Baby Dawn

photo: Chris Blott

"If I had been around when Rubens was painting, I would have been revered as a fabulous model. Kate Moss? Well, she would have been the paintbrush."

It's Dawn French's birthday, bitches!

From The Comic Strip Presents and Murder Most Horrid to The Vicar of Dibley and latterly Roger and Val Have Just Got In - which I have never actally watched - she is one of the queens of British TV comedy.

Miss Dawn Roma French was born in Wales and brought up in Plymouth (two places very familiar to me in my life). She emerged from the right-on world of the Central School of Speech and Drama in the early 80s, and with friend and flatmate Jennifer Saunders went on to conquer the world of "alternative" comedy. With their singular brand of subtle zaniness [I hate that word, but it fits], and uncanny ability to not just impersonate but also actually look like the famous (and not-so-famous) characters that are often the subject of their sketches, Dawn and Jen have quite rightly emerged from the world of alternative cabaret to become "national treasures".

In tribute to the divine Miss French, here are a few classics from the French and Saunders show...

What Ever Happened to Baby Dawn?:

Lucky Bitches:


Bjork:


French and Saunders website

Faboo!