Madeleine Brettingham is a writer and performer who has recently become one of the most distinctive new voices in British stand-up.
Her television writing credits span some of Britain’s best-loved shows, including Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News for You, That Mitchell and Webb Look and Horrible Histories. She has written solo, in writers’ rooms and as lead writer, and is currently developing a range of original projects.
In 2025, after turning to stand-up, she won So You Think You’re Funny. Her debut Edinburgh show, Legend, sold out, with The Scotsman calling her “an absolute killer onstage” and Rolling Stone naming it one of the Fringe’s 12 standout shows.
Her fiction and essays have appeared in the Times Literary Supplement and The Fence. Her play Dear Martin premiered at the Arcola Theatre in 2025 and won an Offie Assessors’ Choice. It is now in TV development.
She has also judged for BAFTA and the Writers’ Guild, and guest lectured at the National Film and Television School.
