Mel and Sue
Encyclopedia
Mel and Sue are a British
comedy
duo, consisting of Mel Giedroyc
and Sue Perkins
.
in England
(Giedroyc at Trinity College
and Perkins at New Hall
) where both were members of the famous comedy club Footlights
.
television series, and they have often been compared to Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
. Together, they hosted a popular lunchtime show on Channel 4
called Light Lunch
where celebrity chefs cooked lunch for the duo's celebrity guests, and an early evening version, Late Lunch.
In 1999, they were signed by ITV
and hosted a comedy panel game for the network called Casting Couch, in a prime late evening slot, but it fared poorly in the ratings and was not recommissioned.
Mel and Sue appeared together again in Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
Mamma Mia sketch for Comic Relief
on 13 March 2009. Perkins later confirmed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
that the duo would be working together on something new in 2010. Their new show, a competition series called The Great British Bake Off
, began on BBC Two
on 17 August 2010.
, both separately and together. When publicising her solo shows in 2006, Perkins stated that the duo had effectively split up.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
duo, consisting of 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...
and 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...
.
Early career
The two women met whilst students at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in England
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...
(Giedroyc at Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and Perkins at New Hall
New Hall, Cambridge
Murray Edwards College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It was founded as "New Hall" in 1954, at a time when Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any university in the United Kingdom, and when only two other colleges admitted women...
) where both were members of the famous comedy club Footlights
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
.
Television
Their television breakthrough came on the French & SaundersFrench & Saunders
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....
television series, and they have often been compared to Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
. Together, they hosted a popular lunchtime 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...
called Light Lunch
Light Lunch
Light Lunch is a Channel 4 lunch-time comedy chatshow broadcast between March 1997 and February 1998. It starred Mel and Sue...
where celebrity chefs cooked lunch for the duo's celebrity guests, and an early evening version, Late Lunch.
In 1999, they were signed by ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and hosted a comedy panel game for the network called Casting Couch, in a prime late evening slot, but it fared poorly in the ratings and was not recommissioned.
Mel and Sue appeared together again in Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
Mamma Mia sketch for 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...
on 13 March 2009. Perkins later confirmed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
that the duo would be working together on something new in 2010. Their new show, a competition series called The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Bake Off is a British television cooking/Baking competition first shown by the BBC in the summer of 2010.The judges are cookery writer Mary Berry and professional baker Paul Hollywood. Mel & Sue present both the series' of The Great British Bake Off , while Aaron Craze present the...
, began on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 17 August 2010.
Radio
They have also performed on the radio, particularly BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
, both separately and together. When publicising her solo shows in 2006, Perkins stated that the duo had effectively split up.
External links
- Official Mel & Sue Website - Official website has not been updated since 1999.
- Not BBC - Mel & Sue's Cakeshop