Jackie Clune

Jackie Clune is the third of four children born in Harlow, Essex, to Irish Roman Catholic parents: her father, Don Clune (died August 2010), worked for a computer firm, her mother, (died 2018) was a nurse. The writer Maggie Clune is her sister. Jackie Clune graduated with a degree in drama from the University of Kent. On graduation from university, she became a full-time drama lecturer at the Royal Holloway College for at least six years, was the presenter of the Weekend Breakfast Show on BBC GLR 94.9fm, and a BBC London radio journalist. She started singing in bands part-time, but between sets as a DJ she developed a facility in chatting to the audience. This led a friend to suggest that she could create a Karen Carpenter tribute performance, with singing; this she worked on and took to the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, where she was spotted by a West End producer. Giving up her lecturing career, she co-founded the Red Rag Women's Theatre Company, and fell into stand-up comedy while working at the Hackney Empire. Her credits include the BBC soap drama EastEnders and ITV's The Bill.