Rachel Parris on getting her start in stand-up comedy

Actress, presenter and comedian Rachel Parris talks Kate through how a well-placed lie got her her first stand-up gig, and how that in turn opened the door for a burgeoining career making people laugh.

White Wine Question Time with Kate Thornton is the podcast that brings together well-known guests to answer three thought-provoking questions over three glasses of wine. Discover the friendships behind the entertainment headlines, and listen in on their conversations for a side to the celebrities you've never heard before. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow on Instagram (@whitewineqt) & Twitter (@WhiteWineQT) to keep up to date with the latest guests, news and more.

Video transcript

RACHEL PARRIS: Comedy sort of found me in a way. Honestly, it's a series of accidents like someone signed me up for this comedy improv audition. Like, she did it in secret. And it's my friend called Hannah. And I went along. And it was amazing. And I got into that troupe. So that was something that said yes to me. It was like, yes, you can do comedy improv. And I was always writing songs just for myself. And I started writing funny songs.

And I thought maybe there's something in that. And then I was speaking to a comedy promoter one night, and she said, oh, I'm looking for a comedian to fill a slot. And I just lied. [LAUGHS] I say it found me. I got it through lying. I said, I'm a comedian. And she said, oh, well, you come along then. And it's a 20 minute slot. And you come and do it. And I was like, OK. And I was like peeing my pants because I didn't know how to do comedy, really, but that was my first ever solo comedy gig. And I just did funny songs and poems and stuff. And it went really well. So I just carried on doing it.

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