Cloud 9 Management

Helen Lederer

Comedy Writer & Performer
Helen Lederer is one of Britain’s best loved comediennes. A trailblazing stand-up, Helen was one of the few female performers at the infamous Comedy Store during the first wave of “alternative comedy” in the early 1980s, performing alongside the likes of Alexei Sayle and Ben Elton and has since gone on to appear in some of the UK’s most popular television sitcoms.

Helen’s first break came when she co-starred in the BBC Radio 4 sketch show In One Ear, which won a Sony Award for best comedy, going on to make memorable appearances in The Young Ones and Bottom, alongside Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. In 1986 she joined the BBC Two sketch show Naked Video, where he Sloane-like Girl At The Bar was one of the stand-out characters, even appearing in a series of adverts for Warninks Advocaat. 

Having previously performed with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in their eponymous sketch show and sitcoms Happy Families and Girls On Top, Helen teamed up with Saunders again for the role for which she is perhaps best known, that of Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous

Helen has made regular appearances on stage, radio and screen for nearly 40 years, her quick wit meaning she is much in demand as a guest on chat shows and panel shows. She is not averse to exposing herself, both literally and metaphorically, having appeared in uncompromising positions in celebrity diving show Splash!, removing more clothes than is decent on The Real Full Monty and surviving longer than she intended in the Celebrity Big Brother house.  

Helen’s debut comedy novel, Losing It, was published in 2015 to great acclaim, being shortlisted for the PG Wodehouse Comedy Literary Prize and the Edinburgh First Book Award. 

Despite her longevity, Helen believes funny women are still underappreciated and under-represented in the media, so in 2019 she founded the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) Awards celebrating the best comedy novels written by women and recognising the achievements of some of our finest female comedy writers, including Jilly Cooper and Meera Syal. The CWIP Awards are now firmly established in the literary calendar.

For further information about Helen Lederer please contact her agent andrew@cloud9management.co.uk

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