We’re told comedy is becoming much more diverse. So why does the very busy Channel 4 star sometimes feel like she’s the only disabled comedian in the country?
I’m writing this article from a lovely cafe in Poole, Dorset, and a sweet man has just asked for a photo with me. He’s a fan, he claims. I of course say yes, but when he swipes to open his phone, it reveals that the last thing he Googled was “disabled comedian”. He is mortified. I, naturally, find it funny. It is clear he saw me from across the cafe, thought, “Oh, I recognise her mug” and searched the two terms he knew about me: “disabled” and “comedian”. I am not bothered that he had to Google who I was, or that he reduced me to my ability and my job, but I am bothered that, according to the world’s number one search engine, I am the only disabled comedian.
This isn’t true. In the UK right now, there are so many great comedians with disabilities and neurodiversities: Adam Hills, Chris McCausland, Lost Voice Guy, Tim Renkow, Ashley Storrie and Fern Brady to name but a few. But it does seem that recently I have become somewhat of a poster girl for disability. I think there are a number of reasons for this.
