Deborah Frances-White

Comedian, writer and podcaster Deborah Frances-White has developed a loyal following for her distinctive comedic voice, passionate activism and warm personal style. She is best known as host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, for her successful stand-up and improv career, and for her commentary in the media. She is also a favourite at seminars and business events, where she speaks on subjects including charisma, creativity, diversity and inclusion, and for which she has been nominated for a First Woman Award.

Frances-White first caught the comedy world’s attention with The Spontaneity Shop, the improv company she founded with Tom Salinsky in 1996. The company performed hit shows in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was credited with developing new improvisational forms. Later focusing on stand-up, she received acclaim for her solo show How to Get Almost Anyone to Want to Sleep With You, which she took to Edinburgh and to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Her shows since have explored subjects ranging from her life growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, to the search for her biological family.

Frances-White co-created The Guilty Feminist podcast in 2015 with fellow comedian Sofie Hagen. Episodes of the series have been downloaded tens of millions of times, and it has been nominated for several honours including a British Podcast Award. She also created and hosts the comedy panel podcast Global Pillage, and co-created and executive produced Radio 4’s Grownupland. Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice, which ran for two series on Radio 4, won the Writers’ Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy. As a writer, her work also includes the film Say My Name, and the in-development musical Suffrageddon.