Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''

Grumpy Old Women ''Grumpy Old Women'' is a British television series, continuing in the same vein as its predecessor, '' Grumpy Old Men''. Both programmes are shown on BBC Two. The first two series were narrated by Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 A ...

'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012.

Early life

Eclair was born to English parents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where her father, Derek Hargreaves,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, a major in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, who was serving in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

, Parachute Regiment,

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

Trucial Oman Scouts The Trucial Oman Scouts was a paramilitary force that the British raised in 1951 as the Trucial Oman Levies, to serve in the Trucial States. In 1956, the Levies were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts. In 1971, upon the formation of the United Arab ...

and

BRIXMIS The British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS) was a Military liaison missions, military liaison mission which operated behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany during the Cold War. BRIXMIS existed from 1946 – ...

, had been posted in 1952. Eclair returned to England when she was two years old, and she started her education at Queen Mary school (now AKS Lytham, after two separate mergers) in Lytham St Annes. She is said to have adopted the alternative surname Eclair (later her stage name) in her teens, when she was at a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and pretended to be French. She studied at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (now

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

) and joined a cabaret group variously referred to as Kathy Lacreme and the Rum Babas, and Cathy La Crème and the Rum Babas. After she moved to London, Eclair's first job was at Camberwell Arts College as a life model, which she did for about two terms. She then saw an advert in ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' looking for novelty acts and found work doing punk poems. In 1989, when she was named the '' Time Out'' Cabaret Award winner, she said it "was nice because it's the first time I've ever won without having to run 100 metres balancing an egg on a spoon." In 1995, Eclair was the first woman to win the

Perrier Award Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of th ...

, now known as the

Edinburgh Comedy Awards The Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. ...

, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Television

After an early appearance as a German hotel worker in ''

Auf Wiedersehen Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

'' Eclair starred in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

drama ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' and appeared in the early 1990s

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

comedy series '' Packet of Three'' with Frank Skinner, as well as the follow-up series ''Packing Them In''. In 1995, she became the first female solo winner of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival's

Perrier Comedy Award The Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. ...

. In 1997, she played "Josie" in the stage play '' Steaming'' by

Nell Dunn Nell Mary Dunn (born 9 June 1936) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, ''Up the Junction'', and a novel, ''Poor Cow''. Early years The second daughter of Sir Philip Dunn and ...

. In 2001, she published her first novel ''Camberwell Beauty''. Eclair provided alternative commentary of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2002 The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everybody" by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Organised by the Euro ...

for

BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...

viewers as part of the channel's ''Liquid Eurovision Party'' coverage, as a late replacement for broadcaster Christopher Price who died the month before the contest took place.

''Grumpy Old Women''

Eclair helped develop, and appeared on,

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''

'' and its various spin-off shows. In 2006, Eclair starred in the stage show '' Grumpy Old Women Live!'' with

Dillie Keane Louise Miriam "Dillie" Keane (born 23 May 1952) is an Olivier Award-nominated actress, singer and comedian. She has been a member of the comedy cabaret trio Fascinating Aïda since its 1983 inception, and has also pursued a solo career. Early ...

and

Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Dunford ( Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020) and her appearances as a weekl ...

. The show was co-written by Eclair and Judith Holder. The spring saw a sell-out national tour, and June and July a run at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End, and the autumn saw another national tour.

''Loose Women''

From 2011 to 2012, Eclair returned as a panellist on '' Loose Women'', a show she was a panellist on in 2003. On 30 May 2012, she appeared on her last '' Loose Women'' show and was replaced by actress

Shobna Gulati Shobna Gulati (born 7 August 1966)www.shobnagulati.co.uk
Shobna Gulati official website is an English ...

As a contestant

In 2005, Eclair appeared in the reality show '' Comic Relief Does Fame Academy''. On 18 November 2010, she joined the 2010 series of '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'', finishing in third place behind

Stacey Solomon Stacey Chanelle Clare Solomon-Swash (born 4 October 1989) is an English singer and television personality. She finished in third place on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009, and won the tenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Ou ...

and

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...

. In August 2012, Eclair appeared in ''

Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. In December 2022, it was announced that Eclair would appear in the fifteenth series of ''Taskmaster'' alongside comedians

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recogni ...

Mae Martin Mae Martin (born 2 May 1987) is a Canadian-born comedian, actor, and screenwriter based in England. They wrote and starred in the Netflix comedy series ''Feel Good'' and won two Canadian Comedy Awards as part of the comedy troupe The Young an ...

, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and

Ivo Graham Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

, due to air in 2023. Eclair was a contestant in The Great Pottery Throw Down's December 2022 festive celebrity show.

''Splash!''

On 25 January 2014, Eclair took part in the second series of the

celebrity diving show '' Splash!'', appearing in the fourth heat. Note* Scores are out of a possible 30 points in total.

Guest appearances

*''

Room 101 The Ministry of Truth, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Love, and the Ministry of Plenty are the four ministries of the government of Oceania in the 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', by George Orwell. The use of contradictory ...

'' (26 October 2005) – Guest *''

That Sunday Night Show ''That Sunday Night Show'' is a British television chat show presented by Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and ...

'' (30 January 2011, 2 October 2011, 19 February 2012) – Panellist *'' The Chase: Celebrity Special'' (5 November 2011) – Contestant *'' Saturday Cookbook'' (7 July 2012) – Guest *'' Let's Do Lunch with Gino & Mel'' (19 July 2012) – Guest *''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...

'' (12 December 2012) – Contestant *'' Tipping Point: Lucky Stars'' (30 June 2013) – Contestant *'' Weekend Kitchen with Waitrose'' (17 May 2014) – Guest *''

Draw It! ''Draw It!'' is a drawing game show that aired on Channel 4 from 5 May to 4 July 2014, hosted by Mel Giedroyc. It is loosely based on the popular mobile app, Draw Something. Format Each week, two well-known celebrities pair up with a different ...

'' (19–23 May 2014) – Contestant *''

Celebrity Fifteen to One ''Celebrity Fifteen to One'' is a celebrity version of the Channel 4 game show '' Fifteen to One''. William G. Stewart presented the first two episodes, which were Christmas specials that aired on 27 December 1990 and 30 December 1992. Adam Hil ...

'' (23 December 2014) – Contestant *''Fifty Shades Uncovered'' (2015) – Contributor *'' QI'' – Series M, Episode 8 "Merriment" - (25 December 2015) - Panellist

Radio

Until April 2008, Eclair hosted a weekend

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

on LBC 97.3. Her other radio credits include appearing on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

in the '' Just a Minute'' quiz and afternoon plays, various comedy shows on

BBC 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

and regularly has covered for

Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British writer, comedian and broadcaster on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She has written ...

on LBC's weekday lunchtime chat show (now defunct). She has also hosted her own show on the London radio station

LBC Radio LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...

and starred in various stage productions. Eclair sat in for

Danny Baker Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fami ...

BBC London 94.9 BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...

from Tuesday 30 August until Friday 2 September 2011.

Other work

Eclair fronts the

Food Standards Agency , type = Non-ministerial government department , nativename = , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Food Standards Agency.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = ...

's salt reduction campaign "Salt, is your food full of it?". Eclair became an Ambassador for audiobook charit
Listening Books
in 2019 Eclair appeared at

Derby Playhouse Derby Playhouse was a theatre production company based in Derby, England and the former name of the theatre which it owned and operated from its opening in 1975 until 2008, when the company ceased operating after a period in administration. The th ...

in ''

The Killing of Sister George ''The Killing of Sister George'' is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was later adapted into a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich. Stage version Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series ''Applehurst'', a district nurse ...

'' from 13 September 2008 until 18 October 2008.

Books

* ''The Book of Bad Behaviour'' (non-fiction) Virgin, 1994. ; * ''Camberwell Beauty'' (novel) Little, Brown, 2000. ; * ''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed

Malcolm Hardee Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor. His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British Altern ...

& John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ; * ''Having a Lovely Time'' (novel) Little, Brown, 2005. ; * ''Life, Death and Vanilla Slices'' (novel) Sphere, 2012. ; * ''Moving'' (novel) Sphere, 2015. (Italian translation: ''Le stanze dei ricordi'', Sperling & Kupfer, 2017. )

Personal life

Eclair is married to Geoff Powell as of July 2017. She previously stated that marriages are naff. She is the mother of the playwright

Phoebe Eclair-Powell Phoebe Eclair-Powell (born 1990) is a British playwright from South-East London. Her plays include ''WINK'' (Theatre503) and ''One Under'' (Pleasance Below). As an actress, she appeared in Peckham: The Soap Opera at the Royal Court. Her play Fu ...

(b. 1990).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eclair, Jenny 1960 births 20th-century English actresses 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English women writers Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University English television personalities English women novelists Living people English women comedians People educated at King Edward VII and Queen Mary School 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers People from Kuala Lumpur People from Lytham St Annes I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians