Topic: Victoria Wood

Victoria Wood CBE (born 19 May 1953 in Prestwich, Lancashire) is a BAFTA award winning English comedienne, actor, singer and writer, educated at Bury Grammar Girls' School. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano.

Much of her humour is grounded in everyday life, and includes references to popular British media and brand names of quintessentially British products. She is noted for her skills in observing culture, and in satirising social classes.

She started her career in 1974 by winning the ATV talent show New Faces. It wasn't until the 1980s that she began to establish herself as a comedy star, with the award-winning television series Victoria Wood As Seen On TV and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comedians.