Q. You are known as Belfast's Queen of Comedy; what are the challenges of being a woman comic artiste?
A. Mostly, I found I have had invitations to take part in events because "they need a woman on the panel". But also, I think there is still an "all boys together" attitude in comedy, particularly stand-up, which is not a welcoming space for women. Most women, who've succeeded, have done so by being quite laddish (slang: macho, boisterous). I have loved having the opportunity, through my own television show, to set a comedy agenda and a style, which has carried on into my live work and theatre writing, which is not an aggressive, male-agenda type comedy. There is a market for funny women who actually have something thoughtful to say about life. I am delighted to be Northern Ireland's Queen of Comedy and even more delighted that I didn't have to parade up and down in a swimsuit to get the title.

Ireland's popular comic artiste Nuala McKeever