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Diane Morgan
Diane Morgan (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has portrayed Philomena Cunk on the review programme Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe (2013–2020), the mockumentary series Cunk on Britain (2018), Cunk on Earth (2022), and the extended special Cunk on Life (2024). She also played Liz on the BBC Two sitcom Motherland (2016–2022) and Kath in the Netflix dark comedy series After Life (2019–2022), as well as writing and starring in the BBC Two comedy series Mandy (2019–present). Early lifeMorgan was born in Farnworth, Greater Manchester,[1] on 5 October 1975,[2][3] to Peter, a physiotherapist and Eirwen (née Roderick) a stay-at-home mother. She has one elder brother, Stephen (born 1969).[4] She grew up in Farnworth and Kearsley and attended George Tomlinson School in Kearsley.[5][6] When she was 20, she studied at the East 15 Acting School in Loughton.[7] She said in a 2020 interview: "There were a few actors on [my father]'s side of the family: Julie Goodyear, Frank Finlay and Jack Wild. What a dynasty. We're like the Redgraves. Julie's got a touch of the Mandys, actually. Maybe I could cast her as Mandy's mum."[8] CareerMorgan had a small acting role, as Dawn in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, before taking various other mundane jobs, including as a dental assistant, a telemarketer, a potato peeler at a chip shop, selling Avon, and boxing up worming tablets in a factory.[7] She subsequently made her first attempt at stand-up comedy at age 30.[7] She was placed second in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year award in 2006, and as runner-up in the 2006 Funny Women Awards.[9] Morgan and Joe Wilkinson later formed a sketch comedy duo called Two Episodes of Mash.[10] From 2008, they performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for three consecutive years,[11][12][13] and in 2010, they appeared on Robert Webb's satirical news show Robert's Web.[14] In 2012, the act completed its second BBC radio series[15] (co-starring David O'Doherty), and appeared in BBC Three's Live at the Electric.[16] In the same year, she appeared in Him & Her, which featured Wilkinson, and in 2013, she played Nicola in the TV series Pat & Cabbage.[17] In 2014, she made an appearance in the Channel 4 TV series Utopia, as Tess.[18] In 2015, she appeared in two episodes of Drunk History.[19] She was on Mock the Week in 2010 and 2011. She appeared on Would I Lie to You? filmed on 13 May 2016 and 19 May 2018. She was a guest on Have I Got News For You in April 2015 and April 2016, and hosted Have I Got Bit More News For You in May 2023. Philomena CunkMorgan is perhaps best known for her deadpan portrayal of Philomena Cunk, a dim-witted, ill-informed, yet earnest interviewer and commentator on history, culture and current affairs. The character first appeared on Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe (2013–2015), including as the presenter of a regular segment titled "Moments of Wonder".[18] Cunk has since appeared in other mockumentary contexts. In December 2016, she presented BBC Two's Cunk on Christmas.[20] In April 2018, the five-part historical mockumentary Cunk on Britain began broadcasting on BBC Two.[21][22] In December 2019, Morgan appeared as Cunk for short episodes of Cunk and Other Humans, once again on BBC Two. She returned in a one-off episode of Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe titled "Antiviral Wipe", about the COVID-19 pandemic, in May 2020.[23] Another series, Cunk on Earth, began broadcasting in September 2022.[24] For her performance in the latter, Morgan was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.[25] In 2024, Morgan appeared as Cunk in the one-off extended special Cunk on Life, which was broadcast in December 2024 on BBC Two.[26][27] Other rolesMorgan played David Brent's public relations expert in the film David Brent: Life on the Road (2016). She played Sharon in the film Me Before You, starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. She has appeared in several short films, including The Boot Sale, which was shortlisted in the Virgin Media Shorts film competition 2010.[28][29] In 2016 Morgan played Mandy in Sky One's comedy Rovers, appearing in all six episodes of the first series. She appeared in the pilot for the BBC2 comedy We the Jury as Olivia.[30] She also plays receptionist Talia in Sky's comedy drama Mount Pleasant and Liz in the BBC Two sitcom Motherland.[31] Morgan plays Kath in the Netflix black-comedy series After Life, written by Ricky Gervais.[32] She starred in the Gold sitcom The Cockfields, again alongside Wilkinson,[33] and in comedy-drama Frayed in 2019. In 2019, she wrote, directed, and starred in the BBC2 comedy short Mandy, described as "a comedy by Diane Morgan about Mandy, a woman who really, really wants a sofa, and will stop at absolutely nothing to get it". Carol Decker appeared as herself in the short. The character returned in August 2020 for the full series Mandy, with Shaun Ryder, Maxine Peake, and Natalie Cassidy in guest roles. A Christmas special, We Wish You a Mandy Christmas, loosely based on A Christmas Carol, was broadcast in December 2021.[34] Also in 2020, Morgan played Gemma Nerrick in the British mockumentary Death to 2020, created by Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones.[35] She reprised the role in Death to 2021. She voiced the character 105E in the 2021 animated Cartoon Network series Elliott from Earth. In April 2022 Morgan starred as Donna in the first episode of the seventh series of Inside No. 9.[36] In December 2022, Morgan reprised her role as Liz on Motherland for the Christmas special.[37][38] In 2023 Morgan appeared in a radio advertisement for Pot Noodle "Lost the Pot" Chicken-flavour noodles as a woman zealously defending the product's status as "champion" against the witless "Julia".[citation needed] In 2024 Morgan starred in the music video for Paul Heaton's "Fish 'N' Chip Supper".[39] In December 2024, Morgan starred in the Aardman Animations production, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl as local news reporter Onya Doorstep.[40] Personal lifeMorgan lives in the Bloomsbury district of London with her partner, BBC comedy producer Ben Caudell.[4] Interviewed by Stuart Jeffries for The Guardian in May 2016, she said: "I've always wanted to make people laugh. It's been my only ambition, ever since my dad introduced me to the genius of the great comedians: Tony Hancock, Woody Allen, people like that. While other kids were into New Kids on the Block, I was into Harold Lloyd and Stan Laurel. I'm still like that. I don't have any hobbies."[7] In July 2023, Morgan was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bolton for her contribution to television and comedy.[41][42] She is "mostly" vegetarian[43] and an animal rights activist.[44][45] A rescue dog owned by Morgan, credited as Robert "Bovril" Morgan, appeared in a Mandy Christmas special in 2021.[46] Filmography
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