Let's Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood

Product Description THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA Times, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Radio Times, Daily Herald and FT Book of the Year'I was born with a warped sense of humour and when I was carried home from being born it was Coronation Day and so I was called Victoria but you are not supposed to know who wrote this anyway it is about time I unleashed my pent-up emotions in a bitter comment on the state of our society but it's not quite me so I think I shall write a heart-warming story with laughter behind the tears and tears behind the laughter which means hysterics to you Philistines...'From 'Pardon?' by Vicky Wood, Aged 14. Bury Grammar School (Girls) Magazine, 1967In her passport Victoria Wood listed her occupation as 'entertainer' - and in stand-up and sketches, songs and sitcom, musicals and dramas, she became the greatest entertainer of the age. Those things that might have held her back - her lonely childhood, her crippling shyness and above all the disadvantage of being a woman in a male-run industry - she turned to her advantage to make extraordinary comedy about ordinary people living ordinary lives in ordinary bodies. She wasn't fond of the term, but Victoria Wood truly was a national treasure - and her loss is still keenly felt. Victoria had plenty of stories still to tell when she died in 2016, and one of those was her own autobiography. 'I will do it one day,' she told the author and journalist Jasper Rees. 'It would be about my childhood, about my first few years in showbusiness, which were really interesting and would make a really nice story.' That sadly never came to pass, so Victoria's estate has asked Jasper Rees, who interviewed her more than anyone else, to tell her extraordinary story in full. He has been granted complete and exclusive access to Victoria's rich archive of personal and professional material, and has conducted over 200 interviews with her family, friends and colleagues - among them Victoria's children, her sisters, her ex-husband Geoffrey Durham, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Dawn French, Anne Reid, Imelda Staunton and many more. What emerges is a portrait of a true pioneer who spoke to her audience like no one before or since. Review This utterly absorbing and beautiful book, written with such insight and kindness, moved me hugely' ― Julie Walters Let's Do It is a biography that feels as unflinching and true as it is entertaining and affectionate. Rees pulls off the trick of writing a brilliant tribute while also - somehow, almost - bringing Victoria Wood back to life in all her complicated glory. -- Viv Groskop ― GUARDIAN When I met Victoria I gushed at her and she told me to stop, which was sweet and kind and saved us both! I won't gush now as per her non gushing desires, except to say that I would love people to read this beautiful book about the woman I will be forever grateful for in leading the way for me and other women in comedy and for making my life a jollier one. ― Miranda Hart There was none like her before and there's been none like her since - she was unique... I contributed to the book because I know that Jasper [Rees], who wrote it was a great friend of hers and she trusted him...and I knew that he would respect that... We weren't sitting down to be soft and fluffy about Vic, because Vic was quite spiky, quite demanding, and utterly hilarious. ― Dawn French on BBC RADIO 5 LIVE I remember first watching Victoria Wood when she was on Look North, when she would simply sing a song and play the piano, and knew then she was someone special. Decades later, I saw her show at the Albert Hall and not long after I bumped into her in our local M&S. I started to cry as I told her how amazing she was that night - I had no words for how wonderful she had been. Thankfully J asper Rees has found the perfect words to convey Victoria's brilliance, in this meticulously researched, immersive and entertaining biography. It is a wonderful tribute to a pioneering enter