Annie was an author and comedy writer who died in 2016

Jo Caulfield has written a memoir about her sister, the author and comedy writer Annie, who died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 57.

You Wore It First  – which will be published by Polygon next summer – is a reference to the stand-up always wearing her elder sibling’s hand-me-downs.

Annie became a travel writer, dramatist and broadcaster, whose credits include script editing the 1990s sketch show The Real McCoy and writing the spoof autobiography Lenny Go Home with Lenny Henry.

Jo said she and Annie were exceptionally alike and told the British Comedy Guide – which broke the news of her book – that ‘it's weird and sometimes unnerving to grieve for someone who you see in your own face’.

She added that writing the memoir ‘didn't lessen the pain. But it was cathartic in that it made me feel close to her again.

‘It was fun to relive and write down memories, we had so many hilarious and disastrous adventures together. We often talked about how much we would enjoy being old ladies who don't give a fuck; but sadly I'll have to do that on my own.’

Caulfield also said she was considering publishing a collection of advice for up-and-coming comics, based on the Things I've Learned section of her website, saying: ‘If I can pull them all together it could be quite an interesting story.’

Meanwhile, she returns to the Edinburgh Fringe next month with her new show, Here Comes Trouble, at The Stand

Published: 13 Jul 2022