History Creator / VictoriaWood

She was widely regarded in Britain as a national treasure, and when she died unexpectedly in 2016[[note]] she'd developed cancer in 2015 but kept the diagnosis private[[/note]], UK Prime Minister UsefulNotes/DavidCameron actually described her as one (one of the few things he's said which most British people would agree with him about). The ''Guardian'' newspaper said in an editorial comment that she 'combined Creator/AlanBennett's ear for dialogue, Creator/NoelCoward’s songwriting skills, [[Series/TheTwoRonnies Ronnie Barker]]’s comic acting talent and Creator/KenDodd's command of gag-cracking. She had the loveability of a Gracie Fields or an [[Creator/MorecambeAndWise Eric Morecambe]] and at her best she could channel some of the same humanist poignancy as a [[Creator/CharlieChaplin Chaplin]] or a [[Creator/AntonChekhov Chekhov]]."

She first appeared on British TV in the 1970s but her career really got going in the 1980s with her sketch show, ''Series/VictoriaWoodAsSeenOnTV'', which helped to launch the career of Creator/JulieWalters. Wood combined being an old-school variety entertainer with being a modern writer/performer in that she had an affable stage presence as a comedian and wrote and sang very funny and sometimes biting songs, but was also a gifted dramatist who was unafraid to find humour in dark topics such as loneliness, isolation and illness. She later created a successful sitcom, ''Series/{{Dinnerladies}}'', and wrote many single dramas for TV, not all of them comic.

* ''Series/{{Dinnerladies}}'' (1998--2000)

Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actor, singer, songwriter, pianist, screenwriter, playwright and director. She was born into a middle-class family in Prestwich, Lancashire and much of her humour was influenced by her background OopNorth.

* {{Asexuality}}: Played for laughs and also inverted in her stand-up and in her songs:
-->People think I hate sex. I don’t. I just don’t like things that stop you seeing the television properly.
-->I once went to one of those parties where everyone throws their car keys into the middle of the room...I don't know who got my moped, but I drove that Peugeot for years.
-->I once found myself in bed with a man who was a real do-it-yourself enthusiast...he ripped off all his clothes and said "What would you like me to do?" I said, "Well, really I'd like you to fix my overflow and re-point my brickwork."

She was widely regarded in Britain as a national treasure, and when she died unexpectedly in 2016[[note]] she'd developed cancer in 2015 but kept the diagnosis private[[/note]], UK Prime Minister David Cameron actually described her as one (one of the few things he's said which most British people would agree with him about). The ''Guardian'' newspaper said in an editorial comment that she 'combined Creator/AlanBennett’s ear for dialogue, Creator/NoelCoward’s songwriting skills, [[Series/TheTwoRonnies Ronnie Barker]]’s comic acting talent and Ken Dodd’s command of gag-cracking. She had the loveability of a Gracie Fields or an [[Creator/MorecambeAndWise Eric Morecambe]] and at her best she could channel some of the same humanist poignancy as a [[Creator/CharlieChaplin Chaplin]] or a [[Creator/AntonChekhov Chekhov]]."

She was widely regarded in Britain as a national treasure, and when she died unexpectedly in 2016, UK Prime Minister David Cameron actually described her as one (one of the few things he's said which most British people would agree with him about). The ''Guardian'' newspaper said in an editorial comment that she 'combined Creator/AlanBennett’s ear for dialogue, Creator/NoelCoward’s songwriting skills, [[Series/TheTwoRonnies Ronnie Barker]]’s comic acting talent and Ken Dodd’s command of gag-cracking. She had the loveability of a Gracie Fields or an [[Creator/MorecambeAndWise Eric Morecambe]] and at her best she could channel some of the same humanist poignancy as a [[Creator/CharlieChaplin Chaplin]] or a [[Creator/AntonChekhov Chekhov]]."

Victoria Wood (1953--2016) was an English comedian, actor, singer, songwriter, pianist, screenwriter, playwright and director. She was born into a middle-class family in Prestwich, Lancashire and much of her humour was influenced by her background OopNorth.

* ''Series/{{Dinnerladies}}'' (1988--2000)

She was widely regarded in Britain as a national treasure, and when she died unexpectedly in 2016, UK Prime Minister David Cameron actually described her as one (one of the few things he's said which most British people would agree with him about). The ''Guardian'' newspaper said in an editorial comment that she 'combined Creator/AlanBennett’s ear for dialogue, Creator/NoëlCoward’s songwriting skills, [[Series/TheTwoRonnies Ronnie Barker]]’s comic acting talent and Ken Dodd’s command of gag-cracking. She had the loveability of a Gracie Fields or an [[Creator/MorecambeAndWise Eric Morecambe]] and at her best she could channel some of the same humanist poignancy as a [[Creator/CharlieChaplin Chaplin]] or a [[Creator/AntonChekhov Chekhov]]."

* BawdySong: Her most famous song "[[https://youtu.be/kE2gdiZRuHg The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It)]]" is a hilariously OverlyLongGag about a [[{{Lust}} lustful woman]] trying to persuade her unenthusiastic man to have hot sex, alternating 'she said' with 'he said' verses:

* BawdySong: Her most famous song "The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It)" is a hilariously OverlyLongGag about a [[{{Lust}} lustful woman]] trying to persuade her unenthusiastic man to have hot sex, alternating 'she said' with 'he said' verses:

-->So she said:\\

I can't do it. I can't do it tonight.

-->I don't say who, I do say whom,\\

I think that Mussolini had the right idea.

* SourPrudes: She played this trope for laughs quite a lot: Barry in "Let's Do it" is a low-key example.

* {{Asexuality}}: Played for laughs in her stand-up and in her songs:

* BawdySong: Her most famous song "Let's Do It" is a hilariously OverlyLongGag about a [[{{Lust}} lustful woman]] trying to persuade her unenthusiastic man to have hot sex, alternating 'she said' with 'he said' verses:

She was widely regarded in Britain as a national treasure, and when she died unexpectedly in 2016, UK Prime Minister David Cameron actually described her as one (one of the few things he's said which most British people would agree with him about), and the ''Guardian'' newspaper said in an editorial comment that she 'combined Creator/AlanBennett’s ear for dialogue, Creator/NoëlCoward’s songwriting skills, [[Series/TheTwoRonnies Ronnie Barker]]’s comic acting talent and Ken Dodd’s command of gag-cracking. She had the loveability of a Gracie Fields or an [[Creator/MorecambeAndWise Eric Morecambe]] and at her best she could channel some of the same humanist poignancy as a [[Creator/CharlieChaplin Chaplin]] or a [[Creator/AntonChekhov Chekhov]]."

She won many awards for her work, regularly topped polls of favourite comedians, and in 1997 she was given an OBE (followed in 2008 by the next medal up, the CBE. See UsefulNotes/KnightFever for an explanation.)

* SelfDeprecation: The source of much of her humour. Whenever she wrote a part for a large woman, she'd play it herself, even if it meant taking a relatively minor role.