quite extreme, in that she drinks too much, laughs too much and sings too much. But she loves her family very much; it's just that she goes over the top sometimes." French also said, "I didn't want to appear in a series which was all about just a few main characters. It gives me the chance to observe, to learn things from other actors." This is also reflected in her latest role as Joy Aston in comedy thriller Psychoville
.
On television, French has kissed (in some cases, for charity) Brad Pitt
, Johnny Depp
, George Clooney
, Richard Armitage
, Gordon Ramsay
and Paul O'Grady
. French also raised money for charity by kissing Hugh Grant
.
In late 2010, French starred in Roger & Val Have Just Got In
, with actor Alfred Molina
. The premise was based on an idea by French.
French partakes in Little Crackers, which are short comedy films that were broadcast over Christmas 2010.
, replacing the late Elizabeth Spriggs
, who played the character in the first film of the series. French's then-husband, Lenny Henry
, provided the voice of the Shrunken Head in the same film, though they shared no screen time. In 2005 French provided the voice for the character Mrs. Beaver
in Disney and Walden Media's film adaptation of C. S. Lewis
' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
. In 2010, French lent her voice to the role of Angie the Elephant in the environmental animated film, Animals United
She has also taken to roles in the theatre. French has previously appeared in plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream
, My Brilliant Divorce, and Smaller, which last is about a schoolteacher caring for her disabled mother. January 2007 saw French performing as the Duchesse de Crackentorp in an opera in the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
, London. The opera production was The Daughter of the Regiment (La fille du régiment
) by Gaetano Donizetti
, which depicts the life of a baby adopted by an army regiment. French soprano Natalie Dessay
and the Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez
took the two leading roles that required singing. French returned to Covent Garden and La Fille du règiment in the 2010 revival.
Because of her admitted "chocoholism," she was chosen as the face of Terry's Chocolate Orange
, using the slogan, "It's not Terry's, it's mine." This was later replaced with the line, "Don't tap it, whack it!" As of 29 August 2007, French had been dropped as the face of Terry's Chocolate Orange, causing speculation that Terry's regarded her as an unsuitable role model because of her size. The company stated, however, "After such a long partnership we feel that the campaign has run its course and we are in the process of developing different work."
Her voice can be heard advertising the Tesco's "Every Little Helps" promotion.
on the alternative comedy circuit. The couple married on 20 October 1984 in Covent Garden
, London. They adopted a daughter, Billie. French has stated that Billie has always known that she was adopted, but once took out an injunction when a biographer came close to revealing the identity of Billie's biological mother. When faced with a question about how she and Henry would feel if Billie wanted to find out about her birth mother, French commented, "Whatever she wants to do when she's 18, we'll support her. What I do worry about is anyone else making the decision for her."
The couple had a home in Shinfield
, near Reading
, Berkshire which they recently sold to buy a property in Cornwall, where French intends to spend the rest of her life. It was once misinterpreted by the press that she was going there specifically to die because of an alleged belief that she would die prematurely. She quashed these rumours while appearing on Parkinson
in November 2007 stating that she likes "being in one place" and simply hopes that this will be her last move. Both her grandmothers have lived to be well over the age of ninety. The £2.3 million mansion with 40 rooms overlooks a smugglers
' cove in the Daphne du Maurier
country. The grade II-listed building dates back to the 19th century. In the French & Saunders: Still Alive farewell tour, French commented that after the tour was over, she was "going to Cornwall to die, apparently", poking fun at the misinterpretation.
She is also a supporter of the Labour Party.
On 6 April 2010, it was announced that French and Henry were to separate after 25 years of marriage. It is believed that the separation was amicable and they decided to split in October of the previous year but left it until then as they were still in discussion over the separation. French and Henry's divorce was finalised in late October 2010.
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2006 poll consisting of 4,000 people, French was named as the most admired female celebrity amongst women in Britain. She has also won and been nominated for several notable awards:
Dawn Roma French is a British actress, writer
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and comedienne. She is best known for starring in and writing for the comedy sketch show
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
French and Saunders
French and Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
with comedy partner Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
and also for playing the lead role of Geraldine Granger in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
. She has been nominated for seven BAFTA Awards and also won a Fellowship BAFTA along with Saunders.
