Quiz show creator plots Fringe comeback

The millionaire creator of The Weakest Link is to perform a her own stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Cathy Dunning has earned millions from devising the TV format, and is now using some of that fortune to fund What Did You Do Last Thursday?, at the Underbelly.

The last time she appeared at Edinburgh, she was panned by critics and played to near-empty venues, racking up huge debts. Her humiliation was documented on TV, as cameras from Channel 4’s Edinburgh or Bust followed her progress.

This time, money will be less of a factor, since the game show she created with fellow writer Fintan Coyle has earned the pair an estimated £5million.

She told the Sunday Times: “When I last performed at the Fringe it was very stressful, especially as I was being filmed throughout.

 “Now I’m really excited about coming back and it is great to be able to afford it.

“I think the show is very funny and I’m proud of it. It is very pink and fluffy — my characters are nothing like the nasty one that Anne Robinson created for The Weakest Link.”

Meanwhile, Men Behaving Badly star Lesley Ash has dropped her plans to perform at the Fringe, after being admitted to  hospital with a punctured lung, a cracked rib, and, subsequently,  an infection.

Published: 13 Jun 2004