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‘After I got sick, the toughest thing was what it did to my mental health’
The actor has made a documentary series about women’s lives today. She discusses power, single life and why being skinny didn’t make her happy The Guardian Kathy Burke is distracted. It’s the hottest day of the year, and she is desperate for a fag and a brew. “I’m gasping,” she says, disappearing outside for a couple of minutes before we start our interview. “It’s so hot, mate,” she says, when she reappears. “I wouldn’t normally leave the house on a day like this.” Then, just when I seem to have her full attention, her eyes dart upwards as she catches sight of a TV screen in the bar we are…
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Kathy Burke in Walking and Talking on Sky Atlantic
Kathy Burke has a glint in her eye, which suggests she has many a story to tell, but she won’t write her autobiography for love nor money. Daily Post Kathy Burke has a glint in her eye, which suggests she has many a story to tell, but she won’t write her autobiography for love nor money. “I’ve been asked,” says the 48-year-old, who’s just come in from a sneaky fag break. “I just feel we’re inundated with them, you know?” She pauses, then adds: “But I’m also such a lover of books, I so admire the writer, more than anyone else, that it just never appealed to me to write…
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Kathy comes home: A new sitcom paints a happier picture of Kathy Burke’s childhood
Her childhood was scarred by cancer and alcoholism, yet ‘Walking and Talking’ paints a happy picture of her youth. The Independent Over the years, publishers have constantly pestered Kathy Burke to write her autobiography. But the actress, writer and director has always rejected their advances, considering such books “money for old rope”. Now, Burke has finally been persuaded – after a fashion. She has scripted Walking and Talking, a delightful new Sky Atlantic comedy about her own childhood. “Walking and Talking is my autobiography,” she confirms. “It’s best to do it that way, rather than spend months writing a book that then ends up in the bargain bucket with all…
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On the Graham Norton Show
Kathy Burke appeared on the Graham Norton Show yesterday to plug the new show she’s written called Walking and Talking. The show is based on her childhood in London (“my life at the age of 14, 15, waiting to get into the Anna Scher theatre”) and stemmed from a short piece she wrote last year called Little Crackers – a true story about she and her friend Mary met The Clash and got their autographs. The show also features Kathy herself playing an “angry nun” that is based on her father. “It was a very 60s and 70s upbringing, I had a really rough time but I remember everything with…
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On Have I Got News for You
Kathy guest hosted Have I Got News for You last night: a rare accolade given to Britain’s finest characters (and occasionally famous idiots). Starring alongside the usual team leader Ian Hislop and Paul Merton was Ken Livingstone – recently beaten in the London Mayoral election – and some funny fella with a good beard. Thanks to the power of the Internet, you can watch the whole episode below (at least until the BBC complains and it’s taken down). Kathy is a terrific host of course and you can expect to see her pop up on other shows soon. HIGNFY S43E06 – Kathy Burke, Ken Livingstone… by bobalmighty
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Q&A: Kathy Burke
The Guardian What is your earliest memory?Sausage and chips at Auntie Joan’s. What was your most embarrassing moment?In my 20s, walking past a building site and getting my first and last wolf whistle – I was so shocked I did the classic bumping into a lamppost. What would your super power be?Rendering a person speechless with a stony stare. What do you most dislike about your appearance?Happy with all of it – it’s other people who have expressed “dislike”. If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?Sammy Davis Junior. Who would play you in the film of your life?Beyoncé. What is your most unappealing habit?Smoking. What is your…
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Kathy Burke: ‘A national treasure? I’m the opposite!’
After four near-death moments, Kathy Burke is returning to directing – and acting. The Telegraph Kathy Burke keeps being mistaken for someone quite different. But it’s not a problem. In fact, she couldn’t be happier about it. The director and actress, widely loved for playing such roles as Perry (from Kevin and Perry) and Waynetta Slob (catchphrase: “I am smokin’ a fag!”) alongside Harry Enfield, takes up the story. “People come up to me all the time and say, ‘All right, Perry? How’s Kevin?’ It could be annoying, but I’m actually really glad. I’m knocking on 50, and I’m still getting recognised for playing a 14-year-old boy. It makes me…
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On Desert Island Discs
Kathy appeared this morning on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs – one British institution meeting another. The radio show is a long-time favourite mostly because of its clever format: guests are asked to select eight records that they would take with them to a desert island, and those songs are used to gain insight into who they are and where they come from (they are also allowed a luxury item and a book). As ever, Kathy spoke honestly and movingly about her life and her experiences, including making peace with her alcoholic Dad before he died, her contentedness in living a single life, the pleasure of winning Best Actress at…
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From Waynetta to director
She’s given up acting – much to the delight of Britain’s hottest comedy duo. The Independent Hanging in pride of place over the dining room table in Kathy Burke’s north London home is a still from the set of Nil by Mouth, the acclaimed domestic-violence drama for which she deservedly won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes film festival in 1997. But there’s a surprise. The photo depicts the film’s director, Gary Oldman, leaning over to whisper something to her co-star Ray Winstone. Burke is not in the picture. It’s an apt image. For Burke, one of our most adored actresses, is now far happier to be absent from…
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‘I’m a person who walks on eggshells’
The Observer A hit comedy career plus a Palme d’Or for straight acting should be enough for anyone. Not ex-Kevin and Perry star Kathy Burke. Now directing a new Sam Shepard play, she talks about demons, heroes and life as a ‘smoking humanist’ Three years ago Kathy Burke began throwing plates. She turned over a few tables. ‘I called up a friend and just screamed down the phone at them,’ she says wide-eyed, as if surprised by the memory. There was, though, something familiar about this burst of anger. ‘I used to be terribly aggressive in my twenties,’ she says. ‘But I thought I’d sorted it out.’ Clearly she hadn’t.…
