# Susan Calman
**Susan Calman** (born 1974) is a Scottish stand-up comedian, writer, actor and broadcaster who gave up a career as a corporate lawyer to perform comedy in 2006 and is now best known for television travel series such as *Susan Calman's Grand Day Out* and *Cruising With Susan Calman*, and for panel shows including *QI* and [BBC Radio 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-4)'s *The News Quiz*.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974, Glasgow; Scottish[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/) |
| First career | Corporate lawyer for seven years, with work including death row cases in North Carolina and the United Nations in Geneva; left law for comedy in 2006[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) • [3](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/first-return-to-stand-up-in-ten-years-for-susan-calman-brighton-date-9018483) |
| Breakthrough | Scottish Bafta in 2007 for the Channel 4 sketch show *Blowout*; regular TV and radio panel shows from then on[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) |
| Radio award | Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Radio Comedy, 2013[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/) |
| Strictly | Competed on *Strictly Come Dancing* in 2017, reaching Week Ten, and won the Glitterball on the Strictly Live tour[4](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/) |
| Travel shows | Presented *Armchair Detectives*, *Secret Scotland* and *Susan Calman's Grand Day Out*; *Cruising With Susan Calman* on Channel 5 has run to four series and 24 episodes[4](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/) • [5](https://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/cruising-with-susan-calman) |
| Books | *Cheer Up Love* (2016), about depression, and *Sunny Side Up: A Story of Kindness and Joy* (2018)[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/24/susan-calman-when-was-i-happiest-dancing-with-kevin-clifton-on-strictly) |
## Early life and law career
Calman was born in Glasgow in 1974, the youngest of three children, and was educated privately. She is the daughter of Sir Kenneth Calman, a doctor who served as chief medical officer of Scotland and later chaired the Commission on Scottish Devolution.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/mar/03/susan-calman-saturday-interview) She studied law at the [University of Glasgow](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-glasgow), graduating with an LLB in 1996, and has said she chose the university partly for its law faculty and partly because she was "seduced by the beauty of the place".[8](https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/avenue/me/mebysusancalman/)
**Law before comedy.** After a traineeship at a corporate law firm she practiced as a corporate lawyer for seven years. While still studying she spent a summer in North Carolina working on death row cases at a maximum security prison, interviewing prisoners convicted of murder; she later described the experience as a shock to the system but also the start of her world expanding.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/aug/10/susan-calman-edinburgh-festival-diary) Her legal work also took her to the United Nations in Geneva.[3](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/first-return-to-stand-up-in-ten-years-for-susan-calman-brighton-date-9018483) She has said she was depressed in the job and did not fit in, and that she decided that if she did not try comedy then, she never would.[10](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/interviews/in-profile-susan-calman)
## Stand-up comedy
Calman started stand-up in 2006, the same year she left the law, performing her first five-minute gig at a club in Glasgow. In her first year as a comedian she earned, by her own account, about £250.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/mar/03/susan-calman-saturday-interview) That year she reached the semi-finals of the BBC New Comedy Awards and *So You Think You're Funny*, and was a finalist in the Funny Women competition.[3](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/first-return-to-stand-up-in-ten-years-for-susan-calman-brighton-date-9018483)
Her early Edinburgh Fringe experiences were difficult. In her first year she and other Scottish comics staged a show at The Cafe Royal in Edinburgh, paying around £7,500 for a late-night slot that almost nobody attended; she has called it the most miserable she has ever been, and says the determination to prove the people who thought she was mad right kept her going.[11](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/features/susan_calman_interview/) In a 2026 interview she said it took her six years to become good at stand-up, and that a poorly received 2008 show followed by three years of working on long, rambling stories was when her comedy fell into place.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people)
**Awards on the circuit.** She won the Chortle Award for Best Compere in 2012 and again in 2013, when she was also named Best Compere and nominated for Best Full-Length Solo Show, and in 2013 she won the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Radio Comedy.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/) In 2012 she was one of only two individual women among 54 Chortle award nominations.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/mar/03/susan-calman-saturday-interview)
## Radio and television
Calman became a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's *The News Quiz* and has appeared on television panel shows including *QI* and *Have I Got News for News*.[7](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/mar/03/susan-calman-saturday-interview) She has said *The News Quiz* changed her life and comedy career, because it introduced her to [Sandi Toksvig](https://www.edgepedia.org/sandi-toksvig), who became a mentor.[11](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/features/susan_calman_interview/) Her radio work includes the solo shows *Susan Calman is Convicted*, which won a Comedy.co.uk Award, and *Keep Calman Carry On*, and the sitcom *Sisters* with [Ashley Jensen](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashley-jensen) and [Nick Helm](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-helm).[12](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/susan_calman_2014_interview/) • [13](https://www.inkl.com/news/susan-calman-webchat-post-your-questions-now)
On television she has presented the BAFTA-winning *Armchair Detectives*, the travel series *Secret Scotland*, and *Susan Calman's Grand Day Out*, which was nominated for Best Entertainment at the BAFTA Scotland Awards in 2023 and 2024.[4](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/) • [1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/) During the 2020 pandemic she hosted *Socially Distant with Susan Calman*, a six-part topical comedy show for BBC Scotland filmed in her Glasgow back garden, and won the RTS Scotland Award for On Screen Personality in 2021 for *Secret Scotland*.[14](https://rts.org.uk/sites/default/files/television_may_20_v7.pdf) • [1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/)
**Cruising With Susan Calman.** Her Channel 5 travel documentary *Cruising With Susan Calman* has run for four series, with 24 episodes broadcast by September 2026. Series 1 covered the Mediterranean and the Caribbean as far as the [Panama Canal](https://www.edgepedia.org/panama-canal); later series visited Canada, the Adriatic, the Rhine, Tahiti and [French Polynesia](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-polynesia), the Douro river in Portugal, and, in series 4, Greece, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.[5](https://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/cruising-with-susan-calman)
**Strictly Come Dancing.** In 2017 she competed on *Strictly Come Dancing*, dancing for ten weeks, and later won the Glitterball trophy on the Strictly Live tour. She has said that dancing with [Kevin Clifton](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-clifton) on the show was when she was happiest.[4](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/24/susan-calman-when-was-i-happiest-dancing-with-kevin-clifton-on-strictly)
## Books and advocacy
Calman has published two books: *Cheer Up Love* (2016), about living with depression, and *Sunny Side Up: A Story of Kindness and Joy* (2018).[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/24/susan-calman-when-was-i-happiest-dancing-with-kevin-clifton-on-strictly) She is an advocate for LGBTQ+ and mental health issues and lives in Glasgow with her wife, Lee, and their cats.[4](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/) She has also hosted the podcast *Mrs Brightside* and co-hosts the podcast *Carry On Up*.[4](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people)
## Tall Tales: the return to stand-up
In 2026 Calman returned to stand-up after ten years away with the tour *Tall Tales*, running from 11 September to 20 November across the UK. The show draws on her television years, covering cruising, driving tanks, her love of cats and getting older.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people) • [3](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/first-return-to-stand-up-in-ten-years-for-susan-calman-brighton-date-9018483) She has said she returned to stand-up, the thing she feared most, to shock herself out of a bad depression following a recent parental bereavement, and has suggested it may be her last stand-up show.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/sep/18/susan-calman-tall-tales-comic) The Guardian's review gave the show four stars, describing it as a compelling return that underpins familiar material about being small and entering menopause with a heartfelt reckoning with bereavement and mental health.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/sep/18/susan-calman-tall-tales-comic) Preparing for the tour at 51, she reported stopping drinking alcohol, going to the gym five days a week, and losing four stone to stay focused on remembering two hours of material without notes.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people)
## References
1. [Susan Calman, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/susan_calman/)
2. [Standup and author Susan Calman: 'Comedy is an industry full of weirdos – I found my people', The Guardian (19 April 2026)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/19/standup-and-author-susan-calman-comedy-is-an-industry-full-of-weirdos-i-found-my-people)
3. [First return to stand-up in ten years for Susan Calman, Sussex Express (30 September 2026)](https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/first-return-to-stand-up-in-ten-years-for-susan-calman-brighton-date-9018483)
4. [Susan Calman, Hachette UK contributor page](https://www.hachette.co.uk/contributor/susan-calman/)
5. [Cruising With Susan Calman, TelevisionCatchUp.co.uk](https://www.televisioncatchup.co.uk/cruising-with-susan-calman)
6. [Susan Calman: 'When was I happiest? Dancing with Kevin Clifton on Strictly', The Guardian (24 November 2018)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/nov/24/susan-calman-when-was-i-happiest-dancing-with-kevin-clifton-on-strictly)
7. [Saturday interview: comedian Susan Calman, The Guardian (3 March 2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/mar/03/susan-calman-saturday-interview)
8. [Me by Susan Calman, University of Glasgow Avenue](https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/avenue/me/mebysusancalman/)
9. [Susan Calman's Edinburgh festival diary, The Guardian (10 August 2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/aug/10/susan-calman-edinburgh-festival-diary)
10. [In Profile: Susan Calman, The Skinny (29 August 2011)](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/interviews/in-profile-susan-calman)
11. [Susan Calman interview, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/features/susan_calman_interview/)
12. [Circuit Training 66: Calman Composed, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/susan_calman_2014_interview/)
13. [Susan Calman webchat, The Guardian via Inkl (11 November 2016)](https://www.inkl.com/news/susan-calman-webchat-post-your-questions-now)
14. [RTS Centre News, Television magazine (May 2020)](https://rts.org.uk/sites/default/files/television_may_20_v7.pdf)
15. [Susan Calman: Tall Tales review, The Guardian (18 September 2026)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/sep/18/susan-calman-tall-tales-comic)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › British and Irish comedians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license