Page 187 - Katherine Ryan press pack

upsets some people sometimes, so my life is a glitter room,” she

chuckles.

Ryan has what she describes as an on/off relationship with American
stand-up Alex Edelman. It is mainly on/off “because of geography”.

It is hard to co-ordinate their schedules and Ryan is not prepared to
drop everything to be with a man.

She has become ubiquitous in recent years. She was the first UK-based
female comedian to have a Netflix Comedy Special released globally in
2017, but life doesn’t feel different to her. “I’m recognised more, but

only if I have make-up on. Otherwise I look like a ginger boy. It’s the
same game as it always was: gigging, looking after my dog and keeping

my receipts.”

Her humour has its roots in her teenage years, growing up in the
industrial town of Sarnia, south-east Canada. “I was bullied for being

different. When other girls developed breasts that I desperately
wanted, I developed this peculiar sense of humour that alienated

everyone. It taught me early that we all like different things. My mum
used to say, ‘If we all liked the same things, we’d all be married to your

father’.”

Despite her claims that she has a lazy side, she is reluctant to turn
down work. “It breaks my heart to say no. I’m a very ‘yes’ person.

Sometimes I see ads for waitresses [she previously worked in the
sports bar chain Hooters in Canada] and I still instinctively want to do

it. I like the hustle of always working. When I worked in an office in
Holborn I never had money for lunch. I had to bring Rice Krispies in

and use the milk from the tea and coffee.”

As well as the live shows and TV work here, Ryan is making inroads
into America. She recently filmed a new Netflix project, The Fix,

with Jimmy Carr. “The panel show is a very British format that they
have never done well in America. In the show, we fix some of the