Philomena Cunk star Diane Morgan went viral over the New Year period, landing her special Cunk On Life after a spate of mockumentaries.
She’s tracked the history of everything from the Big Bang to , interviewing genuinely baffled experts like Brian Cox about the universe and beyond. And her ditzy personality has captured the hearts of the nation.
But in real life, Diane is a lot different to the comedy character she plays. She first found fame alongside Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker on his Weekly Wipe show, and has starred in everything from Motherland to Me Before You.
She’s played Kath in After Life, created her own Two series Mandy, and acted in Phoenix Nights as the role in her on-screen career.
But what about Diane’s life off-screen?
Famous family
Diane Morgan plays the deadpan Philomena Cunk (Image: Netflix)
Born close to Bolton, Diane attended the East 15 Acting School when she was 20 – and she already had acting in her blood with a very famous family.
Diane is actually related to legend Julie Goodyear MBE, who played Bet Lynch in the ITV soap from 1966 until 2003. On her father’s side of the family was English actor Francis Finlay CBE, who starred in everything from Casanova to The Morecambe and Wise Show.
Oscar nominee Jack Wild is another of Diane’s famous relatives, playing the Artful Dodger in 1968’s Oliver! and appearing in H.R. Pufnstuf.
And Diane’s best friend? That’s actress Maxine Peake, who she met as a drama student. Diane told The Guardian in 2020: “We’ve known each other 25 years now, scarily. We first bonded at drama school when she introduced me to Withnail & I, which was the best thing I’d ever seen.”
Mundane jobs
Diane had plenty of normal jobs before finding fame (Image: Getty)
Though she’d always been set on becoming an actor, Diane had a whole host of mundane jobs before she broke into the industry. She worked as a dental assistant, a telemarketer, an Avon sales rep and even boxed worming tablets up in a factory.
One of her jobs was peeling potatoes in a chip shop, before her first ever stand-up gig at the age of 30.
She recalled of her telesales job: “I was ringing people up to ask if they were happy with their accountancy services. People were like: ‘I got out the f***ing bath for this?’”
It was her boss who encouraged her to go into comedy after hearing her witty one-liners at the end of the calls – and she decided to make a move.
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No kids vow
She’s vowed never to have kids – and tries to avoid working with them (Image: Getty)
Despite appearing as a frazzled single mum in Motherland, in real life Diane has vowed to stay childless for life. She told The Mirror in 2021 that she and her co-star Anna Maxwell Martin were “always trying to work out ways we can avoid scenes with children”.
She added: “I’ve never wanted children for a split second. The pain, the expense, the hassle… I can’t see any advantages. Then I work on Motherland and feel vindicated. People say, ‘Yeah but who’ll look after you in your old age?’ What? Are you only having kids to be your carers?”
She told The Guardian: “Occasionally, people come up to me with kids and they’ll say, ‘Seriously, don’t have them. They ruin your life.’ But even if they didn’t say that, I’ve made my mind up now, and I’m with someone who doesn’t want kids as well, which is glorious. It’s really good luck.
“I never fancied it. Aside from all the pain, they just sponge off you for the rest of your life then, don’t they? But then you’ll have someone to look after you when you’re old. Whereas I’ll be eaten by my own dogs, won’t I?”