Comedy review: Wendy Wason

FOR previous publicity photos, Wendy Wason has posed as Audrey Hepburn and Christine Keeler. The chances of the Edinburgh-born comic dolling herself up as Cheryl Cole at some point in the future seem slight, however, as the "nation's sweetheart" was one of the main targets of her set here. Among her other victims were Myleene Klass, iPhones, and various members of her family. While the best gag of the night revolved around her ex-husband (comic Steve Furst) and the religious practices of his faith, her poor old parents were the main butt of the material: Wason's wedding day was overshadowed by her mother's ego while some musings on her father dipped into very uncomfortable territory.

She declared from the off that her jokes were likely to get "a bit dark", and true enough, suicide, child abuse and cancer all got an airing. There were even a couple of gags that you could easily have replayed in your head in the voice of Jimmy Carr or Frankie Boyle. But all too often the laughs were sacrificed for the sake of a clever line about paedophilia, or were rather too familiar, as with her baiting of celebrities who many years later speak out about their miserable childhoods. While she bemoaned her own lack of fame, she admitted that a little bit of scandal does no harm to a career in showbiz. For the companionable Wason, digging up some sharper gags might be another avenue worth pursuing.