Background
French was born in HolyheadHolyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, Wales to English parents Denys Vernon French and Felicity "Roma" O'Brien of Irish origin from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. She was educated at the independent St Dunstan's Abbey School (now absorbed by Plymouth College
Plymouth College
Plymouth College is a co-educational independent school in Plymouth, Devon, England, for day and boarding pupils from the ages of 11 to 18...
) boarding school on North Road West in Plymouth, Devon, England. She has a brother, Gary French, who was born in 1955. Her father, Denys (5 August 1932 – 11 September 1977), was a member of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, being stationed at RAF Valley
RAF Valley
RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...
. The RAF partly funded her private education. When her father was stationed at the former RAF Faldingworth
RAF Faldingworth
RAF Faldingworth was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command during and after World War II. It was located close to the village of Faldingworth in Lincolnshire...
, she attended Caistor Grammar School
Caistor Grammar School
Caistor Grammar School is a selective school and academy in the English town of Caistor in the county of Lincolnshire. It was founded in 1630, and has since grown to be one of the most respected and high performing schools in the East of England. The school has been awarded specialist sports and...
in Lincolnshire, boarding in the school's Lindsey house. She later won a debating scholarship that brought her to study at the Spence School
Spence School
The Spence School is an American all-girls independent school in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence.-Overview:Spence has about 688 students, with K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the Middle School, and 9-12 representing the Upper School. Lower school average class...
in New York.
French has claimed that her self-confidence and self-belief stems from her father, who told her how beautiful she was each day. She stated, "He taught me to value myself. He told me that I was beautiful and the most precious thing in his life." He had a history of severe depression and attempted suicides but managed to conceal his illness from Dawn and her brother. He committed suicide when French was nineteen and he was forty-five, having left the RAF.
She then went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
in 1977, where she met her future comedy partner, Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
. Both came from RAF backgrounds. They had grown up on the same base, even having had the same best friend, although never meeting. At first, as far as Saunders was concerned, French was a "cocky little upstart". The hatred was mutual: French considered Saunders snooty and aloof. The comic duo originally did not like each other as French actually wanted to become a drama teacher whereas Saunders loathed the idea and thus disliked French for being enthusiastic and confident about the course.
French and Saunders shared a flat whilst at college and were influenced to do comedy by their flatmates as part of their projects for college. After talking in depth for the first time, they came to be friends. During her time at the college, French also worked as a chambermaid to earn money. It was while at college that she broke up with her fiancé, David Smyth, a former Royal Navy Officer. After they graduated, they formed a double-act called The Menopause Sisters. Saunders has described the act, which involved wearing tampons in their ears, as "cringeworthy." The manager of the club where they performed recalled, "They didn't seem to give a damn. There was no star quality about them at all." French and Saunders would eventually come to public attention as members of The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
, part of the alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
scene in the early 1980s.
French has also written a best-selling epistolary autobiography, which she has titled Dear Fatty. Released in 2008, French was paid a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1.5 million advance for the book. On an appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show on 6 October 2008, French said that "Fatty" is her nickname for Jennifer Saunders, as a joke about her own size. French said that she became great friends with Saunders well before they started working together, which was "over 30 years ago." The book is composed of letters to the different people who have been in her life.
Television
French has had an extensive career on television, debuting on Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's The Comic Strip Presents series in an episode called "Five Go Mad in Dorset" in 1982. Each episode presented a self-contained story distinct from other episodes and, in addition to French and Saunders, showcased Comic Strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
performers Peter Richardson, Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
, and Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
and Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
. She acted in twenty-seven of the thirty-seven episodes and wrote two of them. One week featured a parody of spaghetti westerns, and another a black and white film about a hopelessly goofy boy. Some of French's first exposure to a wider audience occurred when comedy producer Martin Lewis recorded a Comic Strip record album in spring 1981, which featured sketches by French & Saunders. The album was released on Springtime!/Island Records in September 1981 and presented Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders to an audience outside London. In 1985, French starred with Saunders, Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman
Tracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
and Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
in Girls on Top
Girls On Top
Girls On Top was a British television sitcom on ITV from 1985 to 1986. It was conceived by and starred French & Saunders - their first high-profile writing for television - and despite a low budget and poor critical reception received high ratings. It was made for the ITV network by Central.The...
