Raised in Islington by Irish Catholic parents and trained at the Anna Scher Theatre School, she entered the industry with the 1982 drama Scrubbers before becoming a familiar face in British sketch comedy through French and Saunders, Harry Enfield programmes and a recurring turn as Magda in Absolutely Fabulous. A breakthrough came with the BBC sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999-2001), earning a British…
