Comedy legends Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have spoken out against the "hideous" and cruel criticism their friend and fellow performer Victoria Wood endured about her weight at the start of her career.
The 'Chubby Cherub' Critiques
In a powerful new documentary celebrating Wood's life, the duo reveal their shock at the harsh reviews the late comedian faced in the late 1970s. Victoria Wood, who died in 2016 aged 62, was repeatedly described by male critics with derogatory terms like "chubby cherub," "podgy," and "more than plump." One even wrote that she possessed "a talent as ample as her frame."
French, 68, and Saunders, 67, state they received similar remarks, being labelled "two chubsters," but they managed to brush them off. They argue that Wood, as a solo act breaking into television comedy, faced a uniquely difficult battle. "She must have had to think, am I going to do this, am I going to stand up and do some jokes now, what am I going to do? At least we had each other," Saunders reflects in the film.
A Trailblazer's Private Insecurity
The 90-minute special, titled Becoming Victoria Wood, features archive footage where Wood herself confesses the profound impact these comments had. "I did feel very insecure about being fat, it was always mentioned in anything that was ever written about me," she explains. "I felt ashamed of it, but I couldn't actually get to grips with doing anything about it."
She adds, revealing the lasting pain: "I am very oversensitive to what people say - those words are emblazoned on my mind." French observes that the critics seemed angered by Wood's "audacity to come on the stage and do the job" while not conforming to a stereotypical appearance.
Courage and Owning Her Shape
Despite the early cruelty, the documentary highlights how Wood ultimately found the courage to own her identity and use it within her comedy. French notes that Wood's physicality became a central, celebrated part of her act, as seen in sketches where she parodied women in leotards.
"Courage is what she had actually, the courage to do it," French states. "If you are going to decide 'I am not going to be cowed by this', ultimately, you have to build some kind of thicker skin. You have to own the shape you are."
By the mid-1980s, with the launch of her BBC1 series As Seen on TV, the tone of reviews had shifted positively. The documentary will air on UKTV's Gold channel on Thursday, 12th February.
Friend and collaborator Michael Ball also appears, praising Wood for overcoming her self-image struggles. "No one is harder on somebody with a weight problem than that person themselves," he says. "Like any of us, Victoria needed to become comfortable as herself."
French and Saunders unanimously hail Victoria Wood as a trailblazer for women in comedy, whose talent and resilience paved the way for others, all while enduring a level of personal scrutiny they describe as unacceptable.
