Helen Lederer is best known for playing dippy magazine editor Catriona in all five series of Absolutely Fabulous between 1992 and 2012, and in the 2016 movie, one of several collaborations with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Born in Carmarthen to an English mother and Czech father, she started her career in the Comedy Store in the 1980s and in 1986 got her break after the cast of predominantly Scottish BBC Two sketch show Naked Video. She had a memorable guest turn alongside Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson in Bottom as a fallen millionairess. In January 2013 she was a contestant on ITV celebrity diving show Splash!, but was eliminated in the first round and she's appeared on several other reality shows, including Celebrity Big Brother in 2018. In 2015 her comedy novel Losing It was published, which inspired her to set up the Comedy Women In Print award in 2018. In 2024, Lederer released her memoir, Not That I'm Bitter.