Day: January 6, 2025

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MMA: Surrey’s Jeremy Kennedy wins over higher-ranked Pico in Bellator 286 – Peace Arch News

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** This story was updated 1:22 p.m. Oct. 3
Saturday was fight night again for Jeremy Kennedy, the Surrey-raised MMA featherweight looking to rise up the Bellator promotion ranks with a win over one tough opponent.
On Oct. 1, after 10 months out of Bellator’s circular cage, he was up against higher-ranked featherweight Aaron Pico at the Bellator 286 event at Long Beach Arena in southern California.
Kennedy won the fight by TKO after the opening round, when Pico’s left shoulder popped out of the socket.
The #7-ranked Kennedy has now won three of his first four outings under the Bellator banner, and Saturday’s win over the #3-ranked Pico could give him a shot at the world title.
“This opportunity is huge, and I’m ready to capitalize on it,” Kennedy said prior to Saturday’s fight, in a phone call from California.
WATCH BELLATOR 286 BELOW:

𝘿𝙤 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠! 👀@AaronPicoUSA and @JeremyKennedyWC will look to steal the show in LA! 🌆#Bellator286 | 1️⃣0️⃣/1️⃣ | 10pm ET/7pm PT | @SHOSports pic.twitter.com/glLAQ8RkNr
The five-foot-10, 145-pound Kennedy is now 18-3 in pro MMA since 2016, when he signed with the UFC as an undefeated top prospect and champion on the Canadian scene.
The 18 fights he’s won are tattooed as notches on his left rib cage.
With Bellator, Kennedy’s previous few fights were in Connecticut in a “bubble” the promotion used for fights during the pandemic.
“My last one was supposed to be in April against Pico, but I actually got injured 10 days out from the fight,” Kennedy explained. “My last fight, I won back in December against Emmanuel Sanchez, who was ranked fourth, so I’ve been fighting these ranked guys. Prior to that one, I fought in April 2021, and my first Bellator fight was in November 2020, right in the middle of that first COVID year.”
• READ MORE: Kennedy loses his second Bellator fight to Borics, after winning his debut.


Kennedy has been training in Las Vegas, where he lives with his wife of more than two years, Haley.
“Once we got married (in August 2020), that’s when we made the move to Vegas, pretty much, because with the border restrictions at the time it wasn’t easy to go back and forth,” Kennedy elaborated.
“And Canada had that two-week quarantine period too – I did a couple stints of those, like, six weeks of quarantine total, and I was done with that. So we packed up the dogs (boxers Joe and Cooper), rented out the townhouse we bought in Langley and drove down to Vegas, because that’s where the fights were happening and where I needed to be.
“My parents are still in Surrey and I stay and visit them,” he added. “I get back there quite a bit, and will be in mid-October.”
Kennedy turned 30 on Sept. 16, but he didn’t celebrate much.
“With the diet and training, I didn’t do much for my birthday,” he said with a sigh. “I think I did three sessions and a couple recovery sessions that day. Didn’t have birthday cake, no, nothing like that.”
Prior to any fight, making weight is the hard part, he said on Sept. 28. “The last few days, it’s not even about the fight, it’s about making weight – not eating too much. I haven’t eaten carbs since the weekend,” said Kennedy, whose nickname has long been JBC, a reference to Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers he loved to eat back in the day, while growing up in Fleetwood.
People still call him that, sometimes.
“Oh for sure,” Kennedy admitted, “but that’s more of a Lower Mainland, Vancouver thing. Out here now, my nickname is still JBC but people wonder what that stands for. So I tell them and they think it’s funny. It’s an original B.C. thing and all my hometown people know it, so I keep it strong.”
Last Saturday night, Bellator 286’s main event had Patricio Pitbull fighting Adam Borics. Viewers in Canada could watch the action live on Bellator’s Youtube channel.
Ahead of the fight, Kennedy had been doing interviews with MMA journalists and podcasters from around the world. “It’s nice to be calling one in the 604 area code, someone from the home town,” he said with a laugh.
• RELATED, from 2016: Surrey’s Jeremy Kennedy wins UFC debut fight on home turf (video).


tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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NPR boosts coverage of religion with added staff, partnership with Religion News Service – Current

