Emma Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Emma Kennedy is an English
actress, writer and television
presenter.
The daughter of teachers, she was educated at Hitchin Girls' School
, a comprehensive, and St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
. At Oxford in 1987, she worked with (among others) Richard Herring
and Stewart Lee
in comedy troupes the Seven Raymonds
and The Oxford Revue
. After graduating she trained as a solicitor, and practised as a city solicitor for three years until 1995. Kennedy has said: "I was rubbish at it. People used to come in wanting to sue the pants off of someone and I'd stare at them and say 'Let it go', which isn't what you should be doing if you're a litigator."
Kennedy first met close friend Mel Giedroyc
, who was appearing with the Cambridge Footlights, at the Edinburgh Festival
in 1988. Later she became a script editor for Giedroyc's double act with Sue Perkins
, and for the Mel and Sue
series Late Lunch, Kennedy worked as a writer. Kennedy presented the last series of The Real Holiday Show on Channel 4
in 2000.
She has since made appearances in TV comedies Goodness Gracious Me
, This Morning With Richard Not Judy
(again with Lee and Herring
), Jonathan Creek
alongside Alan Davies
and Caroline Quentin
, People Like Us
(with Chris Langham
) and hit BBC
comedy The Smoking Room
, along with appearing in several of The Mark Steel Lectures
, as well as in several plays
and radio
shows. She was also a movie reviewer on Five's Terry and Gaby Show. In addition to this, she has made several appearances on Big Brother's Little Brother.
Kennedy has written for radio, television and the theatre
. She provided voices for The Comic Side of 7 Days
and was a regular on the BBC Radio 2
comedy That Was Then, This Is Now
with Richard Herring. She appeared in the movie Notes on a Scandal
and also appears in the Five series Suburban Shootout
and Suburban Shootout 2: Clackers at Dawn. She appeared as a regular on the popular podcast As It Occurs To Me
until June 2011, when the series ended. Active in Comic Relief
, Kennedy, with Emma Freud
, was involved in setting up the kazoo orchestra concert at the Royal Albert Hall
, on 14 March 2011, which broke the Guinness World record for the largest such ensemble.
Her first book, How To Bring Up Your Parents, loosely based on her blog, came out in August 2007, while her second, The Tent, The Bucket and Me, recounting her childhood camping experiences, was published in April 2009. Kennedy has also written children's books. Three books in the Wilma Tenderfoot series have appeared: Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Frozen Hearts (published July 2009), Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Putrid Poison (July 2010), and Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Fatal Phantom (November 2010). I Left My Tent In San Francisco, the follow-up to The Tent, The Bucket and Me, appeared in May 2011.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actress, writer and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
presenter.
The daughter of teachers, she was educated at Hitchin Girls' School
Hitchin Girls' School
Hitchin Girls' School is a specialist science college in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England. The school has 1030 students and is in a consortium for sixth form teaching with Hitchin Boys' School and the Priory School...
, a comprehensive, and St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. At Oxford in 1987, she worked with (among others) Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
and Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee
Stewart Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show Jerry Springer - The Opera...
in comedy troupes the Seven Raymonds
Seven Raymonds
The Seven Raymonds were a comic revue troupe founded in 1987 by Oxford University undergraduates.The Seven Raymonds were Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, Emma Kennedy, Michael Cosgrave, Richard Canning, and Jo Renshaw...
and The Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue is a comedy group featuring students from Oxford University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians and satirists. The Revue writes, produces and performs several shows each term...
. After graduating she trained as a solicitor, and practised as a city solicitor for three years until 1995. Kennedy has said: "I was rubbish at it. People used to come in wanting to sue the pants off of someone and I'd stare at them and say 'Let it go', which isn't what you should be doing if you're a litigator."
Kennedy first met close friend Mel Giedroyc
Mel Giedroyc
Mel Giedroyc is an English television presenter, actress, and writer.-Mel and Sue:Giedroyc is best known for presenting comedy items alongside Sue Perkins. The two women met whilst students at Cambridge and both were members of the famous Footlights comedy club.As Mel and Sue, the duo were...
, who was appearing with the Cambridge Footlights, at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
in 1988. Later she became a script editor for Giedroyc's double act with Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins
Sue Perkins is an English comedienne, broadcaster, actress, and writer.-Education:Perkins was educated at Croham Hurst School, an independent school for girls in Croydon in South London, at the same time as the BBC Breakfast News presenter Susanna Reid...
, and for the Mel and Sue
Mel and Sue
Mel and Sue are a British comedy duo, consisting of Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.-Early career:The two women met whilst students at the University of Cambridge in England where both were members of the famous comedy club Footlights.-Television:Their television breakthrough came on the French &...
series Late Lunch, Kennedy worked as a writer. Kennedy presented the last series of The Real Holiday Show on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 2000.
