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COMEDIAN Katherine Ryan has written her very own Netflix series.

The Duchess is a semi-biographical comedy based on the comedian’s life in London.

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The Duchess is a new Netflix series
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The Duchess is a new Netflix seriesCredit: Netflix

When is The Duchess going to be released on Netflix?

Katherine Ryan, 37, has had previous success on Netflix with her stand-up specials Glitter Room and In Trouble.

This meant her fans were begging the streaming giant for a new series featuring the comedian.

Good news the series is released today (September 11, 2020).

The Duchess landed on Netflix at 8am.

Katherine with Steen Raskopoulos who plays her boyfriend Evan
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Katherine with Steen Raskopoulos who plays her boyfriend EvanCredit: © 2020 Netflix, Inc.

Who is in the cast of The Duchess?

The Duchess stars Katherine Ryan as Katherine, a single mum juggling her career, her daughter and relationship with her boyfriend.

Katherine is joined by a host of up-and-coming actors and comedians.

The cast includes:

  • Rory Keenan as Shep
  • Steen Raskopoulos as Katherine’s boyfriend Evan
  • Maya Jama as Sandra
  • Katy Byrne as Katherine’s daughter Olive
  • Michelle de Swarte as Bev
  • Sophie Fletcher as Jane
  • Doon Mackichan as Cheryl
The Duchess is loosely based around the life of comedian Katherine Ryan
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The Duchess is loosely based around the life of comedian Katherine RyanCredit: © 2020 Netflix, Inc.

What is The Duchess about?

The Duchess has been billed as an authentic extension of Katherine’s stand-up comedian stage persona.

It follows Katherine as she explores the possibilities of having a second child, and despite being a fashionably disruptive all-round bad person, she’ll sacrifice everything to be the best parent she can be.

Katherine told us: "The character is maybe more like my stage persona than she is like me.

Michelle de Swarte plays Katherine's friend Bev
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Michelle de Swarte plays Katherine's friend BevCredit: © 2020 Netflix, Inc.

"Because what is mirrored in my real life is I do have a very special, unique central mother-daughter relationship and it has always been prioritised above any other relationship in my life."

The Canadian has also revealed why the lead character is named after herself. 

She said: "Her name is Katherine Ryan out of pure laziness, I was supposed to change her name but then I just thought ‘Oh well’."

Katherine got cold feet before a sex scene in the series
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Katherine got cold feet before a sex scene in the seriesCredit: Netflix

What else do we know about The Duchess?

Set in London, The Duchess sees Katherine Ryan playing a badass single mum on a mission to get pregnant again.

But there was one embarrassing plot that made Katherine want to quit the project for good after getting cold feet before one saucy sex scene.

She said: "I stood behind the door and calculated how much money it would cost for me to run away.

"I thought ‘OK how many lighting technicians are here and how much do you think we spent hiring this set’ and I just calculated that it was too much so then I went in the room and did the sex scene. 

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"Which I wrote but I really struggled to perform in because your intellectual mind is very different to your central nervous system.

"I thought before I did it acting is fun you just pretend but it turns out acting is really hard, especially when acting intimacy."

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