Bridget Louise Christie (born 17 August 1971) is an English stand-up comedian, actress and writer. She has written and performed comedy tours, in addition to radio and television work. She has been nominated for a BAFTA.

Early life and education

Christie grew up in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in the south-west of England, the youngest of nine siblings born to parents from the west of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

: her father, Peter Christie, was from Boyle in the north of

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, while her mother, Mary Anne (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Kelly), was from

Manorhamilton Manorhamilton () is the second-largest town in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 from Sligo and from Enniskillen. History Before the Plantations of Ireland, the settlement was known, and continues to be known in the ...

in the north of

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

. 'Bridget Christie on brain fog, flirting, and why she won't be taking a lover: "My heart is full. I am open to it, but I'm not looking for it"' (''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 29 March 2025). https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/29/bridget-christie-brain-fog-flirting-not-taking-a-lover-tv-show-the-change Her parents had met in

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 ...

, before moving to the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, when her father got a job with Wall's ice-cream. Two of her siblings later served in the RAF. Christie attended St Peter's Roman Catholic High School in Gloucester, leaving at the age of 15 without qualifications. In 1994, she won a three-year scholarship to study drama at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

, London.

Career

Christie appeared in theatre productions and adverts before she began stand-up in 2004. She was one of the finalists in the Funny Women Awards that year, won by Zoe Lyons. She was described by the show's founder Lynne Parker as "one of the most influential funny women who has ever entered our competition". Her debut

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

series, ''Bridget Christie Minds the Gap'', was broadcast in April 2013. A second series was broadcast in January 2015, followed by a third, ''Bridget Christie's Utopia'', in January 2018. The three series were well received and won the Best Radio award at the 2014 Chortle Awards and the 2014 Rose D'Or International Broadcasting Award. Her debut book, ''A Book for Her'', was published in July 2015 to acclaim from ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and '' The List'' and ''The Observer''. The paperback was released in February 2016 and the Spanish version in Barcelona in March 2017. Christie has written for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''. She had a weekly column in '' Guardian Weekend'' magazine from October 2015 to March 2016. In 2015, she won a ''Red'' Magazine Women of the Year Award and a ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'' Women at the Top Award. In May 2016, Christie recorded her debut screen stand-up special, ''Stand Up for Her (Live from Hoxton Hall)'', produced by Baby Cow Productions. It was released direct to Netflix on 31 March 2017. She has written and performed 13 solo shows. The majority originated at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

and include ''A Bic for Her'', ''An Ungrateful Woman'' and her Brexit-themed ''Because You Demanded It'', which was ''The Guardian''s No 1 Comedy of the Year 2016. In 2020, she was a finalist for Best Scripted Comedy (Longform) in the BBC Audio Drama Awards.

Television appearances

Christie's TV appearances include comedy programmes '' It's Kevin'' (

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

), '' QI'', '' The Omid Djalili Show'' (

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

), '' Harry Hill's Little Cracker'' (

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

), '' Anna and Katy'' (

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 ...

), '' The Culture Show'' (BBC Two), '' Mel & Sue'' ( ITV), '' Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled'' ( Dave). and '' Have I Got News for You'' (BBC One) for which she was nominated for a 2014 British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comic, the '' Alternative Comedy Experience'' (

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

), '' Room 101'' (BBC One), '' Cardinal Burns'' (Channel 4), '' Celebrity Squares'' (ITV), '' This Week'' (BBC One) and '' Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule'' (ITV). In 2020 she appeared in BBC1's comedy ''Ghosts'' as Annie, a ghost who said four words. She reprised the role in 2022. Christie was a contestant in series 13 of '' Taskmaster'' (Channel 4), which first aired in April 2022.

''The Change''

Christie's first television series '' The Change'' was broadcast on

from 21 June 2023. In the show, Bridget plays Linda, who finds a new lease of life when she learns she is undergoing menopause and heads to the forest on a journey of self-discovery. ''The Change'' was produced by Lisa Mitchell and executive-produced by Christie, Nerys Evans and Morwenna Gordon. The second series premiered on Channel 4 on 25 March 2025.

Radio

Work for

and others includes

Andy Zaltzman Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and statistician. His comedy largely deals in political and sport-related material. He has worked with John Oliver, with their work together including '' Political Animal'', ''The Dep ...