Current (https://current.org/2025/01/npr-boosts-coverage-of-religion-with-added-staff-partnership-with-religion-news-service/)
Courtesy of Jason DeRose
NPR Religion Correspondent Jason DeRose interviews Issa Thaljieh, a parish priest at the Greek Orthodox congregation at the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem in the West Bank on Dec. 25, 2023.
NPR and 11 member stations have teamed up with the nonprofit news organization Religion News Service to boost coverage of religion. 
The organizations have also staffed up: NPR hired a senior editor and senior producer to join religion correspondent Jason DeRose, while RNS added an executive editor to work with NPR. 
The partnership launched over the summer and has already produced more than a dozen stories.
Two grants are helping fund the initiative. NPR is receiving a two-year, $900,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment. Meanwhile, RNS landed an Arthur Vining Davis Foundations grant for $300,000 over two years, according to publisher Deborah Caldwell. 
“We’ve certainly learned and observed that for so many of the issues that have become kind of politically important in the last few years, there is a religious lens on many of them,” said Bruce Auster, NPR’s managing editor for collaborative journalism. “Faith, spirituality, religion intersect with so many of the things people care about in … civic life, and yet we felt like that lens was not getting due attention and that the way to correct for that was to really put some resources at it.”
In one example, an October story revealed Catholic bishops were donating less to anti-abortion campaigns than in earlier years. 
That story took months of work and “shows the power of the collaboration,” Auster said. It was reported by RNS national reporter Jack Jenkins and Rosemary Westwood, public health reporter at WWNO/WRKF in Louisiana. 
The other member stations participating in the collaboration are Public Radio Tulsa in Oklahoma; WDET in Detroit; WBEZ in Chicago; Colorado Public Radio; WPLN in Nashville, Tenn.;  KMUW in Wichita, Kan.; WUNC in Chapel Hill, N.C.; Mississippi Public Radio; Northwest Public Broadcasting in Pullman, Wash.; and New England Public Media in Amherst, Mass. 
“The idea is that you want to be doing reporting like this not just from Washington but hearing stories from on the ground,” Auster said. 
The collaborators meet weekly to discuss stories and sourcing and to undergo training, Auster said. He said the aim is to create a new cohort of people who know how to cover religion. 
“You’re not just trying to get stories on the air,” he said. 
Caldwell said the partnership helps create more local and regional journalism about religion across the country and allows RNS’ reporting to reach a larger audience. In addition to collaborating on stories, RNS reporters are also interviewed as experts on the network’s radio programs. 
“Coverage of religion is really important for helping people see that there’s a vibrant civic life in America,” Caldwell said. 
NPR, meanwhile, benefits from the expertise RNS brings to the table, Auster said. 
“They have, I think, sophisticated ideas about what stories could be,” he said. “They’re nuanced. They’re not the obvious stories.”

There’s no doubt that a livelier presentation and coverage of topics of concern to midlifers, such as personal finance and health and wellness, will have a positive effect.
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MIXTAPE: Sam Blasucci’s Life Forms in Live Performance – The Bluegrass Situation

Coming early 2025, I will be releasing a live concert film of my new record, Real Life Thing. The film runs like a play of sorts, including different set changes and moods for each song as we run down the entire track list of the album. To me, live performance is the reason for making music. It’s the best way for me to tap into something deep in myself with those that have come out to do the same. It’s also the way that I make my trade as a human; I think live performance already brings an honest and vulnerable energy since it is our livelihood.
Songs evolve each time they’re performed live and each instrument reflects a current mood. It’s an endless mixed bag of potential outcomes. So much of a performance is pulled from all of the energies involved – the crowd, the band, the venue, and the ghosts that live there, the time of year, etc. It’s the most exciting part of music to me and that’s why I decided to make my playlist all live performances of some of my favorite songs. – Sam Blasucci
“If I Was Your Girlfriend” Live In Utrecht (2020 Remaster) – Prince
I could have made this entire playlist just live Prince recordings that blow my mind, but that might only be fun for me. I especially love this version because it’s a song he wrote as his alter ego persona Camilla, who sang it on the album (Prince pitched his voice up to sound higher). But in this version, you just get Prince in Europe with his natural voice and it’s one of my favorite recordings of his ever.
“Hey That’s No Way to Say Goodbye” Live in London – Leonard Cohen
I think this is Leonard Cohen’s best album of any, live or in the studio. He was better and better with age. This is the cute version of Leonard as an old man finally, singing this song in the way it feels like it should have always been sung. Of any live performance on this list, this is the one I would have loved to see most in person.
“LA FAMA” Live en el Palau Sant Jordi – ROSALÍA
Some live versions I think are better than the studio versions and this is one of those cases, although I love the studio versions of all the MOTOMAMI songs. When Rosalía released this on the deluxe version of the album, it gave the song another side and clicked with me even more.
“Hunter” (Live) – Björk
If the purpose of a live performance is to tap in to something, Björk never missed. She’s the hunter
“Knock On Wood” Live; 2005 Mix; 2016 Remaster – David Bowie
This is my favorite era of David Bowie (Cracked Actor). I especially love his vocal performance in this version. It’s not easy to cover a classic song like this and have it feel tastefully ramped up, but I think he brought it and crushed it.
“Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)” – Donny Hathaway
Willie Weeks may be my favorite bass player and his solo section toward the end of this is widely known as one of the coolest bass moments, and with good reason. I suppose it shouldn’t be that hard to tap in when Donny Hathaway is leading the band.

