SELF-confessed serial worrier Angela Barnes spoke to your Purbeck Gazette about the struggle working-class comedians face when trying to break into the scene, her fears of turning 50, and how she wishes her dad was around to see her on stage now.
Angela, a comedian who swapped a career in health and social care for stand-up in 2010, took the time to chat with us ahead of her coming to The Mowlem Theatre in Swanage on May 2 as part of her 2025 tour.
Her latest show, Angst, explores her fears over time running out as she approaches 50 – something she describes as almost a second teenage phase.
“I’m a 48-year-old woman and my angst comes from realising that I will be 50 in two years and there’s loads of stuff I’ve forgotten to do,” she said.
“I think that’s probably quite a normal feeling – at least I hope!
“You think your angst-ridden teenage years are behind you when you’re an adult, but you get angst all over again when you hit your mid-life and realise you’re about halfway through and should probably get a move on.
“I’m a bit of a worrier. I worry about time running out and about things I should be doing but haven’t done.
“This show makes me face my worries and is full of jokes.
“The hope is that people walk away from my show feeling better about themselves. Not just because of the jokes but because they’ll think, well at least I’m not her!”
“Life is too short.”
Angela’s life was quite different before embarking on a comedy career, with her career based in health and social care.
“I was always a huge comedy fan,” she said.
“I used to do a lot of community theatre as well, so I would perform in plays but that was about it for years.
“My dad always said I should do stand-up, and I started running a comedy night at the theatre group I belonged to, so when I moved to Brighton I started running a comedy night above a pub there.
Angela is performing in Taunton in February 2025 Picture: Angela Barnes Comedy
“My dad died quite suddenly after that so I thought, life is too short and I thought he’s right; I should have a go.
“I started a comedy course at the Komedia in Brighton, something Sean Walsh and Jimmy Carr have both completed, as it was a good way to get started and now here we are, 15 years later, and it’s my job.
“Sometimes taking a punt can pay off!
“It is so sad that my dad died before he could see me doing comedy, but there’s always the potential that if he hadn’t died when he did, I probably would never have done it. I like to think of it as his last little bit of encouragement to me.
“I’ll always be grateful to him for that, but I would do anything for him to see me now.
Jo Brand and Victoria Wood helped pave the way
Angela said it wasn’t until she heard comics speaking with a working-class accent that she realised there was a place for it in comedy, without it being reduced to a bit part.
“The person that made such an impact on me and my future comedy career was Linda Smith,” she said.
“She sadly died in 2015 so I never got to work with her, but she was on Radio 4 a lot, and hearing her voice made me realise there could be a space for me.
“She made me realise that a woman with a working-class voice like mine could do more than play a maid in a sitcom.
“She was clever and cutting while holding her own. I realised then that people like me can do this thing that I love.
“There were so few women in the comedy scene when I was growing up. There was Victoria Wood and Jo Brand, people like that, but they were few and far between.
“Those people paved the way for people like me, and now it looks pretty 50/50 on TV now with men and female comics.
“Young women won’t grow up thinking that’s not an option to them and I think that’s brilliant.
Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You
Angela featured many times on the popular panel show Mock the Week, and she recently made her debut on Have I Got News For You.
“Mock the Week was great, but it was seven different people all trying to fight to get their voice heard,” she said.
“Have I Got News For You felt more like a chat around a campfire. It had more of a feel of having a podcast with your more interesting friends.
“I loved every minute of it, and I hope they’ll have me back.
“It took a while, I think, for a lot of TV shows to realise that ‘female comedian’ is not a genre of comedy.
“It used to make me laugh as they would say they would want a variety of the show, but I think I have a lot more in common with someone like Rob Beckett in terms of tone compared to someone like Sara Pascoe, as we’re quite different acts.
“It seemed crazy to me that you could be booked based on your gender. It has nothing to do with what style of comedy you do.”
Angela said the comedy scene has come along considerably over the years in terms of representation but said it can be harder for a working-class comedian to break through compared to others.
She said: “I think real progress has been made. If you look at old panel shows on Dave and it’s all blokes, it just looks weird, and something doesn’t look quite right.
“The balance isn’t completely there yet, but as more women come through over the next few years, they will all get the experience they need to appear on those TV shows and I think that’s when it will balance out.
“There’s always work to do, not just on gender, but on class as well.
“The path to television for someone who is working class is a lot harder as you need to pay your bills. I think people from a more comfortable background may not realise the difficulty for working-class comedians to break through that barrier.
“We need to do away with this idea that all working-class people are Brexit-voting bigots and that, actually, the working class has as broad a range of opinions as everyone else. Let’s hear all the voices!”
Angela’s last tour Hot Mess received critical acclaim and was filmed as a special available on ITVX Picture: Matt Crockett
A lover of games – Taskmaster and Richard Osman’s House of Games
Angela loves games – and she’s quite good at them as well. She made headlines when she was the first contestant to win all five days in a week of House of Games.
Speaking about her success on the show, she said: “It was one of my favourite things I’ve ever done on TV. You just turn up and play games all day with some nice people.
“I was the first person to win all five until recently, but people kept saying to me, ‘How are you good at this?’ and I thought, do you know what, just let me have this! I was no good at sports; games were the one thing I was great at, so let me enjoy it.
“My husband and I are cryptic crossword nerds.
“There’s nothing better than curling up on the sofa and having a crack at a crossword. We’re really rock n roll, you know?
“I found that no one will play Scrabble with me anymore, other than my husband, which might help explain just how much I love playing games.
This love for games suggests she would be a shoo-in for Taskmaster, but Angela isn’t too sure she would find success on the show as she did on House of Games.
“I’d love to do Taskmaster, but it involves a bit of common sense and lateral thinking and I’m not sure if I have that in the bag, but I’d love to have a go at it.
“Everyone looks like they’re having so much fun and I sit at home watching it, getting jealous, thinking I want to play. So hopefully one day, you never know.
Advice for up-and-coming comedians
“Authenticity is really important because an audience can tell right away if you’re trying to be something you’re not,” she said.
“Be who you are, and if you’re good, people will meet you halfway.
“There’s this idea that people only relate to people the same as them. This is absolute rubbish.
“The idea that men can’t relate to female comics is absurd – I’ve related to male comics my whole life.
“Funny is funny, so don’t worry about people not being able to relate.”
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