Recent from talks
Jenny Eclair
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Jenny Eclair
Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is a Malaysian-born English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in Grumpy Old Women between 2004 and 2007 and in Loose Women in 2011 and 2012.
Eclair was born to English parents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, where her father, Derek Hargreaves, a major in the British Army, had been posted in 1952. The family lived in Malaysia, Singapore, and Germany before settling in Lancashire. Eclair returned to England when she was two years old, and she started her education at Queen Mary school (now AKS Lytham) in Lytham St Annes.
She is said to have adopted the alternative surname Eclair (later her stage name) in her teens, when she was at a disco in Blackpool and pretended to be French. She studied at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (now Manchester Metropolitan University) and joined a cabaret group variously referred to as Kathy Lacreme and the Rum Babas, and Cathy La Crème and the Rum Babas.
After she moved to London, Eclair's first job was at Camberwell Arts College as a life model, which she did for about two terms. She then saw an advert in The Stage looking for novelty acts and found work doing punk poems. In 1989, when she was named the Time Out Cabaret Award winner, she said it "was nice because it's the first time I've ever won without having to run 100 metres balancing an egg on a spoon." In 1995, Eclair was the first woman to win the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for her show Prozac and Tantrums. In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, she said that the prize "didn't make me feel fulfilled" and that she "unravelled" after she had won it.
After an early appearance as a German hotel worker in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Eclair starred in the ITV drama The Bill and appeared in the early 1990s Channel 4 comedy series Packet of Three with Frank Skinner, as well as the follow-up series Packing Them In. In 1997, she played "Josie" in the stage play Steaming by Nell Dunn. In 2001, she published her first novel Camberwell Beauty.
Eclair provided alternative commentary of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 for BBC Choice viewers as part of the channel's Liquid Eurovision Party coverage, as a late replacement for broadcaster Christopher Price who died the month before the contest took place.
Eclair helped develop, and appeared on, BBC Two's Grumpy Old Women and its various spin-off shows. In 2006, Eclair starred in the stage show Grumpy Old Women Live! with Dillie Keane and Linda Robson. The show was co-written by Eclair and Judith Holder. The spring saw a sell-out national tour, and June and July a run at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End, and the autumn saw another national tour.
In 2003, Eclair was a panellist on Loose Women and returned from 2011 to 2012. Her last appearance was on 30 May 2012. She was replaced by actress Shobna Gulati.
Hub AI
Jenny Eclair AI simulator
(@Jenny Eclair_simulator)
Jenny Eclair
Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is a Malaysian-born English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in Grumpy Old Women between 2004 and 2007 and in Loose Women in 2011 and 2012.
Eclair was born to English parents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, where her father, Derek Hargreaves, a major in the British Army, had been posted in 1952. The family lived in Malaysia, Singapore, and Germany before settling in Lancashire. Eclair returned to England when she was two years old, and she started her education at Queen Mary school (now AKS Lytham) in Lytham St Annes.
She is said to have adopted the alternative surname Eclair (later her stage name) in her teens, when she was at a disco in Blackpool and pretended to be French. She studied at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (now Manchester Metropolitan University) and joined a cabaret group variously referred to as Kathy Lacreme and the Rum Babas, and Cathy La Crème and the Rum Babas.
After she moved to London, Eclair's first job was at Camberwell Arts College as a life model, which she did for about two terms. She then saw an advert in The Stage looking for novelty acts and found work doing punk poems. In 1989, when she was named the Time Out Cabaret Award winner, she said it "was nice because it's the first time I've ever won without having to run 100 metres balancing an egg on a spoon." In 1995, Eclair was the first woman to win the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for her show Prozac and Tantrums. In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, she said that the prize "didn't make me feel fulfilled" and that she "unravelled" after she had won it.
After an early appearance as a German hotel worker in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Eclair starred in the ITV drama The Bill and appeared in the early 1990s Channel 4 comedy series Packet of Three with Frank Skinner, as well as the follow-up series Packing Them In. In 1997, she played "Josie" in the stage play Steaming by Nell Dunn. In 2001, she published her first novel Camberwell Beauty.
Eclair provided alternative commentary of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 for BBC Choice viewers as part of the channel's Liquid Eurovision Party coverage, as a late replacement for broadcaster Christopher Price who died the month before the contest took place.
Eclair helped develop, and appeared on, BBC Two's Grumpy Old Women and its various spin-off shows. In 2006, Eclair starred in the stage show Grumpy Old Women Live! with Dillie Keane and Linda Robson. The show was co-written by Eclair and Judith Holder. The spring saw a sell-out national tour, and June and July a run at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End, and the autumn saw another national tour.
In 2003, Eclair was a panellist on Loose Women and returned from 2011 to 2012. Her last appearance was on 30 May 2012. She was replaced by actress Shobna Gulati.
Recent media