, which portrayed four eccentric women sharing a flat in London.
French has co-written and starred in her own successful comedy series French & Saunders
French & Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
with Saunders, which debuted in 1987 and still airs sporadically to this day. On their show, the duo have spoofed many celebrities such as Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
and the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
. They have also parodied films in the series such as The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
. After twenty years of them being on television together, their last sketch series, A Bucket o' French & Saunders, began airing on 8 September 2007.
French and Saunders have also followed separate careers. During French's time starring in Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid
Murder Most Horrid is a BBC dark comedy anthology series starring comedian Dawn French. It ran for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999....
from 1991 to 1999, she played a different character each week, whether it was the murderer, victim or even both. In 2002, French appeared in the comedy/drama mini-series Ted and Alice. In the series, which was set in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, French played a tourist-information officer who incidentally falls in love with an alien. She has also appeared in the BBC sitcom Wild West along with Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...
, in which she played a woman living in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, who is also a lesbian, more through lack of choice than any specific natural urge. This series did not meet with as much success as her earlier roles had, and it ended in 2004 after two years.
French's biggest solo television role to date has been as the title figure in the long running and popular BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
, which Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
created specifically for her. She starred as Geraldine Granger, a vicar of a small village called Dibley. An audience of 12.3 million watched the final full-length episode to see her character's marriage ceremony. Her last appearance on The Vicar of Dibley was with Sting and Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
in a special mini episode made for Comic Relief in 2007. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Comedy Performance in the last episode of The Vicar of Dibley. Repeats of the show on BBC One still attract millions of viewers, and it also retains a following amongst PBS viewers in the United States.
More recently, French played a major role in Jam & Jerusalem as a woman called Rosie who had an alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. She co-starred alongside Sue Johnston
Sue Johnston
Susan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
. She also made a guest appearance in Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
as Vicky Pollard
Vicky Pollard
Vicky Pollard is a fictional character from the British comedy TV series Little Britain, which aired on BBC.Vicky Pollard is a stereotypical chav. She is a teenage mother and juvenile delinquent and is known for her inarticulate and incredibly fast speech and incessant gossip...
's mother, Shelly Pollard, who was seen defending her daughter in the dock in Thailand as she was charged with drug smuggling, and who was sentenced to twenty years, ten more than her daughter. French also appeared in a special version of Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live is a stage show based on the TV sketch series Little Britain, performed by its stars, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha Power . As in the TV show, Tom Baker is the narrator, although his lines...
which featured several celebrity guests and was shown by the BBC as part of Comic Relief. She played the part of a lesbian barmaid in a sketch with Daffyd Thomas. In 2006, French played a role in the television series Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
in the episode "Sleeping Murder
Sleeping Murder
Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1976 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed for £3.50 and the US edition for $7.95...
." She also appeared as Caroline Arless in the BBC television drama Lark Rise to Candleford
Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series)
Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the...
in 2008. Talking about her role, she has stated, "I'm quite a vibrant character. She's quite extreme, in that she drinks too much, laughs too much and sings too much. But she loves her family very much; it's just that she goes over the top sometimes." French also said, "I didn't want to appear in a series which was all about just a few main characters. It gives me the chance to observe, to learn things from other actors." This is also reflected in her latest role as Joy Aston in comedy thriller Psychoville
Psychoville
Psychoville is an award-winning British dark comedy television serial written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French and Jason Tompkins in...
.
On television, French has kissed (in some cases, for charity) Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
, Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
, Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
, Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
and Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady
Paul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. He is best known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show and, more recently, Paul O'Grady Live, as well as his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, as...
. French also raised money for charity by kissing Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
.
In late 2010, French starred in Roger & Val Have Just Got In
Roger & Val Have Just Got In
Roger & Val Have Just Got In is a British sitcom that stars Dawn French and Alfred Molina playing married couple Roger and Val Stevenson. The show premiered on BBC Two on 6 August 2010 and six episodes were broadcast for the first series. The show was created by Dawn French, it is directed by...
