Bella Hull

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Friday 18th April 2025

It was the first of times, it was the worst of times.

For this Bank Holiday edition we welcome Bella Hull, who has a new WIP on the go, which pitches up at London's Bill Murray on Easter Monday. The title? Doctors Hate Her.

"The new show is about modern medicine, astrology, and the wisdom in the trees," Hull reveals. "It's going to be bonkers. I'm super excited."

That eventually winds up at the Edinburgh Fringe throughout August, at Monkey Barrel's Hive. Meanwhile she'll also be at BOLD Elephant next month, in London's Elephant & Castle, with her new regular clubnight Bella Hull and Friends, which is fairly self-explanatory. The inaugural evening was a few weeks back - how was that?

"The first BH and Friends was electric. We sold out and I had the lineup of my dreams," she says. "I was terrified to put on my own night, but now I wish I'd done it sooner. So much fun."

There's a good lesson there, for Good Friday. Now let's double back to another bold debut.

First gig?

My first gig was nearly nine years ago in a function room above a pub near the BT Tower. I was meant to do five minutes, I did two while profusely shaking, and then ran away without saying goodbye.

I remember meeting a man who told me that he'd done 30 gigs. I bowed with respect at that, and then thought, 'Why the fuck did I just bow? What's wrong with me?' I never returned to that pub or saw that man again, which is probably for the best.

Favourite show, ever?

I opened for Ed Gamble's special a few months ago. It was at The Lowry in Salford and I got to stay in a super posh hotel. I stole the soap, the shampoo, the lotion, the slippers, the tea bags and the tiny milks. The gig was really fun as well. Maybe I should have opened with that. Thanks for having me, Ed!

Worst gig?

A couple of years ago I travelled for 27 hours to do a cruise in Australia where the average age was 85. It went about as badly as you'd imagine. I could see people taking their hearing aids out as I was onstage. I was meant to do four shows, but after my first two they cancelled the others and played a Billy Connolly DVD instead. I heard that went down a treat.

Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?

There are so many people. Early on in my career I would go through phases of obsession with different comics, emulating their voices until my act was like a mosaic of devotion to about seven different people. I've tried to let that go, but I'll always be obsessed with Ali Wong. I've got a framed picture of her Baby Cobra poster in my bedroom. I got it about eight years ago and have carted it through many flatshares. I know the special entirely off by heart. Is that weird? Sorry if that's weird.

Any reviews, heckles or post-gig reactions stick in the mind?

After the cruise in Australia I was accosted by a woman at the buffet, who said, 'I am too old to lie to you, you must quit this, you are no good. Find a nice man and call it a day.' I think about her at least once a week. I've not done anything she said.

Is there one routine/gag you loved, that audiences inexplicably didn't?

I did an act-out in my last Fringe show, Piggie, where I was a Victorian maid emptying the contents of my own stomach out the window onto a dimly lit, cobbled street. Half the audience would love it and the other half would sit in stunned silence waiting for it to end.

I came to almost look forward to that part of the show, guessing before I did it who would laugh and who would squirm. Fun for me but probably no way to make a career.

How do you feel about where your career is at, right now?

I'm really enjoying comedy at the moment. I've been full time for a few years now and I'm working up my third Fringe show. Even though I should be used to it, it still feels surreal that I can make money from telling jokes. I don't know how I got so lucky.

Bella Hull: Doctors Hate Her (WIP) is at London's Bill Murray on Easter Monday. Tickets

Bella Hull and Friends is at London's BOLD Elephant on 22 May. Tickets