Ellen Turnill Montoya & Letty Butler from The Big Pitch

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Tuesday 30th May 2023

One random comedian, eight random questions; it's the ultimate test of funny person and fate - but this week we welcome two blue-sky thinking brainstormers.

Ellen Turnill Montoya is the co-host of high-concept night The Big Pitch, which is at London's Bloomsbury Theatre on 8th June. And bringing her expertise is comedian, actor and author Letty Butler, who is currently the main protagonist in a saucy Crunchy Nut Cornflakes campaign. There's a big link between comedy and commercials, says Turnill Montoya. "When I either write a joke, or have an idea for a project, I get the exact same feeling in my brain of a connection happening."

This ad-themed show started life as a much smaller affair called Tone of Voice, and "takes place in a fictional ad agency on the day of a pitch," Ellen explains. A mighty cast of comics play the ad creatives, pitching ideas to the client - and the client here is the audience.

Overseeing these braingasms are Turnill Montoya (playing the creative director), co-host/founder Adam Larter (client director) and Joz Norris (junior intern). It all came about because Adam and Ellen's day-jobs are in that field, so this "is a fun, silly (and cathartic) way to make fun of all the things the industry takes a little too seriously about itself," she says, "as well as seeing other comedians tackle a brief too, and how much fun it could actually be."

Also in the cast are John Kearns, Bec Hill, Bilal Zafar, Harriet Kemsley, Eleanor Morton and Mark Silcox. Butler, who knows her way around an ad shoot, is "a Big Pitch virgin," she admits, but is ready. "I anticipate high levels of anxiety, followed by extreme hilarity, spectacular props and total chaos. Whatever happens, I'm expecting a BAFTA."

So what's the highlight of her acting-in-ads career so far?

"The best thing about adverts is the fact they attract comedy directors, so I've been lucky enough to work with people like Steve Bendelack, Juliet May and James Griffiths," she says. "And you know, spending a week in bed with a fit bloke shoveling Crunchy Nut Cornflakes in my gob wasn't the worst thing I've ever done."

We'll get to that. Ellen and Letty, your Random 8 await.

Who was your childhood hero, real or imaginary?

Ellen: Miss Piggy.

Letty: Toss-up between Michael J Fox and Roald Dahl. Still is, to be fair.

Your worst ever day at work?

Letty: Either an ad shoot for a sweetener where I had to be sewn into a giant red flower costume (apparently I was an anthurium but I looked more like a vagina) or a 14 hour night shoot on a big feature film the day I got back from Edinburgh Festival. The make-up lady looked at my headshot, then my face, and said 'What have you done to yourself?' Which was nice.

Ellen: I had a day at work so bad that I cried so much that day, into the day after, and I had to be taken to Ikea to stop crying (it worked).

What's the best thing you've ever bought?

Ellen: I just got a smooth new tooth from the dentist and I love it.

Letty: A cat. Worth every penny.

Is there a book or film that changed your life?

Ellen: The answer to both is Ghost World.

Letty: Book - The Little Engine that Could. It's about resilience and self belief and being quite a shit little train trying to get up a massive hill. I channel it every time things get tough, which they inevitably do on a daily basis in this industry.

Film: The Witches by Michael J Fox... sorry, Roald Dahl. It was shot at the Headland Hotel in Cornwall, which is where we went on holiday every year when I was little. So when I saw the film, I came to the obvious conclusion that my mum was the Grand High Witch which made things slightly tricky.

Which town or city should be abolished?

Ellen: I have no answer for this. They can all exist and be happy.

Letty: Lilliput. It's very sizeist.

What's the oddest thing you've eaten?

Ellen: I'm a big fan of bugs. Especially crunchy crickets on guacamole.

Letty: Deep-fried crickets or mange tout and marmite sandwiches. Needless to say, I got bullied over my lunchbox both at school and in the workplace.

Your most memorable faux pas?

Letty: It took place in a swimming pool. My brother and I were at prime pranking stage. I did a stealth underwater swim and pulled his trunks off, then swung them round my head lasso-style and hurled them as far away as possible. It would have been brilliant if I'd got the right person.

Ellen: I've blocked them all out.

What's your favourite shop, ever?

Letty: A childhood hobby of visiting charity shops with my dad has turned into an obsession with consignment shops in adulthood, so any of those or anything that requires a hunt to find something special is always my favourite thing.

Ellen: Lidl, for obvious reasons.