Deborah Ann "Debbie" Barham (20 November 1976 – 20 April 2003) was an English comedy writer who died at the age of 26 of heart failure brought on as a result of

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

. As well as writing for TV and radio, Barham wrote columns for newspapers and magazines.

Life

Debbie Barham was born 20 November 1976 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England. She was educated at

Sheffield High School, South Yorkshire Sheffield High School (SHS) is an independent girls' school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England part of the Girls' Day School Trust (GDST). History In February 1878 a meeting was held at the Cutlers' Hall seeking support for a proposal to s ...

, and was a bright student, but left school early as she was unhappy there. She began her professional writing career aged 15. Barham moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

aged 16 and was working as a BBC contract writer aged 17. In 1995, Barham developed anorexia nervosa. Her early work was submitted under the name D. A. Barham, out of concern that a teenage girl would not be accepted in a world traditionally dominated by

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to d ...

-educated men. During her 11-year career she wrote for comedians including

Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts duri ...

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sa ...

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including '' The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ea ...

and

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his come ...

, and for

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

programmes including ''

The News Huddlines ''The News Huddlines'' was a BBC Radio 2 topical comedy sketch show starring Roy Hudd that ran for fifty one series from 1975 until 2001. Each episode lasted for half an hour and consisted of topical sketches, songs and one-liners. Performers T ...

'', ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart ...

'', '' Loose Ends'' and ''

Week Ending ''Week Ending'' was a satirical radio current affairs sketch show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1970 and 1998. It was devised by writer-producers Simon Brett and David Hatch and was originally hosted by '' Nationwide'' presenter Michael B ...

''. Though little known by the general public, she was greatly respected in the profession, and had a reputation for mental quickness, her writing being not only of high quality but also fast and prolific, even during her illness. She wrote a column for ''

Computeractive ''Computeractive'' (sometimes written as ''Computeract!ve'', to reflect the logo) is a fortnightly computer magazine published by Future plc in the United Kingdom. History and profile It was first published in February 1998 by VNU Business Publ ...

'' magazine for the few years prior to her death. The radio show ''

About a Dog ''About a Dog'' was Debbie Barham's last comedy proposal before she died in 2003. BBC Radio 4br>Press Office/ref> The programme stars Alan Davies, playing a dog, Jack, with his owner, Sarah, played by Kate Ashfield in the first series and Cla ...

'' was based on her last comedy proposal.

Bibliography

* Peter Barham & Alan Hurndall (2006) ''The Invisible Girl: A Father's Moving Story of the Daughter He Lost'' Harper Element

References

English comedy writers Writers from Sheffield 1976 births 2003 deaths Deaths from anorexia nervosa People educated at Sheffield High School, South Yorkshire {{UK-writer-stub