Helen Lederer has been around a while (in the nicest possible way) and has got the scars to prove it. A comedy writer with an extensive portfolio that includes writing and performing her own material, not only as a stand-up comedian but also as a comedy novelist and contributor to various publications. For the first time she opens the door to a full account of her life, and I loved sharing her journey.
With one of the most recognisable faces in comedy, Lederer has shared stages with comedy pioneers like Ben Elton and John Hegley, and TV screens with Rik Mayall, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Harry Enfleld, and many others. Actress, Writer, Performer, Comedian, Talker. Oh she can talk, alright! This book is name-drop-tastic, and I loved every word. It’s funny, it’s real, it’s surprising, it’s dark, it’s light and everything in between.
Labelled a “show off” as a child it seemed she was always destined for a life in the limelight albeit she spent most of her childhood making other people laugh and then being told off for it. Lederer is queen of wearing her heart on her sleeve and this is her at her absolute best. She knew from an early age that her ideal job would have to be in the field of public humiliation, writing and performing. And boy has she achieved that. Constantly putting herself out there, she’s oh so brave, and she doesn’t hold back in sharing the good, the bad and the ugly. Conquests and all!
And be prepared, there are some stories in here, Lederer shares with no exceptions but does it with an openness and honesty that feels terribly moving, showing her intense vulnerability.
From the iconic Absolutely Fabulous, to The Young Ones, Bottom, Happy Families, Naked Video, French and Saunders and Girls on Top. From writing radio shows and performing on the West End to children's TV, she’s done it all. With her inimitable style. And although she might be a teensy weensy bit bitter, you can’t help but love and respect her for it.
Probably best known for her role as the dippy Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, I have always loved her. 1992. Ab Fab Day 1, I was there and loved every ounce of her hilariously clueless character. And she was on our TV again this week, on Corrie drinking two for one cocktails in the Chariot Square Hotel with none other than Ken Barlow. I do hope Elspeth gets to stay around for a bit.
She helped pave the way for the comedians of today, breaking ground in the 80s. Her first comedy novel Losing It was nominated for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, which led Lederer to set up her own Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP) in 2018 to create a platform for comedy women writers. And she has continued to lift up witty women writers ever since.
Known for her expressive face, unique wit and observational humour Lederer is bloody funny and brilliantly brave. You feel she hasn’t had an easy ride of it but you want to jump right on her bandwagon and drive her forward to where she belongs. Bravo Helen. We love you.
Join LoveReading MD Deborah Maclaren in conversation with Helen Lederer here in our exclusive publication day special.
Not That I'm Bitter A Truly, Madly, Funny Memoir Synopsis
What was it like as one of a handful of women at the heart of the right-on alternative comedy scene in the 1980s? Piece of cake? Bit of a laugh? Well, yes, and no. It had its ups – but also its downs. Helen Lederer was a regular on the stand-up circuit and new-wave sketch shows in the decade that launched the careers of today’s comedy household names and national treasures.
She shared stages with comedy pioneers like Ben Elton and John Hegley, and TV screens with Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Harry Enfield, and many others. From the iconic Absolutely Fabulous, to Bottom, Happy Families, Naked Video, French and Saunders and Girls on Top, it is difficult to think of a comedy show that Helen wasn’t a part of. From writing radio shows, to performing on the West End her wry, witty perspectives, and her face, are unforgettable. So, plain sailing then? Well, not really.
Not That I’m Bitter, her powerful, frank, moving and characteristically funny memoir, reveals exactly how choppy the waters could be. Even in those ground-breaking, anti-Thatcher days, there was only room at top for so many women. For the rest, it was as much a struggle to be seen and heard in the world of comedy as in any boardroom or workplace, and just as difficult to avoid the predators.
This is more than the story of one decade, however. The child of a Jewish-Czech wartime refugee, Helen Lederer was never part of the mainstream. How do you make humour from a lifelong battle against problems with weight and low-self-esteem? Where are the jokes in addictions to diet-pills and steroid injections? How can laughter defeat the darker moments, like a child’s anorexia or PTSD? How do you cope with constant self- sabotage and when, despite enormous success, you still feel like a failure? Helen raises an important and open discussion around mental health alongside the evolved attitudes to women today. There’s something in Helen Lederer’s life-story that everyone, can relate to.
A genuinely funny memoir with lots of heart (and just the right amount of bitterness!), she pulls no punches, but every blow is wrapped in a laugh of recognition. Brilliantly written, revealing, and moving, Not That I’m Bitter is sweet, sour, laugh out loud, and addictive.
“This wildly entertaining ride through Helen’s fabulous life is funny, adorable, and thought-provoking in equal measure, rather like the dazzling author herself.” – Joanna Lumley
‘Helen Lederer is the third funniest woman in the world’ – Dawn French
Author
About Helen Lederer
Helen Lederer is probably best known for her role as the dippy Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous, in which she appeared alongside Jennifer Saunders in all six series of the show as well as creating the 'girl at the bar' in Naked Video. However, to many she is known for her unique brand of wit and observational humour. A comedy writer with an extensive portfolio that includes writing and performing her own material, Helen has starred in a great number of top TV comedy and radio shows. Helen was part of a group of early 1980s comedians, including French and Saunders, the late Rik Mayall, and Ben Elton, who made their names at London's famous Comedy Store. She was a guest on ITV's Saturday Night Live with her solo comedy act, as well as performing at the first Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal along with Lenny Henry. TV appearances span such shows as The Young Ones, French and Saunders, Happy Families, One Foot in the Grave, Bottom, Love Soup, Miss Marple, Casualty and Hollyoaks. She plays Miss Bowline-Hitch alongside Bernard Cribbins in the much-loved children's TV series Old Jack's Boat. Helen also played Rich Aunt Ruby in Horrid Henry: The Movie. On BBC radio, she has been a regular panellist on shows including Just a Minute, Quote ... Unquote, Open Book, A Good Read and Woman's Hour, as well as writing and performing in two of her own comedy series, All Change and Life with Lederer. Her columns include Woman & Home, the Independent, the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Telegraph, and she is currently the 'agony aunt' for Woman's Weekly. Helen's comedy books include Coping with Helen Lederer and Single Minding. She's done a variety of theatre work, following hot on the heels of Julie Walters in Educating Rita, playing Doreen in Alan Bleasdale's Having a Ball, as well as appearing in The Vagina Monologues, Calendar Girls and The Killing of Sister George in London's West End, interspersed with many fringe theatre plays.
