Telling Tales: Katy Brand

There are two stars of this week’s Telling Tales: the writer, actor and comedian Katy Brand, and Baby Houseman, a beloved screen character who inspired Katy’s latest work.

Her book, I Carried a Watermelon, is named after a memorable line from Dirty Dancing, the 1987 coming-of-age story that placed its young female lead firmly in the foreground.

Katy reads an extract from the audiobook, in which she describes watching the film for the first time, aged 11, and falling under the spell of Baby. Afterwards, Katy reflects on the importance of female representation in film and the message at the centre of Dirty Dancing, which screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein had to fight to retain.

The programme also delves into Katy’s varied work, from the sketches and parodies of pop culture in Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show, to a very personal stand-up show that changed the direction of her career.

We hear about her podcast, Women Like Us, which re-unites Katy with her long-time friend and collaborator Katherine Parkinson. We hear an early incarnation, via Radio 4’s Mouth Trap in 2008, before enjoying the pair laughing live on stage at the London Podcast Festival.

• Producer: Ali Gardiner for Radio 4 Extra

Publicity contact: Radio 4 Publicity