, with actor Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
. The premise was based on an idea by French.
French partakes in Little Crackers, which are short comedy films that were broadcast over Christmas 2010.
Film and theatre
In films, French has played The Fat Lady in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...
, replacing the late Elizabeth Spriggs
Elizabeth Spriggs
-Early life and career:Born in Buxton, Derbyshire as Elizabeth Jean Williams, Spriggs had an unhappy childhood and grew up entirely without affection, particularly from her distant, domineering father, a master builder and farmer. She studied at the Royal College of Music and taught speech and...
, who played the character in the first film of the series. French's then-husband, Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, provided the voice of the Shrunken Head in the same film, though they shared no screen time. In 2005 French provided the voice for the character Mrs. Beaver
Mr and Mrs Beaver
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are fictional characters from C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. They are the first Narnian creatures Peter and Susan Pevensie meet in Narnia, Lucy had previously met Mr. Tumnus whilst Edmund had encountered the White Witch and a dwarf...
in Disney and Walden Media's film adaptation of C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
. In 2010, French lent her voice to the role of Angie the Elephant in the environmental animated film, Animals United
She has also taken to roles in the theatre. French has previously appeared in plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, My Brilliant Divorce, and Smaller, which last is about a schoolteacher caring for her disabled mother. January 2007 saw French performing as the Duchesse de Crackentorp in an opera in the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London. The opera production was The Daughter of the Regiment (La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
) by Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
, which depicts the life of a baby adopted by an army regiment. French soprano Natalie Dessay
Natalie Dessay
Natalie Dessay is a French coloratura soprano. She dropped the silent "h" in her first name in honor of Natalie Wood when she was in grade school and subsequently simplified the spelling of her surname outside France...
and the Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez
Juan Diego Flórez
Juan Diego Flórez is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Sol del Perú....
took the two leading roles that required singing. French returned to Covent Garden and La Fille du règiment in the 2010 revival.
Advertising
French is known for her larger figure and for her efforts to promote the notion that "big" can be beautiful. As a result, she has her own line of clothes, Sixteen47, taking its name from the statistic that 47% of the British female population are at least a size 16. The line aims to produce clothes designed to look flattering on larger women.Because of her admitted "chocoholism," she was chosen as the face of Terry's Chocolate Orange
Terry's Chocolate Orange
Terry's Chocolate Orange is a chocolate product, made by Kraft Foods, originally sold only in the United Kingdom, but now sold all across the world. It is a ball of chocolate mixed with orange oil, divided into 20 "segments", similar to a real orange, and wrapped in orange-coloured foil...
, using the slogan, "It's not Terry's, it's mine." This was later replaced with the line, "Don't tap it, whack it!" As of 29 August 2007, French had been dropped as the face of Terry's Chocolate Orange, causing speculation that Terry's regarded her as an unsuitable role model because of her size. The company stated, however, "After such a long partnership we feel that the campaign has run its course and we are in the process of developing different work."
Her voice can be heard advertising the Tesco's "Every Little Helps" promotion.
Personal life
French met Lenny HenryLenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
on the alternative comedy circuit. The couple married on 20 October 1984 in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London. They adopted a daughter, Billie. French has stated that Billie has always known that she was adopted, but once took out an injunction when a biographer came close to revealing the identity of Billie's biological mother. When faced with a question about how she and Henry would feel if Billie wanted to find out about her birth mother, French commented, "Whatever she wants to do when she's 18, we'll support her. What I do worry about is anyone else making the decision for her."
The couple had a home in Shinfield
Shinfield
Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District.-Geography:...
, near Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire which they recently sold to buy a property in Cornwall, where French intends to spend the rest of her life. It was once misinterpreted by the press that she was going there specifically to die because of an alleged belief that she would die prematurely. She quashed these rumours while appearing on Parkinson
Parkinson (TV series)
Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
in November 2007 stating that she likes "being in one place" and simply hopes that this will be her last move. Both her grandmothers have lived to be well over the age of ninety. The £2.3 million mansion with 40 rooms overlooks a smugglers
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
' cove in the Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
country. The grade II-listed building dates back to the 19th century. In the French & Saunders: Still Alive farewell tour, French commented that after the tour was over, she was "going to Cornwall to die, apparently", poking fun at the misinterpretation.
