Ring girl who quit to become a stand-up comic says she gets more X-rated heckles from men now than she did in her scantily-clad role at boxing matches

A ring girl who swapped boxing matches for the stage to perform as a stand-up comic sharing hilarious dating anecdotes says she gets more X-rated heckles from men now than she ever did in her scantily-clad role at fights.

Katerina Robinson, 28, was an aspiring actress when she stepped into the ring, holding up placards to announce new rounds, but is now an online hit with the funny sketches she posts on TikTok and has an in-person Valentine’s weekend stage show in the pipeline.

Katerina, who is single, of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, said: “I get heckled way more as a stand-up than I ever did as a ring girl.”

She added: “Seeing the reaction I get on stage as a comic versus as a ring girl is really interesting.

“Because of the environment, I think people might assume that you’d get a lot of catcalls and heckles at a boxing match, especially with the outfits ring girls wear.

“But I think there’s a level of expectation for what you’re going to see at a boxing match. People know the ring girls will be there and there’s a certain level of respect for you.”

She added: “When I do stand-up, people are more likely to heckle or shout rude things out to me while I’m on stage doing my set.

“Men will shout things out like, ‘My mate wants to have sex with you.’

“In a way, being a comic is more exposing, because I’m sharing intimate details of my life.”

She added: “Still, I’ve learned to enjoy putting hecklers in their place.”

Choosing nerve-wracking jobs has become something of a habit for Katerina, who trained as an actress.

She said: “I went to drama school and my main goal originally was to be an actress.”

She added: “I was 21 when I finished my course and, at that age, you don’t know as much as you think you do.

“I left drama school expecting to be snapped up by an agent and be flooded with opportunities.”

While Katerina found an agent quite quickly, instead of landing a golden ticket to Hollywood, she admits that her bookings were few and far between.

She said: “I got a few jobs here and there, but I just wasn’t feeling very fulfilled.

“I was auditioning as much as I could, but I wasn’t getting many parts. To make ends meet I was working in Selfridges and picking up odd jobs.

“I do hostessing at Chelsea Football Club.”

She added: “Then, one of my friends mentioned that she did ring girling and that it was really easy money.

“She asked if I wanted to try it and I thought, ‘Yeah, why not? It’d be fun.’

“I was really nervous when I first decided to do it, because you’ve got a lot on show when you’re walking out there in just a leotard, with your heels on, but I ended up really enjoying it.”

She added: “It gave me time to think about what I actually wanted to achieve as an actress.”

With time to think, Katerina realised her dream job would be to act in a comedy series and started to look at other avenues into the industry.

She said: “A Netflix series or a comedy show on somewhere like the BBC would be a dream come true.”

She added: “A lot of actors who land those roles are also comedians, so I thought I’d try my hand at stand-up comedy.”

In 2018, Katerina attended a beginners’ open mic session which she admits – as with all the other jobs she had tried – she was very nervous about.

She said: “I had no idea what reaction to expect, but a lot of people laughed, which was great.”

She added: “I got quite a nice buzz out of it.”

Continuing to pick up gigs, Katerina met her comedy partner, Kat Ronson, 29, on a Facebook group for actors towards the end of 2018 where she posted that she was looking to collaborate with another female comedian.

Katerina said: “I left her a comment to say I was interested and a few minutes later I had a private message from her.”

She added: “Our names were so similar and we’d had a similar journey, both starting out as actresses. We even looked similar at the time, so it felt like fate.

“Having her as a comedy partner is great because it’s someone who knows exactly what I’m going through and we can talk to each other about the challenges that come with being a stand-up comic.”

The pair hit it off and started writing a new comedy show together.

Katerina said: “I was gigging a lot through 2019 and was starting to find my feet.

“Kat and I were planning a stand-up show together. We were so excited about it when suddenly, the pandemic hit and we had to keep postponing it.

“We managed to do it in August 2021 at The Museum of Comedy and 2Northdown in central London. It sold out which was amazing.”

She added: “We’re now facing a similar position where we have a show planned for Valentine’s weekend, but no clue what level of restrictions will be put into place by then.

“If we’re able to go ahead with the show, which is called The Whoreing Twenties, we have a lot of material about d*** pics and hilarious DMs we’ve received on Instagram.”

The last time her show was postponed because of the pandemic, not one to sit around and mope, Katerina found herself spending a lot more time investigating opportunities on social media.

She said: “During lockdown, I was doing a lot of comedy sketches online.

“I uploaded funny little videos about dating and relationships, which I actually had quite a bit of success from. It was really good.

“It gave me an outlet to express myself while we were stuck at home.”

But there is nothing like performing in front of a live audience and Katerina and Kat cannot wait to air their new show on stage.

Katerina said: “It’s going to be really fun. We have lots of ideas of what we want to do.

“There’s going to be a whole section on the sort of DMs we receive on Instagram.”

She added: “We can’t wait to get back on stage together, continuing to do what we love.”

Tickets for Katerina and Kat’s new stand-up show, The Whoreing Twenties, are available to buy here: www.vaultfestival.com/events/the-whoreing-twenties