Ladybaby. Image shows from L to R: Alana (Hanna Stanbridge), Suzie (Amy Manson), Harry (Richard Gadd), Kate (Mirren Mack). Copyright: Kudos Productions
Ladybaby

Ladybaby

  • TV comedy drama
  • BBC Three
  • 2021
  • 1 episode

Comedy drama about a woman who is reunited with the daughter she gave her up for adoption as a baby. Stars Amy Manson, Mirren Mack, Phyllis Logan, Ford Kiernan, Hanna Stanbridge and more.

Press clippings

Broadcast Awards 2022 comedy nominees revealed

Alma's Not Normal, Dreaming Whilst Black, Ghosts, Ladybaby, Starstruck and We Are Lady Parts are amongst the nominees for the Broadcast Awards 2022.

British Comedy Guide, 3rd December 2021

Ladybaby could be Scotland's next big comedy

An unexpected reunion between a woman and the daughter she gave up for adoption after giving birth at the age of 15 may sound more like a plot from a soap opera than a recipe for a new Scottish comedy series.

Brian Ferguson, The Scotsman, 31st August 2021

Ladybaby (BBC3) is a comedy from Scotland hoping to go from pilot to series. On this evidence it should.

Suzie, played by Amy Manson, has a friend who's just become a mum and can't think of anything less appealing. "If I ever give birth I won't have a baby, I'll have a pickled egg," she declares.

But she had a baby back when she was 15, the unintended consequence of a school field-trip to the Lake District where the condoms were used to water-bomb ramblers. Given up for adoption, Kate (Mirren Mack from The Nest) appears out of nowhere. Well, specifically: out of the dry ice in a nightclub after Suzie - her mum - has just enjoyed a knee-trembler with the resident DJ.

"You ticked the box for 'No contact,'" says Kate. "Well, the law's changed and I did want contact." Suzie tries to make up for lost time. "Er," says Kate, "are you trying to smell my head?"

The pair seem worlds apart, Suzie asking Kate: "Do you have a career? Do you do a weekly shop? Do you carry tissues in your bag?" Suzie has/does none of these things. In reply Kate says "You seem really young," suggesting maturity for her mother post-Lake Windermere is still a work-in-progress. There's great potential in Kirstie Swain's comedy - especially with Phyllis Logan and Ford Kiernan as Suzie's parents - though Ladybaby has already given up the money shot with Suzie getting to sniff Kate's head.

Aidan Smith, The Scotsman, 28th August 2021

Ladybaby review

Ladybaby does not make light of any trauma that may come from teen pregnancy, adoption, or discovering your mum drunk in a dive bar toilet with the DJ, but Swain is talented in finding humour and tenderness in the grimmest situations.

Kate Stone, Funny Women, 24th August 2021

Comedy Slices revealed as BBC marks female representation milestone

Four Comedy Slices pilots have been confirmed - Dinosaur, Britney, Ladybaby and Amicable - as BBC Three reveals it has reached a "watershed moment" in broadcasting history with most of its comedy now starring, written by or created by women.

British Comedy Guide, 16th April 2021

Pure writer gets BBC Comedy Slice pilot about adoption

Pure writer Kirstie Swain is to pilot a new series in the Comedy Slice strand from BBC Three.

British Comedy Guide, 22nd January 2020

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