Kirstie Swain
- Writer
Press clippings
Ladybaby (BBC3) is a comedy from Scotland hoping to go from pilot to series. On this evidence it should.
Suzie, played by Amy Manson, has a friend who's just become a mum and can't think of anything less appealing. "If I ever give birth I won't have a baby, I'll have a pickled egg," she declares.
But she had a baby back when she was 15, the unintended consequence of a school field-trip to the Lake District where the condoms were used to water-bomb ramblers. Given up for adoption, Kate (Mirren Mack from The Nest) appears out of nowhere. Well, specifically: out of the dry ice in a nightclub after Suzie - her mum - has just enjoyed a knee-trembler with the resident DJ.
"You ticked the box for 'No contact,'" says Kate. "Well, the law's changed and I did want contact." Suzie tries to make up for lost time. "Er," says Kate, "are you trying to smell my head?"
The pair seem worlds apart, Suzie asking Kate: "Do you have a career? Do you do a weekly shop? Do you carry tissues in your bag?" Suzie has/does none of these things. In reply Kate says "You seem really young," suggesting maturity for her mother post-Lake Windermere is still a work-in-progress. There's great potential in Kirstie Swain's comedy - especially with Phyllis Logan and Ford Kiernan as Suzie's parents - though Ladybaby has already given up the money shot with Suzie getting to sniff Kate's head.
Aidan Smith, The Scotsman, 28th August 2021Ladybaby review
Ladybaby does not make light of any trauma that may come from teen pregnancy, adoption, or discovering your mum drunk in a dive bar toilet with the DJ, but Swain is talented in finding humour and tenderness in the grimmest situations.
Kate Stone, Funny Women, 24th August 2021Comedy Slices revealed as BBC marks female representation milestone
Four Comedy Slices pilots have been confirmed - Dinosaur, Britney, Ladybaby and Amicable - as BBC Three reveals it has reached a "watershed moment" in broadcasting history with most of its comedy now starring, written by or created by women.
British Comedy Guide, 16th April 2021Sky orders darkly comic drama Sweetpea
Sky Atlantic is to air Sweetpea, an eight-part darkly comic drama about an average girl next door who has a long-buried secret.
British Comedy Guide, 13th February 2020Pure writer gets BBC Comedy Slice pilot about adoption
Pure writer Kirstie Swain is to pilot a new series in the Comedy Slice strand from BBC Three.
British Comedy Guide, 22nd January 2020Show that shaped me: Kirstie Swain on Smack the Pony
The writer of Channel 4's Pure celebrates a comedy that turned female TV archetypes upside down.
Broadcast, 4th April 2019For those who have resisted an All 4 binge of Kirstie Swain's inspired comedy-drama, about a woman plagued by a rare OCD that floods her mind with sexually intrusive thoughts, tonight's series-ending double bill will come as a treat. Now, best friend Helen arrives from Scotland, and Marnie is overjoyed that she seems to understand her problem.
Mike Bradley, The Guardian, 27th February 2019Kirstie Swain: "You can't be a little bit OCD."
The writer of coming-of-age comedy drama Pure, starting tonight on C4, talks to us about depictions of mental illness and sex on TV...
Louisa Mellor, Den Of Geek, 30th January 2019Pure review
Has the potential to deepen our understanding of mental health.
Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent, 30th January 2019Pure, Channel 4, review
A startlingly bold and very funny comedy about mental health.
Sarah Carson, i Newspaper, 30th January 2019