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Bridget Christie
Bridget Christie onstage at Crap Comedy Festival, 2017.
Bridget Christie onstage at Crap Comedy Festival, 2017.
Born
Bridget Louise Christie

(1971-08-17) 17 August 1971 (age 53)
Gloucester, England
EducationAcademy of Live and Recorded Arts (BA)
Occupation(s)Stand-up, actress, writer
Years active2003–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2006; sep. 2021)​
Children2
Websitebridgetchristie.co.uk

Bridget Louise Christie (born 17 August 1971)[1][2] is a BAFTA and RTS nominated English stand-up comedian, actress and writer. She has written and performed comedy tours, in addition to radio and television work.

Early life and education

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Christie grew up in Gloucester, England, the youngest of nine siblings born to parents from the west of Ireland: her father, Peter Christie, was from Boyle in the north of County Roscommon, while her mother, Mary Anne (née Kelly), was from Manorhamilton in the north of County Leitrim.[3] She attended St Peter's Roman Catholic High School in Gloucester.[4]

In 1994, Christie won a three-year scholarship to study drama at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in Wandsworth, London.[5]

Career

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Christie appeared in theatre productions and adverts before she began stand-up in 2004.[5] She was one of the finalists in the Funny Women Awards that year, won by Zoe Lyons. She was described by the show's founder Lynne Parker as "one of the most influential funny women who has ever entered our competition".[6]

Her debut BBC Radio 4 series, Bridget Christie Minds the Gap, was broadcast in April 2013.[7] A second series was broadcast in January 2015,[8] followed by a third, Bridget Christie's Utopia, in January 2018. [9] The three series were well received and won the Best Radio award at the 2014 Chortle Awards[10] and the 2014 Rose D'Or International Broadcasting Award.[11]

Her debut book, A Book for Her, was published in July 2015[12] to acclaim from The Daily Telegraph[13] and The List[14] and The Observer.[15] The paperback was released in February 2016 and the Spanish version in Barcelona in March 2017.[16]

Christie has written for The Sunday Times, The Times, The Independent and The Observer. She had a weekly column in Guardian Weekend magazine from October 2015 to March 2016.[17]

In 2015, she won a Red Magazine Women of the Year Award[18] and a Marie Claire Women at the Top Award.[19]

In May 2016, Christie recorded her debut screen stand-up special, Stand Up for Her (Live from Hoxton Hall), produced by Baby Cow Productions. It was released direct to Netflix on 31 March 2017.[20][21]

She has written and performed 13 solo shows.[22] The majority originated at the Edinburgh Festival and include A Bic for Her, An Ungrateful Woman and her Brexit-themed Because You Demanded It, which was The Guardian''s No 1 Comedy of the Year 2016.[23]

In 2020, she was a finalist for Best Scripted Comedy (Longform) in the BBC Audio Drama Awards.[5]

Television appearances

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Christie TV appearances include comedy programmes It's Kevin (BBC2), QI, The Omid Djalili Show (BBC1), Harry Hill's Little Cracker (Sky), Anna and Katy (Channel 4), The Culture Show (BBC2), Mel & Sue (ITV), Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave). and Have I Got News for You (BBC1) for which she was nominated for a 2014 British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comic,[24] the Alternative Comedy Experience (Comedy Central), Room 101 (BBC1), Cardinal Burns (Channel 4), Celebrity Squares (ITV), This Week (BBC One) and Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule (ITV). In 2020 she appeared in BBC1's comedy Ghosts as Annie, a ghost who said four words. She reprised the role in 2022.

Christie was a contestant in series 13 of Taskmaster (Channel 4), which began airing in April 2022.

