Who is Helen Lederer? Absolutely Fabulous actress who is appearing on The Real Full Monty
HELEN Lederer made her name in popular BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous, before cementing her legacy in the Big Brother house.
The actress had pledged to raise awareness of cancer by baring all on The Real Full Monty. Here is the lowdown on the Ab Fab star...
Who is Helen Lederer, how old is she and what is her background?
Funny girl Helen is 63 years old, and while she's originally from Camarthen, Wales, she grew up in Eltham, London.
She studied at the University of Hertfordshire and has a BA in applied social science.
Helen had her own stand-up act at the Comedy Store and won minor parts in TV comedy The Young Ones.
Helen has a daughter, 27-year-old Echo Beach star Hannah Lederer-Alton, from her first husband, newspaper editor Roger Alton and she is currently married to GP Chris Browne.
How did Helen Lederer become famous?
Helen's breakout role was as dippy magazine journalist Catriona in BBC comedy favourite Absolutely Fabulous.
Before that she had won a series of small parts in other hit shows, including The Young Ones, One Foot In The Grave and Bottom, after starting work as a stand-up comedian during the 1980s.
She also played a crucial role as a midwife in Hollyoaks' baby swap plot back in 2013, but the character met her maker in 2015 at the hands of the Gloved Hand Killer terrorising the town.
Other credits include Horrid Henry: The Movie and BBC soap Doctors.
In 2015 she released her first novel Losing It, about a miserable magazine agony aunt who is asked to become the face of a new diet pill.
Had Helen Lederer been on reality TV before CBB?
Celebrity Big Brother was not her first foray into reality TV, having previously starred in Tom Daley's ill-fated diving show, Splash! in 2013.
She nearly signed up for CBB in 2009, but pulled out to perform with Kelly Brook in Calendar Girls — a play based on the 2003 movie about how the Women's Institute raised money with a cheeky nude calendar.
Helen has also tried her hand at Celebrity MasterChef, as well as appearing on Loose Women and Countdown.
She also appeared on Lorraine's Cruise Control as one of three celebrities cruising Europe in search of a healthier lifestyle.
And in 2018 she will appear on The Real Full Monty.