fbpx
Wikipedia

Arabella Weir

January 31, 2023

"Onwards and Upwards (novel)" redirects here. For the book by Lynda Page, see Lynda Page.

Arabella Weir (born 6 December 1957)[1] is a Scottish comedian, actress and writer. She played roles in the comedy series The Fast Show and Posh Nosh, and has written several books, including Does My Bum Look Big in This? Weir has also written for The Independent[2] and The Guardian and the latter's Weekend magazine.[3]

Arabella Weir
Born (1957-12-06) 6 December 1957 (age 65)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Comedian, actress, writer
SpouseJeremy Norton
Children2

Early life and education

Weir was born in 1957, in San Francisco, California, to Scottish parents.[4][5] She is the daughter of former British ambassador Sir Michael Weir and his wife, Alison (née Walker) Weir.[6] She attended nursery school in Washington D.C., where her father was posted as a member of the British diplomatic corps. She later attended the Sacre Coeur Convent in Cairo, and the French Lycee in London.[7]

Both her parents were Scottish, and met while they were studying at the University of Oxford; her father was from Dunfermline and her mother was from the Scottish Borders, daughter of the headmaster of a small boarding school.[8][9] As a child, Weir spent many holidays in Scotland and describes herself as "culturally Scottish".[9] After her parents' divorce she initially lived with her mother, her two older brothers and her younger sister in the UK.[8] At the age of nine she moved to Bahrain with her father while her brothers were at prep school and her younger sister stayed with their mother.[9]

Weir returned to London after passing the eleven-plus in Bahrain and her father was posted to New York.[8][7] She was a pupil at the Camden School for Girls,[10] where her mother was a teacher, and then studied drama at Middlesex Polytechnic.[8][7] As a teenager, she was a backing singer in the British pub rock band Bazooka Joe, whose bass player was Stuart Goddard, who later became famous as Adam Ant.[11][12] Weir's terse relationship with her mother later became the subject of her debut one-woman show, Does My Mum Loom Big in This?[8]

Career

Weir's television career breakthrough came in 1994 in BBC's The Fast Show;[13] she later also became widely known for her roles in Posh Nosh and Two Doors Down.[14] In addition to acting, Weir contributed several episodes as a writer on The Fast Show and Posh Nosh and has also written for The Independent magazine[2] and for The Guardian newspaper and its Weekend magazine.[3]

In 1998, Weir published the international bestseller Does My Bum Look Big in This?, the title of which was a catchphrase of her character "Insecure Woman" in The Fast Show.[15] In 2000, she published her second novel Onwards and Upwards, followed by Stupid Cupid in 2002.

In 2001, Weir took part in the Weakest Link Comedians Special.[16] In 2006, Weir appeared as a contestant in the first series on Celebrity MasterChef.[17] In 2007, Weir appeared in Skins.[citation needed]

Weir joined the cast of Calendar Girls at London's Noël Coward Theatre in November 2009. She played the role of "Chris Harper" until the play's run in the West End ended in January 2010.[18]

Weir voiced the female incarnation of the Doctor in the Doctor Who Unbound Big Finish episode Exile.[19] American alternative weekly Houston Press's Jef Rouner described her portrayal as "one of the most melancholy of all the Doctors."[20]

Weir appeared in the Doctor Who 2011 Christmas Special The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.[21]

Weir performed with the original cast from The Fast Show (with the exception of Mark Williams) in six online-only episodes sponsored by the Fosters brand.[22]

From 2013 until 2016 she starred as Jenny in Drifters. In 2015 she joined the team of presenters for BBC Two's Food and Drink programme.[23] She also played a small role in Citizen Khan, in the mid-2010s. She has also appeared with Ready Steady Cook.[citation needed]

Since 2016, she has been starring in the BBC Scotland sitcom Two Doors Down.[24][25] Weir's performance was criticised by Ben Arnold, commenting in The Guardian "her Scottish accent [is] still a work in progress, it would seem."[26] When Weir was asked about this comment on Richard Herring's RHLSTP comedy podcast, she said she was doing specifically a Paisley accent on the show and that both her parents were from Scotland, which she considers her home. Weir added that Scottish actor David Tennant had responded to the Guardian's comment with the words "What the f*** are they on about, it's impeccable!", and that Ben Arnold (who himself is English) had later said to her he was sorry for making the comment.[27]

In June 2019, Weir premiered her debut one-woman show, Does My Mum Loom Big in This?, a comedic analysis of Weir's helter-skelter childhood and her difficult relationship with her late mother.[8] The show's title is a pun on Weir's bestselling novel Does My Bum Look Big in This? She took the show to the 2019 Edinburgh Festival.[28][29]

Personal life

In 1995 she began a relationship with Jeremy Norton. They have two children.[30] They divorced in 2013.[31][32]

