Karen Dunbar
Dunbar at the Mary Queen of Scots premiere in 2019
Born (1971-04-01) 1 April 1971
Glasgow, Scotland
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • actress
  • writer
Years active1997–present
Known for
WebsiteOfficial website

Karen Dunbar (born 1 April 1971) is a Scottish comedian, actress and writer. She first appeared on television on the BBC Scotland sketch comedy series Chewin' the Fat (1999–2002) and was subsequently given her own show by the channel, The Karen Dunbar Show (2003–2006).

Early life

Dunbar was born in Glasgow and moved to Ayr at an early age.[1] She attended Ayr Academy.[2]

Career

Chewin' the Fat

Dunbar began her career as a DJ and karaoke host before she attended The Comedy Unit's open auditions in 1997 where she was cast in the BBC Scotland comedy sketch show Chewin' the Fat. Karen spoke about how she gave up a lucrative income to work fulltime on the show, but after Series 1 aired she struggled financially.[3]

The Karen Dunbar Show

She starred in The Karen Dunbar Show, which received two Golden Rose nominations for Best Comedy Show and Karen herself two personal nominations for Best Comedy Performance.[4]

Karen has presented BBC Radio Scotland series such as Karen Dunbar’s Beautiful Sunday and Karen’s Summer Supplement, as well as being Team Captain on the quiz show Step Back in Time.[4]

Theatre

In Christmas 2007, Dunbar made her first appearance in pantomime, at the King's Theatre in Glasgow, playing Nanny Begood in Sleeping Beauty. Further pantomime roles include the dual role of the Good Fairy and the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella (2008–09) and Widow Twankey in Aladdin (2009–10). She appeared as a critic on Britain's Got More Talent on 27 May 2008. She played the fairy godmother in Cinderella (2012–13) and appeared in the 2013–14 season as a new character, the Slave of the Ring, in Aladdin.

As a comedy actress, she has also tackled serious roles, most including a performance in the poetic monologue A Drunk Woman Looks at the Thistle adapted by Denise Mina from Hugh MacDiarmid's poem of the same name. In between 2012 and 2016, she was featured in Phyllida Lloyd's acclaimed trilogy of all-female Shakespeare plays at the Donmar Warehouse, playing Casca in Julius Caesar, Bardolph/Vernon in Henry IV and Trinculo in The Tempest.

Happy Hollidays

In 2009, Dunbar starred in a six-part series of the Scottish comedy Happy Hollidays. She played the role of Arme Gonnerssen in M.I. High in 2009.

Recent work

In 2014, she was lead compère at the XX Commonwealth Games opening ceremony held in Glasgow alongside John Barrowman and Des Clarke. Barrowman and Dunbar sang and performed a showcase of Scottish culture, inventions and places during the broadcast, which reached a global audience of 1.5 billion people.[5] In October 2017 Dunbar appeared in BBC Scotland's River City for a one-off appearance. She played the part of Francesca Simpson, estranged wife of Pete Galloway (played by Andy Gray).

In 2019, Dunbar appeared in the tours Calendar Girls and Still Game Live: The Final Farewell.

Personal life

Dunbar is a lesbian.[6][7][8] She featured on The Scotsman's "Pink List" of LGBT people contributing to Scotland's cultural life in 2014[9] and was awarded the Role Model of the Year award at the Icon Awards which celebrate Scotland's LGBTI community in 2015.[7] She spoke about her experiences of homophobia and the acceptance she found in Glasgow's LGBT community in a BBC documentary, I Belong to Glasgow, screened in 2014.[10][11][1] She spoke in 2016 about her plans to marry her female partner.[6] In 2018, Dunbar gave a TED talk in Glasgow, in which she spoke briefly about her recovery from a challenging upbringing, prior alcoholism and a change in her comedic style, which she later reverted.[12]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Rab C. Nesbitt Stern Woman / Cowgirl 2 episodes
1999–2002 Chewin' the Fat Various Roles Regular appearances
2003–2006 The Karen Dunbar Show Also co-writer
2007 An Audience with... Guest
2008 Britain's Got More Talent Guest Critic 28 May 2007 episode
2009 Happy Hollidays Joyce Mullen Six part television series
2012 M.I. High Arme Gonnerssen
2014 XX Commonwealth Games broadcast Lead Compere Alongside John Barrowman, opening ceremony only
2017 The Late Show with Ewen Cameron Guest
River City Francesca Simpson Episode: 10 October 2017
2022 Breaking the News Guest Panellist 2 episodes

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Rice Paper Stars Herself
2018 Mary Queen of Scots Commoner Cameo appearance[13]

Theatre credits

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Sleeping Beauty Nanny Begood
2008–2009 Cinderella Good Fairy / Wicked Stepmother
2009–2010 Aladdin Widow Twankey
2012 Cinderella Fairy Godmother
2013–2014 Aladdin Slave of the Ring
2015–2017 Henry IV Vernon
2019 Calendar Girls Cora UK tour

References

  1. 1 2 English, Paul (21 June 2014). "Chewin' The Fat star Karen Dunbar tells of gay hate ordeal and how her pet cat was drowned". Dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "THE BEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE?". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. ↑ Karen Dunbar Straight Talk | Episode 8, retrieved 9 November 2023
  4. 1 2 "Karen Dunbar – actor singer comedienne". Karendunbar.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  5. ↑ "Analysis of XX Commonwealth Games Host Broadcast Coverage, Online Media and Official Digital Channels". Gov.scot.
  6. 1 2 English, Paul (2 March 2016). "Scots comedy actress Karen Dunbar 'over the moon' as she announces wedding plans". Dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Comedian, top cyclist and Herald writer honoured at gay, lesbian and transgender community's big night out". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top politicians among nominees for Scotland's first LGBTI Awards". PinkNews.co.uk. 26 July 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Pink Scotland List: the pride of the nation". Scotsman.com. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Karen Dunbar: why I Belong to Glasgow". Evening Times. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "I Belong to Glasgow – Karen Dunbar – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Use humour as a tool, not a weapon | Karen Dunbar | TEDxGlasgow". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021 – via YouTube.
  13. ↑ English, Paul. "Karen Dunbar reveals all about her unintentionally hilarious cameo in Mary Queen of Scots movie". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
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