Helen Lederer
Encyclopedia
Helen Lederer is a Welsh comedienne, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy
boom at the beginning of the 1980s.
in London and then won minor parts in episodes of The Young Ones
, which had been written by her Comedy Store contemporaries Ben Elton
and Rik Mayall
. She would be linked with this scene for the rest of the 1980s, with a supporting role as housemaid Flossie in Happy Families
and numerous appearances in related shows and live performances.
Lederer broke from the Comedy Store wing of the alternative scene in 1986 to take part in the BBC2 sketch
show Naked Video
, which had originated without Lederer on the radio in Scotland. Lederer played various roles, including that of a newsreader linking spoof headlines into clips which acted as punchlines, and a drunk Sloane
who performed a monologue
in each episode from a wine bar.
In the 1990s, Lederer was recruited by her old contemporaries Mayall and Adrian Edmondson
to play supporting roles in two episodes of their sitcom Bottom, including a memorable part as a fallen millionairess on the make. Simultaneously, she played Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous
, joining forces again with Jennifer Saunders
. She had previously worked with Saunders and her comedy partner Dawn French in their sketch show French and Saunders
, as well as Happy Families and the ITV
sitcom Girls On Top
. She also guest appeared in the Gregor Fisher
sitcom The Baldy Man
.
Lederer has always been a guest or supporting actress on programmes devised by or starring her alternative comedy contemporaries and as such has made a good, consistent career. She has branched out into many 'serious' acting roles too, and was reviewed favourably when she took part in The Vagina Monologues
on the West End
stage.
As a presenter, she has hosted and voiced lifestyle, religious and children's programmes. She has guested on numerous radio panel games and writes columns for newspapers and magazines.
In December 2009, Lederer appeared on Eggheads
and went head-to-head against Kevin Ashman
.
Lederer is also one of eight celebrities chosen to participate in an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire in the series cariad@iaith:love4language
shown on S4C in July 2011.
She will be starring in the 2011
British live-action 3D family comedy film Horrid Henry: The Movie
, as the titular character's aunt Rich Aunt Ruby.
, who began her television career in the ITV series Echo Beach in January 2008. She is an ambassador
for the Prince's Trust and works also with UNICEF.
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...
boom at the beginning of the 1980s.
Career
Lederer established a stand-up act at the Comedy StoreThe Comedy Store, London
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.It was named after The Comedy Store club in the United States, which Rosengard had visited the previous year...
in London and then won minor parts in episodes of The Young Ones
The 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...
, which had been written by her Comedy Store contemporaries Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
and 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...
. She would be linked with this scene for the rest of the 1980s, with a supporting role as housemaid Flossie in Happy Families
Happy Families (TV series)
Happy Families was a rural comedy drama written by Ben Elton which appeared on the BBC in 1985 and told the story of the dysfunctional Fuddle family....
and numerous appearances in related shows and live performances.
Lederer broke from the Comedy Store wing of the alternative scene in 1986 to take part in the BBC2 sketch
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...
show Naked Video
Naked Video
Naked Video was a BBC Scotland comedy series, broadcast between 1986 and 1991 on BBC2, the series was created by Colin Gilbert who also created A Kick Up the Eighties and Naked Radio.-Naked Radio:...
, which had originated without Lederer on the radio in Scotland. Lederer played various roles, including that of a newsreader linking spoof headlines into clips which acted as punchlines, and a drunk Sloane
Sloane Ranger
The term Sloane Ranger refers to a stereotype in the UK of young, upper class or upper-middle-class women, or men who share distinctive and common lifestyle traits...
who performed a monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
in each episode from a wine bar.
In the 1990s, Lederer was recruited by her old contemporaries Mayall 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...
to play supporting roles in two episodes of their sitcom Bottom, including a memorable part as a fallen millionairess on the make. Simultaneously, she played Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely 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...
, joining forces again with 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...
. She had previously worked with Saunders and her comedy partner Dawn French in their sketch show 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....
, as well as Happy Families and the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
sitcom 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...
. She also guest appeared in the Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher
Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Early life:Fisher was born in Glasgow and following the death of his parents was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School...
sitcom The Baldy Man
Baldy Man
The Baldy Man is a television series starring Gregor Fisher, a Scottish comedian. It was broadcast in two series comprising thirteen episodes on ITV, screening in 1995 and 1997, was made by The Comedy Unit/. The character's chief attribute is his comb over hairstyle as well as his bumbling nature...
.
Lederer has always been a guest or supporting actress on programmes devised by or starring her alternative comedy contemporaries and as such has made a good, consistent career. She has branched out into many 'serious' acting roles too, and was reviewed favourably when she took part in The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
on the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage.
As a presenter, she has hosted and voiced lifestyle, religious and children's programmes. She has guested on numerous radio panel games and writes columns for newspapers and magazines.
In December 2009, Lederer appeared on Eggheads
Eggheads
Eggheads is a BBC quiz show created by 12 Yard Productions, first broadcast in 2003, and presented by Dermot Murnaghan. For the 2008 series, Jeremy Vine was brought in to present on nights when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series Are You an Egghead? This happened again from October 2009 while...
and went head-to-head against Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman
Kevin Ashman from Winchester, Hampshire in England is one of the world's most successful quiz players and since 2002 a professional quizzer, an Egghead since 2003...
.
Lederer is also one of eight celebrities chosen to participate in an intense week learning Welsh in an eco-friendly chic campsite in Pembrokeshire in the series cariad@iaith:love4language
Cariad@iaith:love4language
cariad@iaith:love4language is an S4C reality television series in which people attempt to learn the Welsh language.-History:Commissioned in 2002 from an idea by Fflic production staff, cariad@iaith:love4language originally involved members of the public who wished to learn Welsh, spending six weeks...
shown on S4C in July 2011.
She will be starring in the 2011
2011 in film
The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :...
British live-action 3D family comedy film Horrid Henry: The Movie
Horrid Henry the Movie
Horrid Henry: The Movie is a 3D family comedy film based on the fictional character Horrid Henry. The first British film for children to be shot in 3D, its UK release date was 29 July 2011...
, as the titular character's aunt Rich Aunt Ruby.
Personal life
Lederer has married twice and has a daughter, Hannah Lederer-AltonHannah Lederer-Alton
Hannah Lederer-Alton is a British actress and model who started her TV career in ITV's soap Echo Beach as character Abi Marrack. During this show she appeared in a topless scene. She also appeared on an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16: UK...
, who began her television career in the ITV series Echo Beach in January 2008. She is an ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
for the Prince's Trust and works also with UNICEF.