She is also a supporter of the Labour Party.
On 6 April 2010, it was announced that French and Henry were to separate after 25 years of marriage. It is believed that the separation was amicable and they decided to split in October of the previous year but left it until then as they were still in discussion over the separation. French and Henry's divorce was finalised in late October 2010.
Awards and recognition
French and Saunders won the honorary Golden Rose of Montreux award in 2002 and in 2003, she was listed in The ObserverThe Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2006 poll consisting of 4,000 people, French was named as the most admired female celebrity amongst women in Britain. She has also won and been nominated for several notable awards:
BAFTA Awards
- 1989 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in French and Saunders
- 1991 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance in French and Saunders
- 1998 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
- 2000 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
- 2001 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
- 2007 – Nominated – BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance in The Vicar of Dibley
- 2009 – Won – BAFTA Fellowship – awarded with Jennifer SaundersJennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
- 2011 – Nominated – BAFTA Best Female Performance In A Comedy Role in Roger and Val Have Just Got In
British Comedy Awards
- 1997 – Won – British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress in The Vicar of Dibley
- 1998 – Nominated – British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress in The Vicar of Dibley
National Television Awards
- 1998 – Nominated – National Television AwardNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
for Most Popular Comedy Performer in The Vicar of Dibley - 2000 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer in The Vicar of Dibley
- 2002 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performance in Ted and Alice
- 2003 – Nominated – National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performance in Wild West
Other
- 1991 – Won – Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for TV- Light Entertainment in French and Saunders
- 2001 – Along with Jennifer Saunders, declined an OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. - 2002 – Won – Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award shared with Jennifer Saunders
Television
- The Comic StripThe Comic StripThe Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
(1982) - Five Go Mad in DorsetFive Go Mad in DorsetFive Go Mad in Dorset was the first of the long-running series of Comic Strip Presents... television comedy films. It first aired on the launch night of Channel 4 , and was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Bob Spiers.-Plot and satire:The film is an extreme parody of...
(1982) - Five Go Mad on Mescaline (1983)
- The Young OnesThe Young Ones (TV series)The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
(1982–1984) - Girls On TopGirls On TopGirls On Top was a British television sitcom on ITV from 1985 to 1986. It was conceived by and starred French & Saunders - their first high-profile writing for television - and despite a low budget and poor critical reception received high ratings. It was made for the ITV network by Central.The...
(1985–1986) - Happy FamiliesHappy FamiliesHappy Families is a traditional card game played in the UK, usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete families. The player whose turn it is asks...
(1985) - Kate Bush – Experiment IVExperiment IV"Experiment IV" is a song by the British singer Kate Bush. It was released as a single on 27 October 1986, in order to promote Bush's greatest hits album The Whole Story...
(Video)(1986) - French and SaundersFrench and SaundersFrench and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
(1987–2007) - Murder Most HorridMurder Most HorridMurder Most Horrid is a BBC dark comedy anthology series starring comedian Dawn French. It ran for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999....
(1991–1999) - Absolutely FabulousAbsolutely FabulousAbsolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
(1992) - The Legends of Treasure IslandThe Legends of Treasure IslandThe Legends Of Treasure Island is an animated cartoon from the UK that ran from 1993-1995. It had two series of 13 episodes each and each episode runs for 22–25 minutes....
(1993–1995) - The Vicar of DibleyThe Vicar of DibleyThe Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
(1994–2007) Geraldine Granger - Sex & Chocolate (1997)
- Let Them Eat CakeLet Them Eat Cake (TV series)Let Them Eat Cake is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One in 1999. Starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, it is one of the few programmes in which French and Saunders have appeared which they did not create themselves.-Plot:...
(1999) - Ted and Alice (2002)
- Wild WestWild West (TV series)Wild West is a situation comedy screened from October 2002 until 2004 starring Dawn French and Catherine Tate. It was described as a dark comedy from the pen of Simon Nye and was filmed on location in Cornwall. Set in the hamlet of St Gweep, Wild West observes the strange goings-on in the local...
