Helen Lederer (13:30 BST)

“Helen Lederer is the third funniest woman in the world” Dawn French

Known to thousands as Catriona in the iconic Absolutely Fabulous, Helen Lederer has been part of comedy shows from Bottom, Happy Families, Naked Video, French and Saunders to Girls on Top.

Not That I'm Bitter is her powerful, frank, moving, and characteristically funny memoir of the child of a Jewish-Czech wartime refugee who became one of a handful of women at the heart of the right-on alternative comedy scene in the 1980s. Piece of cake? Bit of a laugh? Well, yes, and no.

Using humour to battle her problems with weight and low-self-esteem and showing how laughter can defeat the darker moments, it's Lederer's vulnerability that make her such a human narrator of her successes, but also of her mistakes.

Where are the jokes in addictions to diet-pills and steroid injections? Helen raises an important and open discussion around mental health alongside the evolved attitudes to women today. There's something in Helen Lederer's life-story that everyone can relate to.

A genuinely funny memoir with lots of heart - and just the right amount of bitterness! She pulls no punches, but every blow is wrapped in a laugh of recognition. Revealing, and moving, this is sweet, sour, laugh out loud, and addictive.

In conversation with Anna Burnside

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