's ''History of the Third Millennium'', '' Miranda Hart's House Party'', '' It's Your Round'', ''

Sarah Millican Sarah Jane Millican (' King; born 29 May 1975) is an English comedian. Millican won the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerf ...

's Support Group'', ''The Fred MacAulay Show'', Dan Tetsell's ''The 21st Century for Time Travellers'', '' The Now Show'', '' Kerry’s List'', '' It's Not What You Know'', ''Dilemma'', '' French and Saunders' Christmas Show'', and ''The Casebook of Max and Ivan''. In 2019 she became curator of the museum on the Radio 4 series '' The Museum of Curiosity''.

''Mortal''

First broadcast in 2021, her four-part series for BBC Radio 4, ''Mortal'', won the 2022 BBC Audio Drama Award. ''Mortal'' was a series about life and death which she recorded herself from home during Covid lockdown.

''Utopia''

In her 2018 BBC Radio 4 show ''Utopia'', Christie addressed world events –

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

, the melting polar ice caps, the

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

negotiations and Nick Knowles singing a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

’ “ Here Comes The Sun”. It was recorded in front of a studio audience at the BBC Radio Theatre. Christie was joined by special guests Mike Christie, Leyla Hussein, Sister Agatha & Fran Blockley.

''Bridget Christie Minds The Gap''

In 2013, Bridget's first BBC radio series was broadcast on Radio 4, covering her personal take on feminism, asking why it became a dirty word and whether women still need it, featuring token man Fred MacAulay. A second series was released in 2015, followed by a Christmas Special, ''Bridget Christie's Christmas List''.

Podcasts

Christie has been guest on the podcasts Danielle Ward's Do The Right Thing, '' Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast'', '' Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown'', Jarlath Regan's ''An Irishman Abroad'', Stuart Goldsmith’s '' The Comedian’s Comedian'', '' The Adam Buxton Podcast'', '' The Penguin Podcast'' with Richard E. Grant, '' Literary Death Match'', '' Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster'', and Spotify podcast ''We Need to Talk About''.

Solo stand-up shows

* Who Am I? (2021/2023) * What Now? (2018) * Mortal (2016/2017) * A Book for Her (2015) * An Ungrateful Woman (2014) * A Bic for Her (2013) * War Donkey (2012) * Housewife Surrealist (2011) * Bridget Christie / A Ant (2010) * My Daily Mail Hell (2009) * The Court of King Charles II – The Second (2008) * The Court of King Charles II (2007) * The Cheese Roll (2006)

Appearances in other shows

* '' White Rabbit, Red Rabbit'', Edinburgh Fringe (2011) * ''Celebrity Autobiography'', Edinburgh Fringe (2010) and Leicester Square Theatre * ''The School for Scandal'', Edinburgh Fringe (2009)

Television appearances

* '' Would I Lie to You?'' (2024) * '' Taskmaster'' series 13 (2022) * ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' (2019–2022) * ''Sky Comedy Christmas Shorts'' (2015) * '' It's Kevin'' (2013) * '' Anna & Katy'' (2013) * '' Cardinal Burns'' (2012) * '' Little Crackers'' (2011) * '' The Omid Djalili Show'' (2009)

Awards

* ''Marie Claire'' – Women at the Top Awards 2015 – winner * ''Red'' magazine Women of the Year Awards 2015 (Creative) – winner * South Bank Sky Arts Award for Best Comedy for ''A Bic for Her'' (2014) – winner * Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show with ''A Bic for Her'' (2013) – winner * Funny Women Best Show Fringe Award for ''The Court of King Charles II'' (2007) – winner

Personal life

Christie is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She suffers from trypophobia. Christie and comedian Stewart Lee married in 2006, and had two children before separating amicably in 2021. She and Lee later divorced.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Bridget 1971 births Actresses from Gloucestershire Alumni of the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts English people of Irish descent English stage actresses English television actresses English women comedians Living people People educated at St Peter's High School, Gloucester Writers from Gloucester English Roman Catholics British television writers British television actors British stand-up comedians English stand-up comedians English women television writers Comedians from Gloucestershire Actors from Gloucester