“17 Days” Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version – Prince
When you can strip it all down to a single instrument and a voice and come through with so much power and spirit, that must be the true peak of live performance. When there is nothing else in the pot, all the secret parts of the music come out and make magic.
“Hot Burrito #2” Live at Lafayette’s Music Room – Big Star
I always thought Alex Chilton had some similarities with Gram Parsons. They sort of sing in a similar way and they both show so much emotion in their songs. I think that’s why he could make this version hit so hard. Chilton is at the top of my list of guitar players as well, and this song is a reason why.
“Ventura” Live 2003/The Fillmore, San Francisco – Lucinda Williams
This was recorded on my birthday in 2003. Although I was in 3rd grade and not in attendance for the show, I’d like to think I helped with the vibes. This one sounds like November in SF to me. Another amazing thing about live performance is capturing the energy surrounding the show.
“Woman of Heart and Mind” Live at Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, CA, 8/14-17, 1974 – Joni Mitchell
Another version that I prefer to the studio cut. The sound of the night and the live acoustic guitar; Joni’s semi-confrontational and conversational writing style seem to be designed for an in-person type of listening.
“Angel Eyes” Live In Toronto/1975 – Jim Hall
Jim Hall is another one of my favorite guitar players. I learned about this song years ago on tour in Colorado and it has ever since remained one of my favorites.
“Stay A Little Longer” Live at Harrah’s Casino, Lake Tahoe, NV April 1978 – Willie Nelson
This feels like a good burning ender to this playlist, although it is the very opening of the concert it was taken from. Willie’s recipe is 3x the speed of the original, a couple out of control solos, and likely some exotic mood modifiers.

Photo Credit: Jo Anna Edmison
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'The comedy industry is absolute shit' – Chortle

