Angela Barnes

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Tuesday 25th February 2025

One random comedian, eight random questions; it's the ultimate test of funny person and fate.

This week we welcome Angela Barnes, usually to be found on the south coast but currently off touring around the country with her latest opus, Angst. Barnes' previous outing, Hot Mess, packed a huge emotional punch - should we be prepared this time too?

"I never set out for my last show to be quite as emotional as it was," the comic admits. "It was about my lovely friend Phil Jerrod, who passed away in 2021. I think he might have hated that I did a show about him, but when I found out about partygate and that one of the infamous parties happened on one of the worst days in Phil's treatment, I was so angry, I couldn't keep it in.

"Angst is less ranty at the world, more ranty at myself I'd say, but, y'know, with laughs. It's about what the Germans call Torschlusspanik, 'the panic of a closing gate', when life is steamrollering towards 50 and you get the sense that you've wasted so much time on stupid things and now it's running out and there's loads you haven't done yet.

"The time in your life when you have to face it that you probably aren't going to be the first female F1 World Champion, and probably aren't going to ever knit the other sock to go with that one you did in the first lockdown."

Well, we all get cold feet. Knitting and F1 aside though, any other big new challenges for 2025?

"I've just started weightlifting," she says, "inspired by Jess Fostekew, and last week I deadlifted a PB of 70kg - which might not seem much to you, but knowing I could deadlift my husband is the greatest sporting achievement of my life."

Uplifting as always: Angela Barnes, your Random 8 await.

Who was your childhood hero - real or fictional?

I was given the Beryl the Peril annual for Christmas 1981, when I was five, and I loved her. I was a good girl you see, a people pleaser who could not handle it when teachers told me off. But I was secretly really jealous of the naughty girls, who didn't think about the consequences, did what they wanted and were charismatic and fun.

Beryl was naughty, but with a glint in her eye, I so wanted to be more like her. See also, Marmalade Atkins.

Which low-key law would you introduce?

Everybody is given the power to pull over and on-the-spot fine someone who is hogging the middle lane. I do a lot of driving, and it is the thing that makes me most angry. If you are in the middle lane, and you are not overtaking and you are not moving out of the way of a stationary vehicle on the hard shoulder, I can pull you over and you have to pay me 500 quid.

Who's the most interesting person you've ever met?

I am so lucky that I get to meet so many interesting people, but one that really springs to mind was someone who became a good friend, the much missed Annabel Giles. Annabel had really lived a life: she was a Max Factor model in the 80s, married a pop star, was the person who typed up the lyrics for the Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? recording, she had had dinner with David Bowie, and been on a date with Charles Kennedy. She loved most people and was hilarious about the ones she didn't.

She loved experiencing life and though she was gone far too soon, she packed a heck of a lot in. She was so smart, beautiful, posh, funny and I miss her and her stories a lot.

What's the weirdest thing you ever ate?

When I did World's Most Dangerous Roads with Rhod Gilbert, we stopped overnight in a beautiful place called Molini di Triora where the local delicacy was snails cooked in this heavy garlicy kind of gravy.

Rhod and I were supposed to try them when we arrived in the evening, but because of delays we didn't get there until late at night, so we had to eat them at 7am the next morning. Not an ideal breakfast but we did it, managed to get them down and look like it wasn't disgusting.

And, of course, it didn't even make the edit.

Who are you most envious of?

Anyone who can sing. I come from a family of musicians and the gene passed me by. When my family gets together, they sing, and I feel left out. I get glared at like "not you; when you sing, we don't get a harvest".

What's the best thing you ever bought a ticket for?

Mat Ewins' shows in Edinburgh. They are always my highlight, they get better every time, and what he is doing is so unique. And it's the perfect mid-Fringe treat - a dose of pure silliness with someone who pretends he is having a much worse time than you are.

What's your favourite phrase or expression?

My favourite expression is one I use so often, it was the title of my first ever solo show and Radio 4 series, You Can't Take It With You. I inherited it from my Dad who had an attitude to fiscal responsibility that I have also sadly inherited.

If you ummed and ahhed about whether to treat yourself to that new pair of shoes/chocolate cake/house, he would say "Oh hang the expense, buy the cat another goldfish, you can't take it with you, unless you've got an asbestos briefcase," a motto my husband will verify that I live by to this day.

Which unsung British town deserves more attention?

I want to give some love to Hastings on the East Sussex coast. I'm a big seaside fan, I currently live in Brighton, but I love Hastings. It has the reputation that a lot of slightly faded British seaside towns have of high unemployment and drugs and that, but Hastings has loads going for it.

Yes, there's the Battle of Hastings, which was in, well, Battle, but it was also one of the medieval Cinque Ports, a hive of smugglers and Robert Tressell wrote The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists there. Oh AND it holds the Guinness World Record for the most pirates in one place.

I love Hastings, but also, I want to move there and the house prices are going up, so don't come, you won't like it.

Angela Barnes: Angst is touring the UK until 7th June. Dates and tickets here