In March 2022, Channel 4 announced Christie would star in The Change (TV series), a six-part comedy-drama series; which she also created and wrote. It was broadcast in June/July 2023.[25]

The Change

Her first television series is entitled The Change. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 21 June 2023.[26][27] It was also written and created by Christie. In the show, Bridget plays Linda, who finds a new lease of life when she learns she is undergoing menopause and heads to the forest on a journey of self-discovery. The Change was produced by Lisa Mitchell and executive-produced by Christie, Nerys Evans and Morwenna Gordon.[27]

Radio

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Work for BBC Radio 4 and others includes Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Miranda Hart's House Party, It's Your Round, Sarah Millican's Support Group, The Fred MacAulay Show, Dan Tetsell's The 21st Century for Time Travellers, The Now Show, Kerry’s List, It's Not What You Know, Dilemma, French and Saunders' Christmas Show, and The Casebook of Max and Ivan. In 2019 she became curator of the museum on the Radio 4 series The Museum of Curiosity.

Mortal

First broadcast in 2021, her four-part series for BBC Radio 4, Mortal, won the 2022 BBC Audio Drama Award. Mortal was a series about life and death which she recorded herself from home during Covid lockdown.[28]

Bridget Christie's Utopia

In her 2018 BBC Radio 4 show Utopia, Bridget attempted to come to terms with current world events – Kim Jong-un, the melting polar ice caps, the Brexit negotiations and Nick Knowles singing a cover of The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun” - so embarked on a comic quest for her Utopia, a way of living that will make her less anxious and enable her to have her first happy wee since the Brexit vote in 2016.

It was recorded in front of a studio audience at the BBC Radio Theatre. Starring Bridget Christie with special guests Mike Christie, Leyla Hussein, Sister Agatha & Fran Blockley.[29][30]

Bridget Christie Minds The Gap

In 2013, before a second series in 2015, Bridget's first BBC radio series was broadcast on Radio 4.

In Bridget Christie Minds the Gap, she gives us her personal take on feminism, asking why it became a dirty word and whether women still need it. From a bookshop fart to the 'Bic for Her' and a fish called Michael, she recalls the key incidents which led her to an epiphany and a call to arms - with the help of token man Fred MacAulay. In series two, she takes her activism to a new level as she deconstructs a yoghurt ad, tries to find an icon who doesn't replace the word 'feminism' with 'bootylicious', and reveals the consequences of wearing an 'End FGM' badge on a TV show.[31] A Christmas Special, 'Bridget Christie's Christmas List' foilowed the second series in 2015.[32]

Podcasts

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Christie has been guest on the podcasts Danielle Ward's Do The Right Thing, Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown, Jarlath Regan's An Irishman Abroad, Stuart Goldsmith’s The Comedian’s Comedian, The Adam Buxton Podcast, The Penguin Podcast with Richard E. Grant, Literary Death Match, Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and Spotify podcast We Need to Talk About.

Solo Stand-up Shows

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  • Who Am I? (2021 / 2023)
  • What Now? (2018)
  • Mortal (2016 / 2017)
  • A Book For Her (2015)
  • An Ungrateful Woman (2014)
  • A Bic For Her (2013)
  • War Donkey (2012)
  • Housewife Surrealist (2011)
  • Bridget Christie / A Ant (2010)
  • My Daily Mail Hell (2009)
  • The Court Of King Charles II – The Second (2008)
  • The Court Of King Charles II (2007)
  • The Cheese Roll (2006)

Appearances in other shows

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Awards

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  • Marie Claire – Women at the Top Awards 2015 – winner[19]
  • Red magazine Women of the Year Awards 2015 (Creative) – winner[18][33]
  • South Bank Sky Arts Award for Best Comedy for A Bic for Her (2014) – winner[34]
  • Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show with A Bic for Her (2013) – winner[35][36]
  • Funny Women Best Show Fringe Award for The Court of King Charles II (2007) – winner[37]

Personal life

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Christie suffers from trypophobia.[38]

Christie married comedian Stewart Lee in 2006.[39][1][40] They have two children.[40] Christie is a Catholic.[41][42][43] The couple separated amicably in 2021.[44][45]

