Diane Morgan

Diane Morgan (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress, comedian, television presenter, and writer. She is best known for playing Philomena Cunk on Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe and in other mockumentaries, as Liz in the BBC Two sitcom Motherland, and Kath in the Netflix dark comedy series After Life. She also wrote and starred in the BBC Two comedy series Mandy. Morgan was born in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on 5 October 1975, daughter of a physiotherapist and a full-time mother; she has one brother. She grew up in nearby Farnworth and Kearsley, and attended George Tomlinson School in Kearsley. When she was 20, she studied at the East 15 Acting School in Loughton. She said in a 2020 interview, "There were a few actors on [my father]'s side of the family: Julie Goodyear, Frank Finlay and Jack Wild. What a dynasty. We're like the Redgraves. Julie's got a touch of the Mandys, actually. Maybe I could cast her as Mandy's mum." Morgan had a small part as Dawn in Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights before a spell working various jobs, including as a dental assistant, a telemarketer, a potato peeler at a chip shop, selling Avon, and boxing up worming tablets in a factory. She subsequently made her first attempt at stand-up comedy. She was placed second in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year award in 2006 and as runner-up in the 2006 Funny Women Awards.