Dawn French

"Funny how women are ashamed of their inner fairy whereas men are forever proudly displaying their inner cowboy or fireman."

Dawn French has been making people laugh for thirty years. On purpose. As a writer, comedian and actor, she has appeared in some of Britain's most long-running, cherished and celebrated shows, including French and Saunders, The Comic Strip Presents . . . , Murder Most Horrid, The Vicar of Dibley, Jam and Jerusalem, Lark Rise to Candleford and, more recently, Roger and Val Have Just Got In.

Her number-one bestselling memoir, Dear Fatty, was published to critical acclaim in 2008. A Tiny Bit Marvellous, her first novel, was a great success, going straight to number one and selling over half a million copies. Oh Dear Silvia is her second novel.