References

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  1. ^ a b Iqbal, Nosheen (26 March 2010). "Comedy profile: Bridget Christie". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  2. ^ Brand, Katy (8 March 2013). "International Women's Day 2013: Bridget Christie is trying her hardest to make feminism funny". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2022.(subscription required)
  3. ^ "Bridget Christie: 'I'm glad there's misogyny – it turned my career around'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ Jarlath Regan (16 January 2016). "Bridget Christie". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (122 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "What On Earth Is Bridget Christie?". www.bridgetchristie.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  6. ^ Guide, British Comedy (18 April 2016). "Funny Women Awards". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Bridget Christie Minds The Gap | Series 1". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Bridget Christie Minds The Gap | Series 2". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Bridget Christie's Utopia". Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Bridget does the double at the Chortles". Chortle. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Newsletter – October 27th 2014…". www.bridgetchristie.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  12. ^ Christie, Bridget (July 2015). A Book for Her. Random House. ISBN 978-0099590842.
  13. ^ McLaren, Iona (20 November 2015). "The 100 best books of 2015". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2022.(subscription required)
  14. ^ "Best comedy literature to buy this Christmas". The List. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  15. ^ Groskop, Viv (20 July 2015). "A Book for Her by Bridget Christie review – a hybrid of writing and performance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Un libro para ella!". Chortle. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Profile: Bridget Christie". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  18. ^ a b Lunn, Natasha (12 October 2015). "Heroines, trailblazers, pioneers: the Red Women of the Year winners". Red Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Women At The Top Awards: Here's What We Learned In One Inspiring Night". Marie Claire. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Bridget Christie comes to Netflix". Chortle. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  21. ^ Dessau, Bruce (1 April 2017). "News: Bridget Christie Live Show On Netflix". Beyond The Joke. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  22. ^ Christie, Bridget. "Bridget Christie - Comedian, Actress, Mother, Clown. | Shows". www.bridgetchristie.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  23. ^ Logan, Brian (13 December 2016). "Brian Logan's top 10 comedy of 2016". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Winners 2014". The British Comedy Awards. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  25. ^ "CHANNEL 4 COMMISSIONS NEW COMEDY THE CHANGE FROM BRIDGET CHRISTIE". Channel 4 (Press release). 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  26. ^ Christie, Bridget. "Bridget Christie - Comedian, Actress, Mother, Clown. | The Change! Starts tomorrow (21st June)". www.bridgetchristie.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Watch The Change | Stream free on Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  28. ^ Bennett, Steve. "BBC Audio awards for Bridget Christie and John-Luke Roberts : News 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  29. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Bridget Christie's Utopia, Series 1, Disengage". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  30. ^ Christie, Bridget. "Bridget Christie - Comedian, Actress, Mother, Clown. | Bridget Christie's Utopia". www.bridgetchristie.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Go Faster Stripe". www.gofasterstripe.com. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  32. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Bridget Christie's Christmas List". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Acaster and Christie do the double". Chortle. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  34. ^ Osborn, Michael (27 January 2014). "Tracey Emin and Arctic Monkeys win South Bank awards". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  35. ^ Brocklehurst, Steven (24 August 2013). "Bridget Christie wins Foster's Edinburgh comedy award". BBC News. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  36. ^ "Bridget Christie". Women in Humanities. University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018.
  37. ^ "Bridget Christie". Downstairs at the King's Head. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  38. ^ "Quantity and Quality". QI. Season Q. 7 February 2020. BBC.
  39. ^ Hanning, James (9 March 2014). "Stewart Lee: Beware – this man may be only joking". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  40. ^ a b Logan, Brian (19 August 2014). "Take my husband: Stewart Lee, Bridget Christie and the rise of comedy couples". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  41. ^ "Bridget Christie: 'I'm glad there's misogyny – it turned my career around'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  42. ^ "Interview: Bridget Christie On New Series The Change". Beyond The Joke. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  43. ^ Christie, Bridget. "Bridget Christie - Comedian, Actress, Mother, Clown. | Housewife Surrealist". www.bridgetchristie.co.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  44. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Stewart Lee and Bridget Christie have split". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  45. ^ Woodcock, Zara (8 August 2023). "Stewart Lee splits from wife after 20 years as he 'moves on' with younger comic". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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