She has since made appearances in TV comedies Goodness Gracious Me
Goodness Gracious Me (TV & radio)
Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC English language sketch comedy show originally on BBC Radio 4 and later televised on BBC Two based on four British Indian actors: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia...
, This Morning With Richard Not Judy
This Morning With Richard Not Judy
This Morning With Richard Not Judy or TMWRNJ was a BBC comedy television programme, written by and starring Lee and Herring. Two series were broadcast in 1998 and 1999 on BBC2...
(again with Lee and Herring
Lee and Herring
Lee and Herring were a British standup comedy double act consisting of the comedians Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. They were probably most famous for their work on television, most notably Fist of Fun and This Morning With Richard Not Judy but had been working together on stage and on radio...
), Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek
Jonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
alongside Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
and Caroline Quentin
Caroline Quentin
Caroline Jones known by her stage name Caroline Quentin, is an English actress. Quentin became known for her television appearances in Men Behaving Badly, playing Dorothy, and playing Maddy Magellan in Jonathan Creek for three years.-Early life:...
, People Like Us
People Like Us
People Like Us is a British comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer...
(with Chris Langham
Chris Langham
Christopher "Chris" Langham is an English writer, actor and comedian. He is most famous for playing MP Hugh Abbot in BBC Four sitcom The Thick of It and as presenter Roy Mallard in People Like Us, first on BBC Radio 4 and later on its transfer to television on BBC Two, where Mallard is almost...
) and hit BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room
The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on the same...
, along with appearing in several of The Mark Steel Lectures
The Mark Steel Lectures
The Mark Steel Lectures are a series of radio and television programmes. Written and delivered by Mark Steel, each scripted lecture presents persuasive, yet witty, arguments for the importance of a historical figure....
, as well as in several plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
shows. She was also a movie reviewer on Five's Terry and Gaby Show. In addition to this, she has made several appearances on Big Brother's Little Brother.
Kennedy has written for radio, television and the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. She provided voices for The Comic Side of 7 Days
The Comic Side of 7 Days
The Comic Side of 7 Days is a British tlevision programme shown from 2005 on BBC Three. It is a topical comedy programme which shows the satirical side of the past 7 days of news. It was broadcast weekly on a Friday, with several repeats during the following week. The show was created by Andy...
and was a regular on the BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
comedy That Was Then, This Is Now
That Was Then, This Is Now (Radio Series)
That Was Then, This Is Now was a BBC Radio 2 history based comedy sketch show co-written and presented by Richard Herring. The series also featured musical interludes from a live band, fronted by Christian Reilly. The show ran for three series between 2004 and 2008.Herring was assisted each week...
with Richard Herring. She appeared in the movie Notes on a Scandal
Notes on a Scandal (film)
Notes on a Scandal is a 2006 British psychological thriller film, adapted from the 2003 novel of the same name by Zoë Heller. The screenplay was written by Patrick Marber and the film was directed by Richard Eyre. Many parts of the film were shot in Islington Arts and Media School...
and also appears in the Five series Suburban Shootout
Suburban Shootout
Suburban Shootout is a British satirical black comedy television series produced for Five and Paramount Comedy by Feelgood Fiction in association with Oxygen. The first series aired in the UK on Five from 27 April 2006. It began airing in the United States on 22 March 2006 on Oxygen and in Germany...
and Suburban Shootout 2: Clackers at Dawn. She appeared as a regular on the popular podcast As It Occurs To Me
As It Occurs To Me
As It Occurs To Me is an internet comedy sketch and stand-up show written and performed by Richard Herring and co-starring Dan Tetsell, TV's Emma Kennedy and Christian Reilly. It has been performed since 2009 at the Leicester Square Theatre and occasionally at the Bloomsbury Theatre and is...
until June 2011, when the series ended. Active in Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
, Kennedy, with Emma Freud
Emma Freud
Emma Vallencey Freud OBE is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator.-Early life:Emma Freud was born on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud and June Flewett. She is the great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud...
, was involved in setting up the kazoo orchestra concert at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, on 14 March 2011, which broke the Guinness World record for the largest such ensemble.
Her first book, How To Bring Up Your Parents, loosely based on her blog, came out in August 2007, while her second, The Tent, The Bucket and Me, recounting her childhood camping experiences, was published in April 2009. Kennedy has also written children's books. Three books in the Wilma Tenderfoot series have appeared: Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Frozen Hearts (published July 2009), Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Putrid Poison (July 2010), and Wilma Tenderfoot and the Case of the Fatal Phantom (November 2010). I Left My Tent In San Francisco, the follow-up to The Tent, The Bucket and Me, appeared in May 2011.