Jenny Eclair on jealousy, women being marginalised in stand-up and her warts-and-all memoir
Jenny Eclair made history when she became the first woman to win the Perrier Award in 1995. Prior to that, she'd starred in the Channel 4 sitcom Packet of Three with Frank Skinner and Henry Normal and later fronted the Grumpy Old Women franchise, which transferred from TV to touring internationally. Co-host of the Older And Wider podcast with Grumpy Old Women producer Judith Holder, she has also presented the spin-off Taskmaster: The People's Podcast with Jack Bernhardt, after appearing in the 15th series in 2023. Eclair has written six novels and recently published her memoir, Jokes, Jokes, Jokes. She embarks upon an accompanying tour this month.
How are the tour preparations going?
I'm really enjoying myself because I'm doing what I want to do. After writing the memoir, I've realised that I'm very cross about the comedy industry. The industry is absolute shit and it's taken me a long time to realise that it doesn't care about anybody. Unless it's making them pots of money. Even then, everybody is completely expendable. But that's actually very freeing, not trying to please anyone apart from myself.
It's a funny show. But it's not entirely stand-up. It's more of a slideshow with a narrative, the memoir through stand-up.
So are you able to improvise more than usual then?
It's really important to have gags as the cornerstones. There have to be enough big laughs. But it really doesn't matter if I drop some material one night and put something different in. I've got 40 years' worth. 
In the book, you recall previously feeling trapped by your onstage persona. Do you still feel that way? Or are you perhaps getting closer to the real you on stage?
Oh yeah, definitely. I don't have to psych myself up in the wings and emerge as a slightly different alter-ego. I am me on stage. My mother once said to me, 'why don't you just be yourself?' And I thought, well, that's ridiculous. But it's actually come true. I'm more myself than I've ever been. 
I mean, obviously, I'm a more interesting version of myself. Like most of us, I'm pathetically dull most of the time, very anti-social. The idea of going to a party or for a night out. Eurghh, I can't think of anything worse.
But I am much more at peace with what I'm doing and saying. The Nineties were a very interesting decade. It was quite mad. And socially, there was the ladette culture, there was the Loaded stuff going on, everybody was being harder, swearier, drink-ier, drugg-ier than anybody else. 
I knew I was on borrowed time. I knew that if I wanted to proceed into my forties, I could not continue wearing PVC trousers. Because there's something a bit tragic about it. Unless you're a rock 'n' roll queen. But even Madonna, you feel a bit sorry for her. I mean, well done love. But all that effort. I would have been pitiful at it.
I was struck by how much thought you've put into your appearance, your poster images, even your stage entrances. Why have they been so important?
Comics come from many different backgrounds and I went to drama school. I have very set drama school rules. I have to be at a venue an hour and a half before the show goes up. I'm very strict about the half. I don't want visitors after the half. I won't get into a lift after the half, just in case it breaks down. Really old-fashioned. But it's what I believe in. 
And I do believe in making an entrance and an exit. There are plenty of casual stand-ups, which is fine. But that's not me. I could never go on stage in a jumper.
And I live with a graphic designer. In terms of posters and things like that, I know the value of how things look. If you have a good photo, you've got more chance of getting on the front cover of a brochure for a regional theatre. It's worth the extra effort.
Have you got beyond the worry that you were 'acting' with your stand-up?
Yeah, I'm totally beyond that now. I never convinced myself as an actress. Even if I tried again, I'd still have the voice in my head saying, 'oh, look at you, pretending'. The more I can be myself on stage, the less I have that inner critic. 
Given the chance though, I would just do matinee shows to be quite honest. Only 3pm or 5pm shows for the rest of my life, I'd be very, very happy indeed. Sadly, that's not practical for touring. I have to get my old arse into a hire car and sit in the passenger seat doing tapestries until we arrive. 
You reckon that funny people are just born funny, right?
I do. There are loads of stand-up who are not necessarily funny. They know how to be funny and they're academically bright enough to pull the wool over everybody's eyes. But I don't think they're intrinsically funny. I won't be naming names.
You've described stand-up as a kind of mental illness. Do you think that the number of comics who've recently been diagnosed with autism or ADHD for example, suggests that it at least suits a different way of thinking?
I'm too old for autism or ADHD. I tried to fill in a form but got bored halfway through so didn't finish it. 
I'm very, very self-aware, very self-centred, very self-obsessed. And I think that's something I was born with. You see kids in playgrounds, on buses, doing stupid things with their faces. I was that kid. Always a show-off.