(2002–2004) - MarpleMarple (TV series)Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
: Sleeping MurderSleeping MurderSleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1976 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed for £3.50 and the US edition for $7.95...
(2005) - Jam and JerusalemJam and JerusalemJam & Jerusalem is a British comedy-drama that aired on BBC One from 2006 to 2009. Written by Jennifer Saunders and Abigail Wilson, it starred Sue Johnston, Jennifer Saunders, Pauline McLynn, Dawn French, Maggie Steed, David Mitchell, and Sally Phillips. Earlier episodes also starred Joanna Lumley...
(2006, 2008, 2009) - Dawn French's Girls Who Do ComedyDawn French's Girls Who Do ComedyDawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy is an interview series shown on BBC Four. In the series, Dawn French interviewed some of the most prolific comedians of the century from Phyllis Diller to Catherine Tate and asked about life, love, family and comedy...
(2006) - Little Britain AbroadLittle BritainLittle Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
(2006) - MarpleMarple (TV series)Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
(2006) - High Table (2007)
- The Meaning of Life (2007)
- Dawn French's Boys Who Do ComedyDawn French's Boys Who Do ComedyDawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy is a British TV series in which comedienne Dawn French interviews her favourite male comedians about how they came to be comedians. It is a follow up and counterpart to Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy....
(2007) - Lark Rise to CandlefordLark Rise to Candleford (TV series)Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the...
(2008 & 2011) - PsychovillePsychovillePsychoville is an award-winning British dark comedy television serial written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French and Jason Tompkins in...
(2009–2011) - The Paul O'Grady ShowThe Paul O'Grady ShowThe Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
(2009) [Guest Host] - Alan Carr: Chatty ManAlan Carr: Chatty ManAlan Carr: Chatty Man is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The award-winning show is on Channel 4. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music....
(2009) - Roger & Val Have Just Got InRoger & Val Have Just Got InRoger & Val Have Just Got In is a British sitcom that stars Dawn French and Alfred Molina playing married couple Roger and Val Stevenson. The show premiered on BBC Two on 6 August 2010 and six episodes were broadcast for the first series. The show was created by Dawn French, it is directed by...
(2010 – present) - Paul O'Grady LivePaul O'Grady LivePaul O'Grady Live was a British comedy chat show hosted by Paul O'Grady, that began airing on 10 September 2010 on ITV1 and ITV1 HD/STV HD/UTV HD in the United Kingdom. The show is a Friday night chat show that features a mixture of celebrity guests, airing at 21:00. The show culminates with...
(2010)
Theatre
- Me and Mamie O'Rourke
- When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout
- All Souls' Night, Lyric Theatre
- Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
(1996) - Then Again (1997)
- Side By SideSide By Side By SondheimSide by Side by Sondheim is a musical revue featuring the songs of Broadway and film composer Stephen Sondheim. Its title is derived from the song "Side by Side by Side" from Company.-History:...
(1997) - A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(2001) - My Brilliant Divorce (2003)
- Smaller (2005)
- La fille du régimentLa fille du régimentLa fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
(2007) - Still Alive (2008–2009) the last comedy sketch show done by French and Saunders
Films
- Eat the Rich (1987)
- The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)
- David CopperfieldDavid Copperfield (1999 film)David Copperfield is a two part BBC television drama adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield, adapted by Adrian Hodges. The first part was shown on Christmas Day and the second on Boxing Day in 1999...
(1999) - Maybe Baby (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe...
(2004) The Fat Lady - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
(2005) Mrs Beaver (Voice) - Love and Other DisastersLove and Other DisastersLove and Other Disasters is a 2006 romantic comedy produced by Ruby Film, Europa Corp. and Skyline Films presented at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2008, it had its UK premiere in London as the gala screening for the BFI 22nd London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival...
(2006) - CoralineCoraline (film)Coraline is a 2009 stop-motion 3D fantasy/horror children's film based on Neil Gaiman's 2002 novel of the same name. It was produced by Laika and distributed by Focus Features. Written and directed by Henry Selick, it was released widely in US theaters on February 6, 2009, after a world premiere at...
(2009) Miss Miriam Forcible/Other Forcible (Voice) - Animals United (2010) Angie (Voice)