Top 10 British Female Comedians

Top 10 British Female Comedians

Whether it’s sketch shows, stand-up or sitcoms, these women rule. Hello and welcome to WatchMojo UK, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for top ten British female comedians.

For this list, we’re taking a look at both stage performers and comedy actors, past and present, for a complete countdown of the finest and funniest women around.

#10: Miranda Hart

Up first, an all-round entertainer who not only stars in her own self-titled sitcom, but also co-stars with Melissa McCarthy in the big screen blockbuster “Spy”, and she plays a central role in BBC’s “Call the Midwife”. Miranda’s impressive CV, plus her 6-foot-1-inch frame and self-deprecating slapstick style, all make her a stand-out comedian - tumble after tumble. And, just to add to that ever-growing list of talents she has, she can dance too. Sort of.

#9: Diane Morgan

As the comic genius behind “Philomena Cunk’s Moments of Wonder” on “Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe”, we can always rely on Diane Morgan to pose life’s more important questions. Shaking up the stand-up scene since the early 2000s, she was named runner-up in the 2006 Funny Women Awards, with her deadpan delivery helping to establish her own niche in contemporary comedy. From starring spots in cult sitcoms to title roles in acclaimed mockumentaries, she’s sardonic, sarcastic but always on the money.

#8: Sarah Millican

Straight outta England’s North-East, and a former winner of the British Comedy Awards' Queen of Comedy accolade, Sarah Millican’s a stellar stand-up performer and a serial panel show star. While she was relatively unknown until her late 20s, she went from working in a job centre in the mid-2000s to having her own TV show in just a few years - staging a phenomenal rise to fame. Another who has mastered the art of laughing at herself, she brings infectious energy to every set she plays.

#7: Julia Davis

Doubling down on the dark comedy, Julia Davis’ back-catalogue is full of twisted, cruel but always hilarious characters. Take arguably her most famous role, as Jill in “Nighty Night” - where she plays a narcissistic and manipulative sociopath, who becomes so bored of her terminally ill husband that she spends most of her time looking for new love before he even dies! That’s the type of tone that Davis revels in as a writer, director and actor. Even in the fairly straightlaced “Gavin & Stacey”, her character Dawn is a full-on force to be reckoned with.

#6: Dawn French

She’s probably best known as one half of one of the UK’s most iconic double acts, but Dawn French’s illustrious career started as part of an up and coming alt-comedy group, on “The Comic Strip Presents”. Since then she’s mastered all manner of memorable roles, from an award-winning run as the eponymous “Vicar of Dibley”, to a twenty-first century turn as Kim Kardashian. Combining pitch perfect parodies with instantly recognisable original characters, French has a lifetime spot at the top table of TV comedy.

#5: Tracey Ullman

Few British entertainers can claim a greater impact on international comedy than Tracey Ullman, because it was on her late ‘80s US variety show that early shorts of “The Simpsons” first aired. Since then, Ullman has worked on a range of projects, leading to 2017’s “Tracey Breaks the News”, a sharp, satirical sketch show where she transforms herself into our favourite (or least favourite) politicians. With a host of Hollywood movie appearances under her belt as well, she’s well and truly cracked America.

#4: Sara Pascoe

Since starting out in 2007, Sara Pascoe has established herself as one of the UK’s most critically acclaimed (and most popular) stand-up comedians. But, she’s an emerging comedy actress as well, having also appeared in “The Thick of It” and the British-American black comedy series, “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret”. In that show she plays Todd’s pregnant neighbour who has a penchant for cider and cigarettes - and for getting into tricky situations.

#3: Victoria Wood

Gone but certainly not forgotten, Victoria Wood was the full package. As an actor, writer, singer, stand-up, producer and director, she built a definitive and influential career for women in comedy. A graduate from the ‘70s and ‘80s TV talent show “New Faces”, Wood was arguably best known for writing the BBC sitcom “Dinnerladies”, in which she also played the lovable Bren. And, having worked alongside some of Britain’s best performers, her shows always earned top billing - and deservedly so.

#2: Jo Brand

After surging to prominence in the early ‘90s, Jo Brand’s a stand-up specialist and a panel show regular - known for her famously monotone style[1]. Perhaps channeling her past experience working as a psychiatric nurse, much of her material is spiked with biting sarcasm - including her award-winning efforts as a sitcom writer and actor. Playing Rose Denby in Channel 4’s “Damned” and Kim Wilde in the BBC Four series “Getting On”, her unconventional (and usually unenthusiastic) approach has us all hanging on her every word.

#1: Jennifer Saunders

While she’s probably best known for playing Eddy in “Absolutely Fabulous”, today’s winner is an all-round icon in British popular culture. She’s a sketch show queen as the other half of French and Saunders, a sitcom star in “Ab Fab” and “Girls on Top”, and an evil fairy in “Shrek 2”. In short, there’s not much that this comedian can’t do. Heck, she even reportedly has a Eurythmics song dedicated to her. She’s rock ‘n’ roll and funny as hell!