You took a relatively long time to accept that you were a comedian. And you seem to have always been a grafter, always had an eye for a side hustle. Is that fair?
Yeah, I've taken any opportunity because stand-up is quite a cruel business. I'm not a great all-rounder but I love doing television presenting. I love writing short stories for Radio 4. But those ships have sailed. Whereas stand-up is very much something I can still do. And I know I'm a good writer because I've read so many books that aren't as good as mine.
In the book, you reflect on being intimidated by the talent of people like Victoria Wood and Frank Skinner and the motivating role that jealousy has played in your career. Are you just being honest? 
I've got a massive streak of spite, jealousy and envy in me, more so than many people because I can be slightly victim-y occasionally. Sometimes I just have to go back and admit, actually, I wasn't good enough.
However, a lot of the time I was good enough and didn't get the opportunities. I can't go back and fix that. When I first came into the comedy scene, I felt very blocked by the Oxbridge lot. 
But then there were people doing really well that weren't from Oxbridge. So sometimes I just wasn't doing the right work at the right time. I didn't have the right voice, I don't know. I've kind of bobbed around in the middle but done some really good things.
Do you feel as if you've wasted a lot of energy battling prejudice from television commissioners? It seems as if it's only male and lesbian comics allowed to front travel shows, for example.
Straight white women occupy a little bit of that male, pale and stale space. It is time for other ethnicities to get a chance. And you know, with gay male comics, not everyone went as far as Julian [Clary] or Graham [Norton]. It's like there's a lucky finger that points at some people. They get the gig and the three or four behind them don't. 
In the Eighties and Nineties, when one woman got through the door, the door shut. The rest of us piled up behind.
Like black comics joking about waiting for Lenny Henry to die?
Yeah, it did feel like that. There was this triumvirate at the top, Jennifer [Saunders], Dawn [French] and Victoria [Wood]. And beyond that, it was as if other female comics weren't allowed to exist, more or less. I'm not blaming them. I'm blaming the industry. 
Still, it was all quite new. If you think about when I came onto the scene, the traditional male, working-class comic was on his way out, probably feeling very confused and bewildered by why nobody wanted to listen to him anymore. 
Then along we came. And some people were better connected, some were in the right place at the right time. And some of us just weren't ready. I think I'm quite a slow developer.
But as television's influence on comedy wanes, you're adapting, doing live shows of Older And Wider.
The live podcast shows are incredible. Older and Wider listeners are known as Owls and people dress up as them. It's definitely a community and it's really important for Judith and I to do it, for us as much as anyone. 
We get so many emails. Particularly during Covid, when people were in hospital, experiencing things like chemotherapy. They couldn't see anybody and were very, very isolated. I do think we are friends in their ears. 
And that's because we talk like people talk in real life. We have kids, we have grandchildren, pets and money worries. Disasters here, there and everywhere. Family things going wrong. The amount of support I got when my mother was dying! You can't let absolutely everything out of the bag. But it is a shared thing, definitely.
Has recording a podcast made you more honest and open on stage in general?
Absolutely. Honesty is the point of podcasts. I get really cross when the BBC say they make podcasts because they don't, they make radio shows. Everything the BBC churns out has to be within its rules and regulations. But if you're doing a podcast, there are no rules. The only thing that can stop you is that people stop listening. 
Not being duty-bound is also very freeing. We don't get paid for Older and Wider … well, after setup costs, the money is only just starting to dribble through. But I'm not beholden to anyone, there's no contract and it's kind of difficult to sack me. So because the money is non-existent, I don't have to worry about scripting it. 
Scripted podcasts are weird anyway, a waste. Why not try to get it on Radio 4? Why not write a drama? I think another point of a podcast is to find your niche, find the people who like what you say.
Did writing the memoir help with grieving for your mother?
June was ready to die. If she could flick a switch, she would have done it two years before. I didn't grieve her death, I was sad that what we had was gone. I'm not very sentimental about death. I think about my mother quite often but not every single day. She's such a part of my life and such a strong flavour, both my parents were. In some respects, the book is a love letter to them because I realised quite young that they were a lot more interesting than a lot of other parents. 
