Ava Beverley Vidal (; born 1976 in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is an English comedian. She has taken part in E4's '' Kings of Comedy''. Her career in comedy began on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''Urban Sketch Show''.

Life and career

In 1996, Vidal began working as a prison officer at

HM Prison Pentonville HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...

Barnsbury Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, within the N1 and N7 postal districts. History The name is a syncopated form of ''Bernersbury'' (1274), being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval ...

, North London. She was inspired to go into the field by her mother, who worked at

HM Prison Holloway HM Prison Holloway was a British prison security categories, closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, ...

. Vidal decided to quit the prison profession in 2001 to go to university and study law. Around this time, she also began writing comedy material. Vidal appeared in ''

28 Acts in 28 Minutes ''28 Acts in 28 Minutes'' is a Stand-up comedy, stand-up TV comedy show aired on the UK's BBC Three in 2005. It comprises 28 acts, each given a minute to perform. Two episodes were aired. A 3-part series also aired on BBC Radio 4 in June 2006, ch ...

'' and '' The Comic Side of 7 Days'' in 2005. She has also been involved in other BBC shows including '' The Last Laugh'', '' The Sack Race'' and ''

The Crouches ''The Crouches'' is a sitcom that aired on BBC One between 2003 and 2005. It starred Rudolph Walker, Robbie Gee, Jo Martin and Mona Hammond. Plot Childhood sweethearts Roly Crouch (Robbie Gee) and Natalie ( Jo Martin) have been married for 18 ...

''. Vidal was a housemate in '' Kings of Comedy'' on E4, and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

made a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about her called ''From the Top'', a half-hour show explaining her journey in comedy so far and how she became a comedian. Vidal was on the line-up of ''

Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'' is a British stand-up comedy television series hosted by comedian Michael McIntyre from different venues around the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first series was broadcast with six episodes in 2009. Each ...

'' in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

that aired on 27 June 2009, BBC Radio 4's ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 1977. The show, created by John Lloyd from an idea by Nicholas Parsons, has seen several hosts, including Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hogg ...

'' in February and October 2010, and appeared four times on BBC Two's ''

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...

'' between 2011 and 2013. In July 2012, she appeared on ''Is Football Racist?'' on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

. On BBC Three's ''Free Speech'', she suggested armed drug dealers should be helped rather than sent to prison. In 2016, along with numerous other celebrities, Vidal toured the UK to support

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

's bid to become

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Vidal presents her own YouTube podcast named Black Woman's Hour.

Personal life

Vidal has three children, two daughters and a son. Her eldest daughter, Shaquelle, died in April 2018.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Ava 1976 births Living people English people of Sierra Leonean descent English television actresses Black British women comedians Black British comedians English television writers English women television writers British prison officers English women screenwriters 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English screenwriters 21st-century English women writers Actors from the London Borough of Lambeth Comedians from the London Borough of Lambeth Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Lambeth