Sue Perkins was born in Croydon in 1969 and studied English at Cambridge, where she was president of Footlights. With Mel Giedroyc, her partner in the comedy duo Mel and Sue, she co-hosted the Channel 4 show Late Lunch and the first seven seasons of The Great British Bake Off. Perkins, who lives in north London, has written two books, presented numerous TV travel programmes, and is currently the host of Just a Minute on Radio 4. Her standup show A Piece of Work in Progress is at Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh from 20 to 26 August.
1. Film
Sunlight (dir Nina Conti, 2024)
I’m always intrigued by [actor and ventriloquist] Nina Conti’s work. In her feature Sunlight, which I’m hoping to see at the Edinburgh film festival [17 August], she plays a character who dresses up as a monkey in order to escape a controlling ex-boyfriend, and goes on a road trip with a very depressed guy, played by the great Shenoah Allen. It’s shot in New Mexico so it’s going to look sumptuous. I’m expecting broad comedy undercut by darkness and psychological scrutiny – a great and possibly uncomfortable watch, but never boring.
2. Book
Wise Children by Angela Carter
This is my pretentious pick, but I genuinely love Angela Carter. I first read Wise Children at university and it was insane – a real shot in the arm compared with the stuff I was reading at the time. It’s about a pair of identical twins in their 70s whose biological father wants nothing to do with them. It heavily references Shakespeare and you can see the through lines back to King Lear and forward to Succession. It’s a great book. I’ve read it a couple of times and I’ll definitely be diving in again soon.
3. TV
The Bear (Disney+)
I hated The Bear at the beginning and found the first episode annoyingly chaotic, but then it grabbed me and season two was so rewarding. It’s the story of a bereaved chef who comes back to run his late brother’s sandwich shop in Chicago. Olivia Colman has a wonderful cameo, but the jewel in the crown for me is Jamie Lee Curtis’s performance. I watched that episode [“Fishes”] twice and thought, she has committed so intensely to the madness. I haven’t had time to watch the third season yet, but I might start it tonight.
4. Place
Budapest
The first time I went to Budapest was a whistlestop trip for a wedding, and my memories were of insane volumes of alcohol and a horrific bath experience. Last month I got to go back in a more civilised way while shooting a TV show, and I utterly loved it. It’s got beautiful buildings and wonderful people, but it was the food that really got me. I had some fantastic Turkish dishes – Brody House does a mean shakshuka. It’s one of those rare places where I go for work and think, yes, I’m going to come back as soon as I possibly can.
5. Hobby
Stained glass mosaicing
I am heavily into crafting, and my latest thing is stained glass mosaicing, which involves cutting out pieces of coloured glass and gluing them to a board. I’m making a memorial plaque for my sister’s dog. It’s so complicated and ornate, like a mosaic version of the Sistine Chapel. The dog was ancient when he arrived as a rescue, but he changed my sister’s life. The memorial is his name, Badger, surrounded by glass flowers, ladybirds and bees. I like the idea of taking two years out of my life to commemorate an unregarded soul.
6. Restaurant
East West Pizza, Kentish Town, north London
I’ve only just discovered this pizzeria in my neighbourhood and I am evangelical. It’s a fusion of Indian and Italian cuisine, which sounds weird but somehow really works. You can have an ordinary pizza if you want, or you can go for a masala jackfruit. The chana masala with rosemary focaccia is utterly delicious, as are the arancini with saag paneer and truffle oil. The place is heaving and the staff are wonderful. I can pop down the road and I feel I’ve had both an Indian takeaway and a pizza, which is just great.
