Ask the great British public to name a comic actress who's ascended to national treasure status, and many people would probably (and understandably) plump for Olivia Colman. Rebecca Front might not have quite the same stature, but personally she'd get my vote - superb in every single role she's taken; a charming, modest and eminently likeable interviewee; and someone unafraid of severing a friendship and calling out Laurence Fox's bullshit in public.
Talking to Front for the Independent, Alexandra Pollard deftly skirts around the Fox fall-out (on the advice of a publicist, by the sounds of it), but does elicit a pleasingly robust defence of black comedy in the face of those (including her former Lewis co-star, no doubt) who tediously complain that "you can't say anything these days". Political correctness needn't constrict comedy; on the contrary, she insists that making "dark, sinister, weird jokes without being deeply offensive" is perfectly possible. Nothing should be off-limits, as long as the humour comes "from the right moral and ethical place". Ultimately, she says, "You just need to have a moral compass about it." That's a lesson a few stand-ups could learn.
The interview also illustrates the importance of visibility as a source of inspiration. Seeing the likes of Victoria Wood and French & Saunders forging successful careers in comedy opened up "a whole new world". She came to the realisation that "This is something I can do" - and, like many a comedy fan, I'm so glad she did.
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