Katherine Ryan says she’s ready to be the “villain” as she joins the judging panel for Canada’s Got Talent.
The 41-year-old Canadian-born comedian, who now lives in the UK, will join Howie Mandel, Kardinal Offishall and Shania Twain on the panel and can’t wait to get started.
Speaking to The Standard, she said: “I love being in this position as a judge on a big shiny Saturday night show like this and I think I’ve been brought in as a mercenary to be honest.
“I think what they are looking for is my inner Simon Cowell. Canadians are really kind and very polite, but I think that we are returning to a time in comedy where people are looking to get the edge back. I think that you can be honest and I think that you can say no in a way that’s funny and cutting but is also kind. I like playing with those boundaries.”
She added: “I embrace the role of villain and I know that I have a very kind and open heart and that’s why I’m able to be a bit provocative in my stand up and I think there is a fun way to be mean and be on the right side of mean so I’m hoping to bring that to the show.”
Asked what type of acts she particularly feels strongly about, she said: “I’m not looking forward to children. Talented children really make me cry, I have an Achilles heal and it’s children performing. My hope is not to fly all the way over there just to cry.”
Ryan - who has recently kicked off her Battleaxe stand-up tour, which is set to include three nights at the London Palladium in March - is particularly excited about meeting country icon Shania Twain, proclaiming herself “obsessed”.
Things didn’t go too well however when she tried to slide into the That Don’t Impress Me Much hit-maker’s DMs on Instagram.
She explained: “I will sit next to Shania Twain for every episode and I am obsessed! I absolutely feel spoiled to have so many female icons. As a Canadian we’ve got Celine Dion, Pamela Anderson, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, the list goes on.
“I just really hope she [Shania] likes me. I’ve not met her yet. it’s like the first day of school. She’s like the popular girl at school. I messaged her Instagram which maybe I always forget that some people don’t monitor their own social media and she didn’t write me back so I have to hope that it was a lowly assistant who didn’t want to message me back. I’m sure we’ll get along just great. And Canada has so much talent to offer.”
In addition to getting in with CGT host Lindsay Ell, who is also Twain’s touring guitarist and backing singer, she could always try to win her over with free food.
Ryan is an ambassador for Gousto and has teamed up with the recipe box company for their new Off My Plate campaign which encourages the nation to share their mealtime mental load.
The brand have partnered up with ceramic artist Margo in Margate with customers in with a chance to win a limited edition plate from her range if they share their mealtime mental load.
Hailing the plates as “gorgeous”, she said of Gousto’s latest initiative: “It's really about the mental load of having to prepare for meal times and think about the week ahead when life is so overwhelming.”
Ryan is a proud mum-of-three to Fenna, two, and Fred, three, whom she shares with husband Bobby Kootstra, and 15-year-old daughter Violet from a previous relationship.
The Duchess star admits that while her other half does the majority of the cooking in their household, her “mental mealtime load” involves being the one who has to order their weekly food supplies which can be a challenge in a household of five.
“We have all these different age groups in our house right now. We've got toddlers then my husband is a big Canadian steak and potatoes like, meat eater,” she said.
“Violet is a teenager, but she's really more fussy than the toddlers at the moment. She's vegetarian most days and Gousto solves that problem for us four days a week.”
Visit gousto.co.uk/offmyplate to get your hands on a limited-edition plate by Margo in Margate and to share your mealtime mental load.
