Jenny Eclair may have a succesful marriage, but she admits to completely regretting the decision to tie the knot, sharing her surprising verdict on the special day.
After marrying her partner of over three decades in 2017, you’d think Jenny Eclair would be thrilled. But the comedian actually says she couldn’t care less about the “on paper” union with her partner Geof Powell.
The couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony with just close family and friends in attendance. And Jenny’s hilariously nonchalant about her big day. Asked by Mirror whether she’s glad to have taken the leap, she immediately fires back, “Oh no. No, no, no,” accompanied with an assured shake of the head.
“Marriage is a stupid thing. It has to be done, though, because otherwise you die and all your money goes to the government,” she explains. “Had I known that civil partnerships for heterosexual couples would be legal within a year after I got married, we’d have done that.
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“It was a nice day, don’t get me wrong. Pleasant. But was it the best day of my life? F**k no. I was 57. It was like admin with a party and a nice meal with some of my favourite people.”
She and Geof do try and mark the day each year – when memory allows. “We celebrate our anniversary, when we remember! But we’re good at being nice to each other. It doesn’t need to be an anniversary – occasionally we do buy each other small things.”
Jenny and Geof share one daughter, Phoebe, and the comedian became “nanna” to grandson Arlo almost three years ago. “Oh, he’s the light of my life. It’s not healthy, but I love it,” laughs 65-year-old Jenny of the tot.
The doting grandmum, currently on tour with stand-up tour Jokes, Jokes, Jokes Live! , continues, “I am a big toddler fan. I dread him growing up. I can’t stop it but it’s going to break my heart! I have him every Tuesday, so on Wednesdays I’m f**ked, I’m a mess. My rule is that I never work Tuesdays now.”
Clearly a solid team, graphic designer Geof has been by Jenny’s side from the early days of her career through to the height of her fame, including becoming a household name, via BBC Two show Grumpy Old Women .
“[ Grumpy Old Women ] was a real stepping stone for me,” says Jenny of the early noughties documentary, which also featured other fabulous women such as Sheila Hancock, Germaine Greer and Loose Woman Linda Robson.
Jenny recalls, “My career has been a series of… coming off the edge of a cliff and then having to climb up the f**king cliff again. And then, you know, we’re bobbing away and having a great time for a couple of years and then oh, here we go again, slam into a brick wall.
“So, that show was when I was bobbing away. It’s only when you get to this age where you can look back and go, ‘Look at all that, this is what happens.’”
As we chat about the passage of time and how it changes your perspective, it’s clear that the comedian has had quite a wild ride. Looking back, she admits there are points in her career where she feels she didn’t get the breaks she deserved – but she remains philosophical. “I do think I’ve been undervalued.
“But, you’re only in this business if you’ve got an ego – and I have an ego, but it gets punctured very easily, I’m very thin-skinned. So obviously, I feel slighted when I don’t get jobs I think I could do really well, but that’s the nature of the game, too.
“I’m no different from anybody else. The whole industry is riddled with that disappointment. What’s unhealthy is to pretend that you don’t mind. I think now and again you should say, ‘I’m really gutted about that. That could have been my gig.’”
Are there any big jobs Jenny’s still wishing she got the call-up for, we wonder? “Oh, yes, Bake Off ! I was second to Matt, you know,” she says, referencing when in 2020 fellow comedian Matt Lucas took over from Sandi Toksvig, in presenting The Great British Bake Off .
“I was in that audition process and it came down to me and Matt. I would have loved that gig. I’d still be there now if I got it! But I auditioned and then I got a big bouquet of flowers the day before they announced Matt, with a little note saying ‘next time’.”
However, in 2023, it was Alison Hammond that got the call to take over from Matt. “I don’t know what happened to next time!” laughs Jenny.
Losing out to her former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmate Alison wasn’t so bad, though, she admits. Now a big fan of the This Morning star, Jenny and Alison appeared in the jungle back in 2010, alongside the likes of Shaun Ryder, Gillian McKeith and eventual winner, Stacey Solomon. With a second All Stars series on the horizon, would Jenny be up for facing some critters again?
“Oh, the money would have to be really good for me to consider that. As in, a life-changing amount of money. And I don’t work Tuesdays, do I? I would need to commute from South Africa or take Arlo with me,” she laughs, reminding us of “Nana day”.
For now, she’ll stick to being a little closer to home, and it sounds like she’s got a pretty jam-packed schedule as it is. Heading off to continue her stand-up tour, Jokes, Jokes, Jokes Live! the day after our interview, Jenny still has plenty of important prep to do. “I need to get my car sweets for the journey. And biscuits, I always bring biscuits for the front row audience.”
The show is based on her 2024 memoir, which delved into Jenny’s family life, her upbringing and the changing face of women in comedy – as hilarious, insightful and disrespectful as you’d imagine it to be.
“It’s a lot lighter than the book, it’s all jokes and punchlines,” says Jenny of the tour, which runs until late November. “It becomes less personal to me and more general to the audience, as most people have experienced some kind of parent loss, siblings, school, first love, having babies… So, it should strike a chord with everyone. It’s a mix of a professional look-back with personal bits and some gossip from I’m A Celeb thrown in.”
And as one tour comes to an end, another begins, as Jenny will be back on stage in the lead-up to Christmas for a string of shows for her hit podcast Older And Wider , which she co-hosts with writer friend Judith Holder, as they natter about life. “ Older And Wider is a hoot, we have games and prizes,” she says. “Judith and I are still in the process of writing those shows.”
The double act starred alongside one another in Grumpy Old Women and have been recording their funny, irreverent podcast for several years now.
“We have a very chalk and cheese relationship, or fish and chips, shall we say. She lives in the country – as in, a village without a bus service (I’d last about three days there), and I live in the middle of Southeast London. But we’re both grandparents and have daughters, so we have a lot in common.”
Jenny’s in for a busy few months. “I’ve gone pink, thinking about [the podcast live shows] – I’ve suddenly thought, f**king hell, is that coming up soon? I’ve realised I’m not reliable when it comes to time. I can’t believe we’re in October. If somebody had asked me, I’d say it was May!”
For tickets to Jenny Eclair’s stand-up show Jokes, Jokes, Jokes Live! visit Jennyeclair.com. Tickets for the Older And Wider Live podcast shows in London this Christmas are available now from leicestersquaretheatre.com/show/older-wider-live-at-christmas.
Source: Mirror
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