Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke began her career as an actor in 1982. In the 1990s, she became known for recurring roles on French and Saunders and The Harry Enfield Show as both Waynetta Slob and the beloved Perry. In 1997 she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth, and in 1999 she starred in BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme. Bored of acting, she took a 'break' to focus on directing which has been her main job for the past twenty years. Her theatre credits include Out in the Open by Jonathan Harvey, The Quare Fellow by Brendan Behan, born bad by Debbie Tucker Green, and Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde. Her short film, Better Than Christmas for Sky Arts led to her writing a four part semi-autobiographical mini-series, Walking and Talking. She directed a four part TV drama, Holding based on the novel by Graham Norton, and has presented three Channel 4 documentaries. As an actor, she has returned to the screen occasionally, for her role in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and most recently in Steve McQueen’s Blitz. She has hosted 100 episodes of the podcast Where There’s a Will There’s a Wake. Born and bred in Islington, she still lives there today. A Mind of My Own is her first book.