Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan, a fixture on the UK comedy scene for nearly two decades, has built a career on a foundation of unapologetic honesty and a rejection of artifice. In a candid interview, the 42-year-old mother of four reflects on her journey from arriving in London "instantly poor" to becoming one of the country's most recognisable and forthright comic voices.
Authenticity as a Provocative Act
Ryan's signature style—a blend of glamour and blunt truth-telling—initially clashed with the UK's alternative comedy scene in the late 2000s. She recalls a time when trying to be glamorous on stage was seen as "man-pleasing" and distinctly unfunny. The trend was for self-deprecation, but Ryan defiantly embraced her appearance and confidence. "I did it because that's what I liked," she states.
Her material served as a liberating force for many. She offered permission to be a complex, imperfect woman: a feminist with a boob job, an imperfect mother, and someone who could be both afraid of men and confident enough to criticise them. This commitment to reality extends to all areas of her life, from openly discussing breast pumps and cosmetic "tweakments" to her unabashed love of money. "I also think it's provocative to talk about that," she notes, challenging the celebrity omertà around finances.
From Single Mother to Stand-Up Success
Ryan's path to comedy was forged through necessity and fierce determination. After moving to London with a boyfriend in 2008, she found herself a single mother following the birth of her daughter, Violet, now 16. Diagnosed with lupus at 23, she had feared she might struggle to conceive. Faced with providing for her child alone, she embarked on stand-up while on maternity leave, taking her baby daughter to gigs.
She entered a circuit rife with casual sexism, where bookers and comperes would often dismiss or apologise for female acts. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, she thrived as the underdog. "If you could win an audience back from there, it really felt good," she says. Her self-belief was unwavering. "I knew I had jokes," she asserts, describing how she would walk into audition rooms "completely believing that I deserved to be there."
An early, critically panned hour at the Edinburgh Fringe did not deter her. A breakthrough role on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats made the "phone stop ringing," setting her career on its current trajectory.
Challenging Norms On and Off Screen
Ryan's refusal to bullshit applies equally to her personal history and her professional projects. She is deliberately vague about Violet's father, instead gifting her daughter an empowering origin story. She also speaks openly about her reconciliation with her Canadian high school sweetheart, Bobby Kootstra, with whom she now has three more children.
Her latest project, co-hosting the Comedy Central show Out of Order with Rosie Jones, continues her mission to centre diverse voices. She has been shocked by the online abuse Jones receives but sees it as proof of the show's necessity. "The type of people who are happy to vocally abuse her... just goes to show why it's so necessary to have her front and centre," Ryan states.
For Ryan, the comedian's role is a noble counterpoint to the political sphere. "Comedians have always decorated the truth with little lies to make you laugh. Politicians decorate a lie with little truths so that you almost believe them," she observes. Her ultimate provocation remains simple: "demanding that people stop bullshitting themselves and each other." Katherine Ryan's stand-up special First Born Daughter is available on Sky Comedy, and Out of Order season 2 airs on Comedy Central.
