Eddie Izzard says Zelensky shows comedians can be politicians as she bids to be MP

Eddie Izzard is once again launching a bid to become an MP and pointed out that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky serves as proof that comedians can be successful politicians.

A well-known supporter of the Labour Party, Izzard has spoken of her future political ambitions ever since the Conservative Party won the 2010 election.

Read more: Eddie Izzard tears up during Lorraine gender discussion

Speaking to Clive Anderson on the My Seven Wonders podcast, reported via Metro, Izzard said she is "hoping to be an MP" when the next general election comes around.

She added: "I will try very hard to get there and hope the people of the constituency I’m going for will elect me. So I’m very serious about it. I’ve said it since 2010, quite categorically."

When asked about what she would say to those who would have misgivings about a stand-up comedian taking political office, Izzard brought up the Ukrainian leader.

She said: "Volodymyr Zelensky. There you go. Have I answered you? He’s been very strong, very consistent."

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Zelensky was elected in 2019, having previously been best known for playing a fictional president in satirical comedy series Servant of the People, as well as providing the Ukrainian voice of Paddington Bear.

He has taken a central role on the world stage after Russia's invasion of its neighbour earlier this year, which continues to this day.

Izzard said she is often quizzed as to whether her political ambitions are genuine, but said her progress has been "slow but deliberate", just like her famous marathons.

She added: "I just don’t believe that Boris Johnson got to be prime minister from lie upon lie upon lie, and Trump still floating around as lying balloon. It’s just very weird."

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But as for the possibility of leading Labour in the future and becoming prime minister, Izzard said she is "happy to be a team player".

"I just want us to go more positive, more enlightened, more live and let live, more make connections rather than break connections. I want 7.8 billion people in the world to have a fair chance in life," the star added.

Izzard's comedy career began in the 1980s and she became known in the 1990s for wearing a dress on stage, subsequently winning two Primetime Emmys for her 1998 show Dress to Kill.

She has long identified as transgender and genderfluid, but said in 2020 that she wanted to be referred to using feminine pronouns going forward.

Read more: Ricky Gervais references Eddie Izzard in trans material

In more recent years, she has become known for her charity work as well as her political activism, running dozens of marathons across various challenges for the likes of Sport Relief and Fareshare.

Watch: Eddie Izzard says comedy association has hindered her acting career