JACKIE CLUNE

British entertainer and writer. She was a drama lecturer and BBC Radio London journalist before she was encouraged to try her hand at stand up comedy. She became established through her Edinburgh Fringe one woman cabaret shows and her 1995 Karen Carpenter tribute act before graduating to mainstream acting and forming the Red Rag Women's Theatre Company. During her 20s and 30s, Clune identified as a lesbian but in 2001, she met Heartbeat actor and stunt performer Richard Hannant, who was the fire officer at the Arts Theatre where she was performing, and started a relationship with him. Eleven months later she became pregnant with their first child, a daughter, Saoirse. The couple went on to have naturally conceived triplets (2005) and married in 2008.