Wikipedia

Suzi Ruffell

Suzi Ruffell (born 18 January 1986)[1][2] is a British comedian, writer, and actress.

Suzi Ruffell
Born (1986-01-18) 18 January 1986 (age 38)
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
OccupationComedian
Years active2008–present
Websitesuziruffell.com Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Ruffell was born in Portsmouth to a working-class family.[1] Her father buys and sells lorries and her mother became his assistant after raising Suzi and her older brother.[3]

Ruffell joined a youth drama group which had a major impact on her eventual career choice. She considered Victoria Wood, Catherine Tate, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders to be her heroes. After Chichester College, she attended drama school at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts[4] in London, where she first performed stand-up. Ruffell was the first in her family to attend university.[3]

Career

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Ruffell began her stand-up comedy career in November 2008[5] and has been performing stand-up full time since 2012.[3]

Before she began touring as a solo performer, Ruffell had supported Alan Carr, Kevin Bridges,[6] Josh Widdicombe, Joe Lycett, Romesh Ranganathan,[7] and Katherine Ryan[8] on national tours.

Ruffell's stand-up comedy tours include: Social Chameleon (toured in 2014–2015),[9][10] Common (2016–2017),[11] Keeping It Classy (2018, her first headlining tour),[3] Nocturnal (2019),[7] and Dance Like Everyone's Watching (2019–2020).[12] After a year and a half hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ruffell resumed the Dance Like Everyone's Watching tour in autumn 2021.[13]

Keeping it Classy was recorded for Live from the BBC[14] and aired on 11 July 2018.

In 2017, Ruffell and her friend Tom Allen performed across the UK on a double-bill tour titled Hit the Road![11]

In 2018, Ruffell toured Australia as a performer with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow.[6][12]

Also in 2018, she had a leading role in the short film Foreign, directed by Mark Pinkosh.[12]

Television and radio

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Ruffell's first television appearance was on BBC3's Ed Comedy Fest Live,[9] and she has also appeared on numerous shows on Channel 4, E4, Comedy Central and Dave.[5][15][16]

She is regularly heard on BBC Radio 4 on The Now Show and The News Quiz.[12]

In addition to performing comedy, Ruffell has written for several television shows, including 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Last Leg, Twit of the Year, Stand Up for the Week,[9] and Mock the Week.[17]

Ruffell appeared with five other British female celebrities in the 2021 BBC2 documentary Womanhood, with the guests discussing the evolving status of women over the past 50 years.[18]

Also in 2021, Ruffell was a presenter on the first two episodes of a female-led satirical news show on Comedy Central titled Yesterday, Today & The Day Before.[19][20]

Podcasts

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Since October 2015, Ruffell has co-hosted the podcast Like Minded Friends with comedian Tom Allen.[12][21]

Starting in 2020, Ruffell has hosted the podcast Out with Suzi Ruffell.[22][23]

In 2022, Ruffell became the co-host of Wine Times, with Sunday Times Wine Club vice-President Will Lyons.[24]

In 2023, Ruffell became the co-host of the podcast, Big Kick Energy, with fellow comedian Maisie Adam. Having launched the show for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the series transitioned to following the Women's Super League season and other domestic and international football fixtures. Big Kick Energy won a UK Broadcast Sports Award.[25][26]

Personal life

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Ruffell found school difficult and says that she became the "class clown" to hide her dyslexia.[27] She has 4 GCSEs and an AS Level in Contemporary Dance.[28]

Ruffell is gay.[29][30] She said that she realised she was gay at the age of 14 but did not come out until she was 21. She said her parents were "absolutely fine" about her announcement.[1] Ruffell married her partner Alice Storey in 2021.[31] They have one child together.[32]

Awards and nominations

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Ruffell was nominated for the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2011, making it to the finals,[15] and was awarded second place in the Latitude Festival New Act Competition 2011.[14]

A sitcom pilot collaboration with playwright Jon Brittain in 2012 led to a nomination for the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Award.[14]

In 2017, she was nominated for Chortle's Best Breakthrough Act. In 2019, she won that website's award for Best Club Comic.[33]

In 2020, Ruffell was nominated for a British LGBT Award in the Broadcaster or Journalist category.[34]