Or maybe every child thinks like that? I just never thought my parents were boring or stupid.
How warts and all did you seek to make Jokes, Jokes, Jokes? You write about being mildly unfaithful to your now husband, Geof, in the aftermath of winning the Perrier Award. Did you discuss that before the book was published?
No, we didn't. But he always knew. And I've never been able to apologise properly. So I thought I might as well just do it in the book.
Everyone's relationships are very different aren't they? Geof and I get on really, really well. I'm always so glad to see him, always so glad to come home and always so glad that he's there. The idea of him not being there absolutely terrifies me. 
I have a really strong relationship with my daughter Phoebe [Eclair-Powell] too, who's quite grown up and quite emotionally savvy. I think she understands that I had periods in my life where I was not really functioning as normal mothers should. But I made sure that she was really well looked after. And now she has her son, Arlo, who is, of course, the light of my life. I've got a lot of two-year-old in my life.
Are you prepared for your playwright daughter potentially writing about you?
Oh, she can do what she likes artistically. I would absolutely approve of anything Phoebe did because she's always had her own moral code. She's always been more moral than me and I wouldn't blame her for sucking on our bones at all. 
I can understand why Joe Biden pardoned his son. We have no morals when it comes to our children. We have no rules when it comes to Phoebe. She is a very, very successful writer, working for television now, with three projects on the go. She's a real grafter and I'm in awe of her as a worker and a writer.
You write about making Packet of Three and appearing in Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Do you harbour ambitions to make another sitcom?
No, I'm not a good enough actress. There are really gifted character actors and I'm not one of them. I'm a very strong personality and flavour of my own. I can adapt my personality and shut it off when writing novels. But when I'm in performance mode, whatever I'm doing, I'm some part of me. 
Monica Dolan and a lot of the actresses that did my Little Lifetimes on Radio 4, they almost physically changed in the chair. They were suddenly not themselves. I was really lucky to sit in a corner and watch some amazing British actresses do craply paid Radio 4 monologues I'd written, a highlight of my career. I love stand-up. But secretly, I'm more proud of that type of writing.
If there was an opportunity to adapt Little Lifetimes for television, would that interest you?
Oh yeah, I'd hand them over, definitely. I wouldn't want to be in any myself. Originally, that was what I wanted. And the producer said: 'Oh God no, I can get much, much better actresses than you'. And she got some of the most extraordinary actors we have today. She was right and I was wrong. 
What other TV ambitions do you have? In your last stand-up show, Sixty! (FFS!), it seemed like you were making a blatant pitch to get on Strictly Come Dancing…
No, the BBC aren't very keen on me at the moment. There would have to be a new controller or a clean sweep of controllers. I've never been asked and doubt I'm high on their list of priorities. I'd probably fall between the stools too because I'd try really hard and still be shit. But not quite shit enough to be hilarious. 
I've done a load of reality shows and I don't mind doing them at all. I've probably done more or less all of them to be quite honest. But I don't think Strictly's going to happen.
I'd love to do more presenting. I nearly got Bake Off. When I did Loose Women I got lazy, just sat on the chair and talked a bit. I wouldn't have done half the things I've done if I'd been stuck behind that desk for 10, 15 years. I'd have done fuck all.
You used to have an interview show for LBC, would that be the sort of thing you're after?
Oh yeah. And I'd love the podcast to be more successful. Doing both of my podcasts actually is where my heart is. I really enjoyed doing Taskmaster. I'm game for quite a lot, anything that's out there. But there are a lot of us competing now. And it's not just comedians. It's influencers, Instagram famous people. There a lot of people vying for these so-called celebrity slots.
Has appearing on Taskmaster changed your audience? 
No, not really. There are usually about four goths sitting on the front row, looking a bit confused. I can always tell. I look down and think, 'Taskmaster, Taskmaster, Taskmaster, Taskmaster'. And the rest is a sea of middle-aged women. 
My audience looks like they've come to sit for an afternoon matinee in the West End or to a garden centre. I'm really pleased that I'm a boomer hotspot.
What are your abiding memories of the show?
Oh, the potato hat was a glorious moment. I really enjoyed being in the studio too, once I got over the initial fear. Because when you've done so much comedy for people that like you, it's actually quite nerve-racking to suddenly be in front of an audience that doesn't know you from Adam. You have to hope they take to you.  

Do you get on easily with newer comedians?
Yeah, I used to give Red Richardson a lift to school. I met Amy Gledhill and Michelle De Swarte at a charity thing we were doing the other night. Everyone's very sweet. Helen Bauer lives round the corner, I've seen her on the bus. 
I'm very, very happy to chat. I like the people of stand-up comedy, the true comics. I don't think I've met many that I really don't like. Well, there are a few actually. And there's certainly material I don't like. But for the most part we have something in common. 
Did you and Amy compare your experiences of winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award?
I told her how it freaked me out. She's much more grounded, very much knows who she is. I gave her my number and told her she could always ring me if she's feeling a bit mad. I'll probably be calling her though. 
It's odd that there have still only been six women [winners] and two aren't really stand-ups now. I wouldn't call Hannah [Gadsby] a stand-up so much any more and Laura Solon's become a writer.
Did you feel you were carrying a burden of representation for women when you won it?
Very much so. As I say in the book, suddenly the press were calling me the country's most outrageous woman. When, in actual fact, I was just a mum who was good at swearing.
Are you as driven as you used to be?
Well, I can see the appeal of staying home more. I do a lot of artwork and I've actually sold quite a bit of it as well. I'm very distracted making toilet roll animals for my grandson. They appear in the new show. A lot of slides and toilet roll animals. Now that I've got over my fear of PowerPoint, it feels quite easy to change it around. But I've always liked having a structure. I'm a very structured comic. 
It seems as if Grumpy Old Women didn't end as you would have liked. Do you think you might revisit it one day?
I don't think there's ever going to be enough money. They were really Big Show and cost a fortune. A lot of people presumed we were sitting on stools, a bit like The Vagina Monologues. But we had big sets, lots of costumes and props, it was properly designed and lit. 
Having been an actress it's still very important to me how things look and sound. We had some absolutely golden moments. But we knew when to stop.
Your material has consistently been described as rude. Was that how your style organically developed?
It was the very early Eighties, I was a punk poet with this band and it's what I thought was funny. I've always found rude stuff funny. Once I'd found this niche, I felt I had to ride with it for quite a long time. 
I still think farting is hilarious and a good, filthy joke is a great thing. But I don't need to have so many these days. I need something that the audience understand, that they connect and sympathise with. If the audience hasn't been through something, they're never going to think it's as funny. 
Doing this show about family, it can't just be about mine. It's really about the universalities. It's about all of our parents and being brought up at a certain time. About your sister, your brother, your relationship, what we share.
Do you see yourself performing stand-up indefinitely?
I'd like a Sunday afternoon residency in a small West End theatre for quite a long time, like they do in Vegas. That would make me very happy.
You mention a harsh review by Chortle editor Steve Bennett in your memoir …
Revenge is a dish best served very cold indeed. 
It wasn't that bad. And I did understand it, I knew exactly which gig he was talking about because it hadn't been good. I was still doing the occasional gig that could be off-putting back then and it didn't quite work. 
But he did go over-the-top. He was very rude and I think that was of its time too. I don't think a male reviewer would talk about a woman like that now because he'd get accused of all sorts of things. But we're all a product of society at a certain time. 
You couldn't be woke in the Nineties because nobody was, it's stuff we're having to learn. How to be nicer people perhaps. But without letting some of the, you know, edge, go. I don't blame anybody because we were all pretty vile for years and years.
You write about the old-school comics doing mother-in-law jokes who suddenly found themselves beyond the pale. And how the circumstances in which you lost your virginity might not be so acceptable today. Do you think we need to be more forgiving as a society about past transgressions? 
I do. I think that everyone should be given an opportunity to learn. And, you know, there are probably people sweating right now, thinking 'oh God, what did I do 20 years ago? Who did I upset in the industry? Will I be next?' 
If you continue to be a prick and don't learn, then you deserve your comeuppance. But I'm not going to suddenly track down the 22-year-old who I first slept with. I was a very willing, underage girl. I was a product of my time. My sister didn't do that though, she went to her wedding a virgin.
Is she happy with that being in print? 
She hasn't complained. She came round with some handwritten notes about some of the legal jargon I used about her late, QC husband. But that wasn't discussed.
How was writing about your anorexia? Will you be talking about that on stage? 
Oh, yeah, there's a little bit. It's quite well described in the book, most of the details are best left in there. I've always had a gag about it. You can make a joke about anything really.
You're open about those in the comedy industry you admire and those you truly detest. Did you worry about being so candid?
No, I didn't give a shit. I'm not saying anything that's particularly scandalous or scurrilous. I mean, Clement Freud's dead and everybody knows what he did. I'm a bit snotty about Paul Merton. We did know each other and we were friends, he lived with my friend Julie for a number of years. 
But in recent years, he's been very, very dismissive of me. I have no loyalty to him and won't do Just A Minute if he's on it. Which means I rarely do it. But I don't care and I don't care about him.
So, do you have anything planned for once the tour finishes?
I'd like an afternoon quiz show. A nice, fucking easy one, where are those for women? Where are they?! Apart from featuring Victoria Coren, who is not a stand-up. As is very evident I feel. But Only Connect is massively popular. 
Of course, Sandy [Toksvig] does QI, which is huge. I sat next to her at a book signing last week and she had queues around the block. I tried not to mind. However, there are still corners of this industry that women do not seem to have their fair share of.
And I would really like to knuckle down to another novel. I'll be really disappointed with myself if I don't manage another one in the next couple of years.
Would you ever explicitly fictionalise your comedy career?
Probably not. Because it would be a bit easy, one of those very see-through books. No, that doesn't excite me as an idea at all. I write fiction to get away from me.
• Jenny Eclair’s tour kicks off on Salford on January 25. Dates.
• Jokes, Jokes, Jokes is available from Amazon priced £16.52  – or from uk.bookshop.org, below, which supports independent bookstores.


Published: 6 Jan 2025
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