The actor David Tennant is a close friend of Weir's and is godfather to her younger child [33] They met while filming the six-part comedy drama Takin' Over the Asylum for BBC Scotland in 1994.[14] Shortly after, Tennant moved to London and lodged with Weir at her house in Crouch End for five years.[34]

Books

Novels

  • Does My Bum Look Big in This?: the Diary of an Insecure Woman (1998)
  • Onwards and Upwards (2000)
  • Stupid Cupid (2002)
  • The Rise and Rise of Tabitha Baird (2014), YA
  • The Endless Trials of Tabitha Baird (2015), YA

Non-fiction

  • The Real Me is Thin: or Why All Women Think They're Fat (2011)[35]

References

  1. ^ Arabella Weir date of birth, Californiabirthindex.org. Accessed 20 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Arabella Weir: Have it all? If only men would let us". The Independent. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Arabella Weir". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Arabella Weir".
  5. ^ "Laughed off the Page Series 3, Episode 6 - Arabella Weir". British Comedy Guide.
  6. ^ Adel Darwish , The Independent, 28 June 2006
  7. ^ a b c Sale, Jonathan (22 January 1998). "Education: Passed/failed: Arabella Weir". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Saner, Emine (8 July 2019). "Arabella Weir on her aggressively unhappy mother: 'In my memory, she got rid of me'". The Guardian.
  9. ^ a b c Starbrick, Susan (18 November 2016). "Two Doors Down star Arabella Weir on her Scottish roots, motherhood and fractured family ties". The Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  10. ^ Davidson, Max (6 September 2008). "Town vs gown: north London". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Education: Passed/failed: Arabella Weir". Independent.co.uk. 22 January 1998. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  12. ^ Reed, John (30 August 2014). House of Fun: The Story of Madness. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781783233342. Retrieved 2 June 2017 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Gray, Susan (23 February 2020). "Actress Arabella Weir: 'I made money from the thing that plagued me my whole life – my bum'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Arabella Weir is back in Two Doors Down". The Scotsman. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  15. ^ Weir, Arabella (8 July 2011). "How Arabella Weir made peace with her body". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  16. ^ "The Weakest Link (UK) Season 3 Episode 7 Comedians Special". tv.com. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  17. ^ The, Newsroom (26 June 2020). "Celebrity Masterchef dishes up more delights". Belfast NewsLetter.
  18. ^ Spencer, Charles (11 November 2009). "Calendar Girls at the Noel Coward Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  19. ^ Peck, Matthew Wace (3 August 2013). "Op-Ed: Is the new Doctor Who a woman?". Digital Journal. digitaljournal.com. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  20. ^ Rouner, Jef (20 September 2013). "Doctor Who: The 10 Best Alternative Universe Doctors". Houston Press. Voice Media Group. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  21. ^ Frost, Vicky (21 September 2011). "Cast for Doctor Who Christmas special unwrapped". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  22. ^ . Fosters.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  23. ^ Weir, Arabella (26 June 2015). "Arabella Weir: The kebabs, the vodkas, and the lock-ins that help keep a show on the road". The Independent. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  24. ^ "Monday's best TV: The Last Miners; Back in Time for Brixton; Our Guy in China". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Two Doors Down, BBC Two". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  26. ^ "Friday's best TV: Easter 1916: The Enemy Files, Billy Connolly's Tracks Across America and Boomers". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  27. ^ "RHLSTP Edinburgh 2019 13 - Bryony Kimmings & Arabella Weir". Play.acast.com. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  28. ^ McLean, Craig (5 August 2019). "Arabella Weir: I was a few months pregnant and my Mum asked 'Have you any idea how fat you are?'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Arabella Weir: Does My Mum Loom Big In This?". Berksnest.com. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Marriage? It's just a joke..." Evening Standard. 3 April 2002. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  31. ^ Ross, Deborah (12 December 2013). "Arabella Weir: Someone up there likes me". The Independent. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  32. ^ Gray, Susan (23 February 2020). "Actress Arabella Weir: 'I made money from the thing that plagued me my whole life – my bum'". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  33. ^ McFadden, Joan (10 March 2018). "Actress is full of bright ideas to put Kirkcaldy back on the map". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  34. ^ Weir, Arabella (6 April 2008). . The Times. London. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  35. ^ Weir, Arabella (3 July 2011). "Once Upon A Life: Arabella Weir". No. The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2015.