In 2023, Ruffell and Maisie Adam won the Broadcast Sports Award for Best Sports Podcast for Big Kick Energy.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "We catch up with London funny-girl Suzi Ruffell". Foundry Fox. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  2. ^ Ruffell, Suzi (5 October 2012). "@EllieJaneTaylor my birthday is 18th Jan. xx".
  3. ^ a b c d Lee, Veronica (26 April 2018). "Comedian Suzi Ruffell is 'Keeping It Classy' on her 2018 UK tour which comes to Nottingham's Glee Club". Nottingham Post. England. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. ^ "From acting to comedy via Chichester". 8 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b Kestra (5 April 2018). "Comedian of the Month: Interiew with Suzi Ruffell". www.tickx.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Sellars, Krystal (3 May 2018). "Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow comes to Cessnock Performing Arts Centre June 7". The Advertiser. Cessnock, Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b MacAlister, Katherine (1 February 2019). "What to expect from comedian Suzi Ruffell in Oxford". The Oxford Times. Oxford, England. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  8. ^ Paskett, Zoe (12 March 2019). "Suzi Ruffell interview: 'I'm confessional – when I was heartbroken, I gigged and spoke about it'". Evening Standard. London, England. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Russell, Ben (14 May 2015). "New comic talent coming to town". Bromsgrove Advertiser. England. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Laughs all round once venue's season starts". The Journal. Newcastle, England. 18 August 2014. p. 24.
  11. ^ a b Parker, Richard (29 March 2017). "Tez sez there's a lot of laughs at the Alhambra Studio with Tom and Suzi". Keighley News. England. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e Davis, Joanna (23 January 2020). "Turning tragedy into big laughs: comedian set for Lyme Regis gig". Bridport and Lyme Regis News. England. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  13. ^ Fristrom, Ellinor (10 December 2021). "How you can see Suzi Ruffell in Banbury this weekend". Oxford Mail. Oxford, England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "Suzi Ruffell". Off The Kerb Productions. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Double the Funny". The Croydon Advertiser. England. 17 April 2015. p. 31.
  16. ^ "Comedians hit the road for headliner". Daily Post. North Wales. 18 November 2016. p. Features section, 3.
  17. ^ "Well-known comedy stars head to the city". Plymouth Evening Herald. England. 21 January 2016. p. 8.
  18. ^ Brown, Helen (26 November 2021). "Womanhood, review: what exactly can British feminists agree on these days?". The Daily Telegraph. London, England.
  19. ^ Broom, Chris (19 November 2021). "Portsmouth comic Suzi Ruffell to play her biggest hometown show at New Theatre Royal". The News. Portsmouth, England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Yesterday, Today & The Day Before". IMDb. n.d. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Like Minded Friends with Tom Allen & Suzi Ruffell on acast". acast. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  22. ^ Davies, Hannah J. (24 April 2020). "Living your best LGBT life with Suzi Ruffell: Podcasts of the week". The Guardian. London, England. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Out with Suzi Ruffell on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Wine Times: Suzi Ruffell". The Times. London, England. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Broadcast Sport Awards - 2023 Shortlist". Broadcast Sports Awards. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Maisie Adam and Suzi Ruffell win 'best sports podcast' award". Chortle. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  27. ^ Ruffell, Suzi (30 December 2018). "A new start: Suzi Ruffell on growing up dyslexic and discovering the joy of writing". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Suzi Ruffell". www.facebook.com.
  29. ^ "Suzi Ruffell on Twitter". twitter.com. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  30. ^ Ruffell, Suzi (28 May 2018). "Suzi Ruffell: 'Brighton was the perfect place for a little gay to have a go at being out'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  31. ^ Ruffell, Suzi (6 August 2021). "We had planned the perfect wedding – and then one day in Sainsbury's we made a big decision". The Independent. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  32. ^ S6 EP14: Suzi Ruffell, 24 February 2023, retrieved 5 March 2023
  33. ^ "Chortle Awards: Winners and Nominees". Chortle. 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Janet Jackson, Sam Smith and Cara Delevingne nominated at the 2020 British LGBT Awards". BANG Showbiz (UK). 11 February 2020. p. News section – via Newsbank.
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