25 Facts About Jo Brand

1. In 1993, Jo Brand transitioned into mainstream television and became a resident panellist on BBC comedy panel show the Brain Drain.

2. Jo Brand is a comedian and TV personality known for her dry sense of humour.

3. In 1986, at the age of 29, Jo Brand was offered her first gig in a West End nightclub.

4. Jo Brand has been a bit quiet for the past four years.

5. Jo Brand might not have been beaming "Obviously, the potential here with Ben and Jo and all the other guys on the roster—I think we can be very, very good.

6. Jo Brand is the founder of luxury fragrance brand, Jo Loves, which she launched in 2011.

7. In January 2014, Jo Brand was awarded a second honorary doctorate from Canterbury Christ Church University, for her work in raising awareness of mental health issues and challenging the stigma surrounding such illnesses.

8. On 17 July 2007, Jo Brand was awarded an honorary doctorate for her work as a psychiatric nurse from the University of Glamorgan.

9. In August 2014, Jo Brand was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

10. Jo Brand introduced and spoke at the celebration of Michael Foot's life at London's Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, on 8 November 2010.

11. On 28 January 2016, Jo Brand completed a 150-mile walk across Britain, in aid of Sport Relief, in Liverpool.

12. In November 2014, Jo Brand was a part of Gareth Malone's All Star Choir, who released a cover version of "Wake Me Up" to raise money for the BBC's Children in Need.

13. Jo Brand is a supporter of the charity ActionAid and has taken part in fundraising events for the organisation.

14. In February 2009, Jo Brand was among a group of British entertainers who wrote an open letter to The Times of London in support of the Baha'i leaders who were then on trial in Iran.

15. Jo Brand married Bernie Bourke, a psychiatric nurse, in 1997 in Shropshire.

16. Jo Brand took part in the first celebrity version of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy.

17. On 25 March 2007, Jo Brand appeared on Play It Again where she was required to learn how to play the organ in just four months.

18. In 2004, Jo Brand appeared in a special episode of What Not to Wear, where fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine gave her a makeover.

19. Jo Brand has written a feature-film adaptation to her novel The More You Ignore Me.

20. In August 2015, Jo Brand judged the first ever Class Clowns competition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, she announced the winner at the Gilded Balloon on the night.

21. Jo Brand played the Demon Dinner Lady in the 2011 British live-action film Horrid Henry the Movie.

22. In 2010, Jo Brand took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

23. Jo Brand was persuaded by agent Malcolm Hardee to begin a career in stand-up comedy, where she acquired the stage name the "Sea Monster".

24. Jo Brand is the middle of three children, with two brothers.

25. In 2003, Jo Brand was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.