External links

January 31, 2023
arabella, weir, onwards, upwards, novel, redirects, here, book, lynda, page, lynda, page, born, december, 1957, scottish, comedian, actress, writer, played, roles, comedy, series, fast, show, posh, nosh, written, several, books, including, does, look, this, we. Onwards and Upwards novel redirects here For the book by Lynda Page see Lynda Page Arabella Weir born 6 December 1957 1 is a Scottish comedian actress and writer She played roles in the comedy series The Fast Show and Posh Nosh and has written several books including Does My Bum Look Big in This Weir has also written for The Independent 2 and The Guardian and the latter s Weekend magazine 3 Arabella WeirBorn 1957 12 06 6 December 1957 age 65 San Francisco California U S NationalityBritishOccupation s Comedian actress writerSpouseJeremy NortonChildren2 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Books 4 1 Novels 4 2 Non fiction 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and education EditWeir was born in 1957 in San Francisco California to Scottish parents 4 5 She is the daughter of former British ambassador Sir Michael Weir and his wife Alison nee Walker Weir 6 She attended nursery school in Washington D C where her father was posted as a member of the British diplomatic corps She later attended the Sacre Coeur Convent in Cairo and the French Lycee in London 7 Both her parents were Scottish and met while they were studying at the University of Oxford her father was from Dunfermline and her mother was from the Scottish Borders daughter of the headmaster of a small boarding school 8 9 As a child Weir spent many holidays in Scotland and describes herself as culturally Scottish 9 After her parents divorce she initially lived with her mother her two older brothers and her younger sister in the UK 8 At the age of nine she moved to Bahrain with her father while her brothers were at prep school and her younger sister stayed with their mother 9 Weir returned to London after passing the eleven plus in Bahrain and her father was posted to New York 8 7 She was a pupil at the Camden School for Girls 10 where her mother was a teacher and then studied drama at Middlesex Polytechnic 8 7 As a teenager she was a backing singer in the British pub rock band Bazooka Joe whose bass player was Stuart Goddard who later became famous as Adam Ant 11 12 Weir s terse relationship with her mother later became the subject of her debut one woman show Does My Mum Loom Big in This 8 Career EditWeir s television career breakthrough came in 1994 in BBC s The Fast Show 13 she later also became widely known for her roles in Posh Nosh and Two Doors Down 14 In addition to acting Weir contributed several episodes as a writer on The Fast Show and Posh Nosh and has also written for The Independent magazine 2 and for The Guardian newspaper and its Weekend magazine 3 In 1998 Weir published the international bestseller Does My Bum Look Big in This the title of which was a catchphrase of her character Insecure Woman in The Fast Show 15 In 2000 she published her second novel Onwards and Upwards followed by Stupid Cupid in 2002 In 2001 Weir took part in the Weakest Link Comedians Special 16 In 2006 Weir appeared as a contestant in the first series on Celebrity MasterChef 17 In 2007 Weir appeared in Skins citation needed Weir joined the cast of Calendar Girls at London s Noel Coward Theatre in November 2009 She played the role of Chris Harper until the play s run in the West End ended in January 2010 18 Weir voiced the female incarnation of the Doctor in the Doctor Who Unbound Big Finish episode Exile 19 American alternative weekly Houston Press s Jef Rouner described her portrayal as one of the most melancholy of all the Doctors 20 Weir appeared in the Doctor Who 2011 Christmas Special The Doctor the Widow and the Wardrobe 21 Weir performed with the original cast from The Fast Show with the exception of Mark Williams in six online only episodes sponsored by the Fosters brand 22 From 2013 until 2016 she starred as Jenny in Drifters In 2015 she joined the team of presenters for BBC Two s Food and Drink programme 23 She also played a small role in Citizen Khan in the mid 2010s She has also appeared with Ready Steady Cook citation needed Since 2016 she has been starring in the BBC Scotland sitcom Two Doors Down 24 25 Weir s performance was criticised by Ben Arnold commenting in The Guardian her Scottish accent is still a work in progress it would seem 26 When Weir was asked about this comment on Richard Herring s RHLSTP comedy podcast she said she was doing specifically a Paisley accent on the show and that both her parents were from Scotland which she considers her home Weir added that Scottish actor David Tennant had responded to the Guardian s comment with the words What the f are they on about it s impeccable and that Ben Arnold who himself is English had later said to her he was sorry for making the comment 27 In June 2019 Weir premiered her debut one woman show Does My Mum Loom Big in This a comedic analysis of Weir s helter skelter childhood and her difficult relationship with her late mother 8 The show s title is a pun on Weir s bestselling novel Does My Bum Look Big in This She took the show to the 2019 Edinburgh Festival 28 29 Personal life EditIn 1995 she began a relationship with Jeremy Norton They have two children 30 They divorced in 2013 31 32 The actor David Tennant is a close friend of Weir s and is godfather to her younger child 33 They met while filming the six part comedy drama Takin Over the Asylum for BBC Scotland in 1994 14 Shortly after Tennant moved to London and lodged with Weir at her house in Crouch End for five years 34 Books EditNovels Edit Does My Bum Look Big in This the Diary of an Insecure Woman 1998 Onwards and Upwards 2000 Stupid Cupid 2002 The Rise and Rise of Tabitha Baird 2014 YA The Endless Trials of Tabitha Baird 2015 YANon fiction Edit The Real Me is Thin or Why All Women Think They re Fat 2011 35 References Edit Arabella Weir date of birth Californiabirthindex org Accessed 20 November 2022 a b Arabella Weir Have it all If only men would let us The Independent 17 November 2009 Retrieved 18 August 2019 a b Arabella Weir The Guardian Retrieved 18 August 2019 Arabella Weir Laughed off the Page Series 3 Episode 6 Arabella Weir British Comedy Guide Adel Darwish Obituary Sir Michael Weir The Independent 28 June 2006 a b c Sale Jonathan 22 January 1998 Education Passed failed Arabella Weir The Independent London Retrieved 14 April 2017 a b c d e f Saner Emine 8 July 2019 Arabella Weir on her aggressively unhappy mother In my memory she got rid of me The Guardian a b c Starbrick Susan 18 November 2016 Two Doors Down star Arabella Weir on her Scottish roots motherhood and fractured family ties The Herald Retrieved 23 February 2020 Davidson Max 6 September 2008 Town vs gown north London The Daily Telegraph London Retrieved 14 April 2017 Education Passed failed Arabella Weir Independent co uk 22 January 1998 Retrieved 2 June 2017 Reed John 30 August 2014 House of Fun The Story of Madness Omnibus Press ISBN 9781783233342 Retrieved 2 June 2017 via Google Books Gray Susan 23 February 2020 Actress Arabella Weir I made money from the thing that plagued me my whole life my bum Telegraph co uk Retrieved 11 October 2020 a b Arabella Weir is back in Two Doors Down The Scotsman Retrieved 18 August 2019 Weir Arabella 8 July 2011 How Arabella Weir made peace with her body The Daily Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 18 August 2019 The Weakest Link UK Season 3 Episode 7 Comedians Special tv com Retrieved 14 November 2016 The Newsroom 26 June 2020 Celebrity Masterchef dishes up more delights Belfast NewsLetter Spencer Charles 11 November 2009 Calendar Girls at the Noel Coward Theatre review The Daily Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 18 August 2019 Peck Matthew Wace 3 August 2013 Op Ed Is the new Doctor Who a woman Digital Journal digitaljournal com Retrieved 13 April 2017 Rouner Jef 20 September 2013 Doctor Who The 10 Best Alternative Universe Doctors Houston Press Voice Media Group Retrieved 13 April 2017 Frost Vicky 21 September 2011 Cast for Doctor Who Christmas special unwrapped The Guardian Retrieved 22 September 2011 Foster s The Fast Show Fosters co uk Archived from the original on 5 November 2011 Retrieved 22 April 2013 Weir Arabella 26 June 2015 Arabella Weir The kebabs the vodkas and the lock ins that help keep a show on the road The Independent Retrieved 22 November 2015 Monday s best TV The Last Miners Back in Time for Brixton Our Guy in China The Guardian Retrieved 17 October 2017 Two Doors Down BBC Two The Arts Desk Retrieved 17 October 2017 Friday s best TV Easter 1916 The Enemy Files Billy Connolly s Tracks Across America and Boomers The Guardian Retrieved 17 October 2017 RHLSTP Edinburgh 2019 13 Bryony Kimmings amp Arabella Weir Play acast com 17 August 2019 Retrieved 18 August 2019 McLean Craig 5 August 2019 Arabella Weir I was a few months pregnant and my Mum asked Have you any idea how fat you are The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 18 August 2019 Arabella Weir Does My Mum Loom Big In This Berksnest com Retrieved 18 August 2019 Marriage It s just a joke Evening Standard 3 April 2002 Retrieved 11 October 2020 Ross Deborah 12 December 2013 Arabella Weir Someone up there likes me The Independent Retrieved 24 July 2020 Gray Susan 23 February 2020 Actress Arabella Weir I made money from the thing that plagued me my whole life my bum Telegraph co uk Retrieved 24 July 2020 McFadden Joan 10 March 2018 Actress is full of bright ideas to put Kirkcaldy back on the map The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 18 August 2019 Weir Arabella 6 April 2008 It s ok to think Doctor Who is gay says David Tennant The Times London Archived from the original on 17 May 2011 Retrieved 25 April 2010 Weir Arabella 3 July 2011 Once Upon A Life Arabella Weir No The Guardian Retrieved 22 November 2015 External links EditOfficial website Arabella Weir at the British Film Institute Arabella Weir at IMDb Arabella Weir at British Comedy Guide Arabella Weir on Twitter Column archive at The Guardian Arabella Weir chooses Joyce Grenfell on BBC Radio 4 Great Lives listen online BBC Radio 4 Great Lives Series 15 Joyce Grenfell Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arabella Weir amp oldid 1129943995, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.