Janice Connolly
Janice Connolly is a British actor, comedian and artistic director.
Barbara Nice
Connolly is best known for her character Barbara Nice - a caricature of a middle aged housewife and mother of five from Stockport in Greater Manchester.[1] Her act is heavily reliant on interaction with the audience, for example acting as an agony aunt to the audience.[2] She performs on the comedy circuit as a headline act and has performed one woman shows across the UK.
Janice Connolly has also appeared in Coronation Street, That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights, Max and Paddy's Road To Nowhere, Thin Ice and Dead Man Weds.
Other roles
Connolly was performing as Barbara Nice when spotted by Peter Kay at the finals of The Manchester Evening News New Act of The Year in 1998 and went on to appear in several of his television shows. She played Mrs Bamforth in That Peter Kay Thing and Holy Mary in both Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. Her other television work includes playing Carole in Dave Spikey's Dead Man Weds and appearing twice in Coronation Street as Dolly Gartside[3] and Sheila Wheeler.Radio work includes the second series of "Arthur Smith`s Balham Bash " where her comedy creation Barbara Nice plays the resident housekeeper and mistress of the house. The Radio 4 show is unique in that it is recorded in Arthur's flat . Guests are invited to join Arthur at home and to become a live audience for bands, poetry and comedy .The show was first broadcast in 2009 going into a second series in 2010
Janice is also the artistic director and founder member of Birmingham based Women and Theatre. The company is committed to social change through new theatre and drama and in its mission statement states that it aims to make heard the voices of those who are not usually listened to. The company performs in a variety of settings including schools, arts centres, health centres and conference halls.[4]
Janice Connolly was also part of the Birmingham independent music scene in Late 1970s early 1980s. She was part of "The Surprises" and "The Evereadies" playing regularly in Moseley at the Fighting Cocks. Singles championed by John Peel Included "Jeremy Thorpe is Innocent " and "Martian Girlfriend " Other Brum bands active at the time included UB40, Echo Base, Beshara, Steel Pulse, The Beat, the Aupairs, The Denizens, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Nightingales, The Privates, Swansway .