Fern Brady - ‘I make more money in comedy than I ever did from stripping‘
In this searingly funny and deeply affecting live conversation, Elizabeth speaks to stand-up comedian, author and Taskmaster favourite Fern Brady about her autism diagnosis, her working-class roots, and the failures that shaped her award-winning memoir Strong Female Character.
Fern opens up about late diagnosis, social masking, and stripping to fund her education - all delivered with the brutal honesty and whip-smart humour that’s made her one of the most exciting voices in comedy today. A powerful exploration of identity, feminism, and finding your voice.
What stood out for you in this episode? Leave us a comment.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Intro
01:58 Autism Diagnosis and Masking
04:40 Experiences on Taskmaster
11:40 University Struggles and Stripping
17:33 Challenges of Writing a Memoir
20:03 Reflections on Edinburgh
21:49 Struggles with Mental Health and Misdiagnosis
22:35 University Challenges and Autistic Shutdowns
23:25 Extreme Stress and Physical Symptoms
24:34 Breaking into Comedy and Facing Limitations
26:05 Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs
27:55 Navigating the Comedy Industry
34:02 Rejecting Mainstream Entertainment
37:21 Celebrity Bakeoff Experience
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“Even when people don’t know you’re autistic, they know you’re autistic. They pick up on something different about you.”“Comedy radicalised me as a feminist. And so did working in a strip club.”“I was told I had the wrong energy for QI. I think that was a coded way to say I was too common.”“Autistic people are always learning to speak neurotypical. All we’re asking is for a bit of that in return.”
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Fern’s memoir Strong Female Character is out now! @fernfrombathgate
Fern is a the Edinburgh Fringe: fernbrady.co.uk/gigs
Elizabeth’s upcoming one-off show at Cadogan Hall on 21 Sep for her new novel One of Us: https://www.fane.co.uk/elizabeth-day
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
📚 WANT MORE?
Christine McGuinness on autism, calm and self-acceptance
Caitlin Moran on feminism, girls and mental health
Miriam Margolyes on difference, defiance and not caring what people think
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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Live Show Engineer: Will Kontargyris
Sound Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
How To Fail with Elizabeth Day is a podcast that celebrates the things in life that haven’t gone right and what we might learn from them along the way. Every week, Elizabeth’s guest explores three failures, and what these failures have taught them about how to grow and succeed, better.
We’d love to hear from you! Get in touch with Elizabeth to share your failures, problems or questions - anonymously or otherwise. She'll go through these each week with the help of her very special guests. And remember: a fail shared is a fail halved. https://forms.sonymusicfans.com/campaign/how-to-fail-uk-2023/
An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Original Production.
Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow @sonypodcasts
To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email [email protected]
- No. of episodes: 308
- Latest episode: 2025-07-30
- Society & Culture
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