"I was born with a warped sense of humour and when I was carried home from being born it was Coronation Day and so I was called Victoria but you are not supposed to know who wrote this anyway it is about time I unleashed my pent-up emotions in a bitter comment on the state of our society but it's not quite me so I think I shall write a heart-warming story with laughter behind the tears and tears behind the laughter which means hysterics to you Philistines..."
From Pardon? by Vicky Wood, aged 14. Bury Grammar School (Girls) Magazine, 1967

Victoria Wood was a true pioneer among entertainers, earning her the rightful place as a national treasure time and time again.

Wood's career was one of the most illustrious and wide-ranging in British comedy, and one of the greatest sadnesses following her death in 2016 was that she left the world without leaving her own full account of her life, having never written an autobiography.

"I will do it one day," she told journalist and author Jasper Rees when he first met her in 2001. "It would be about my childhood, about my first few years in showbusiness, which were really interesting and would make a really nice story."

Tragically for us that autobiography never came to pass, but now with complete and exclusive access to Victoria's extensive archive of personal and professional material, and with exclusive interviews with her family and closest friends - including Julie Walters, Dawn French, Celia Imrie and many others - Jasper Rees, who interviewed Victoria Wood more than anyone else, will finally tell her rich story in full.

First published: Thursday 15th October 2020