Comic Roots

Irene Handl is one of Britain's funniest actresses, appearing in countless plays and films in a succession of working-class cockney parts. Yet her own London background is vastly different.

"That's the most usual thing I have said to me, you know 'You're just like my mum', or 'You're just like my Auntie Gladys'. I can't possibly be like Auntie Gladys but I'm glad if they think so."

Irene Handl is one of Britain's funniest actresses, appearing in countless plays and films in a succession of working-class cockney parts. Yet her own London background is vastly different. Born of foreign parents over 80 years ago, she grew up in a household staffed with servants, and in this film she talks about the childhood experiences that later became the basis of so many comic roles in films like A French Mistress, Morgan and I'm All Right Jack.