Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan seems rarely off our TV screens and this Christmas we'll see her on Channel 4’s annual Big Fat Quiz of the Year. The show, which is hosted by Jimmy Carr, also features Stephen Merchant, Richard Ayoade, Maisie Adams, Jonathan Ross and Rose Matafeo as part of the line up. The long-time stand-up has an amazing love story with her partner, Bobby Koostra, with who she was prom queen alongside his prom king back in high school.
But years later the couple reconnected thanks to a chance meeting while the comic was filming an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
Star of The Duchess on Netflix and a regular on panel shows like Would I Lie to You and 8 Out of 10 Cats, Katherine moved to the UK in 2007 when she worked as a trainer for American bar chain, Hooters and came here to help set up the first venue in the country, in Nottingham. As well as working in Hooters while at university, studying city planning, she also discovered her love of stand-up, performing at open-mic nights.
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But while she became a famous name in the UK for her comedy chops, Katherine would also meet her eventual civil partner, Bobby Kootstra. The pair had dated in high school and were reunited when Katherine returned to her hometown to film an episode of the BBC genealogy series, Who Do You Think You Are? They have two children together, the youngest Fenna born in December 2022, and Katherine also has a a daughter, Violet from a previous relationship.
Katherine previously discussed reuniting with Bobby whilst being interviewed on The Jonathan Ross Show. She said: “During filming I went for a night out with my sister and bumped into my first love Bobby – we dated for about a year when I was fifteen and then we split. I haven’t seen him in 20 years. I’m in an old jumper, he looked like a full-blood Hemsworth brother, just hot…I hadn’t seen him in 20 years. When we were young, I was deeply in love with him. We were prom king and queen."
Aside from comedy, Katherine also has experience as an actress and a presenter. She has had acting roles in sitcoms Campus, Episodes and Badults. In terms of presenting, she has worked on the series Your Face or Mine? alongside Jimmy Carr and also hosted BBC's All That Glitters. She also hosts a podcast called Telling Everybody Everything.
Catch Katherine on Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2022 on Channel 4 at 9pm on Boxing Day. This isn't Katherine’s first appearance on the yearly quiz and she also featured as a contestant in 2017. It is just one of the many panel shows that the 39-year-old has been on over the course of her career. She has previously appeared on the likes of Taskmaster, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie To You? and Live at the Apollo.
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