Page 209 - Katherine Ryan press pack

and watch Letterman or Leno and I was into Joan, Bette Midler and all

these great female comedians.

“I don’t agree with everything that Joan did or said, but it took a real

tenacity to achieve what she did as a single mum. She grafted and

grafted and was adored and respected by other comedians. She did a

lot of great things in the industry and was confrontational but not just

for the sake of it.

“If I could have all those things, that would be great.”

Rivers spent a substantial amount of her later career stalking the

catwalks and red carpets in order to tear apart the fashion choices of

the rich and famous.

Ryan, too, is highly fashion-conscious and feels that looking good on

stage is akin to keeping up her side of the live experience bargain.

Katherine added: “I love fashion and I always wear a dress at a show.

Fashion is an art and I like to support British designers. I’ve learned

from my two previous tours that people will invest in a night out.

“It’s important to them and it’s important to me, so I’ll dress up. The

comedians who are recognisable to people are cartoon versions of

themselves and I think the public want to see the version of me that

they see on the panel shows.

“There’s no way that you’d see Jimmy Carr in a tracksuit or you’d think

that something was seriously up.”

As well as not turning up to very much in her running gear (though

she does admit to occasionally doing the school run in her slippers),