Barbara Nice
You are a comedy whirlwind. Everything was funny. I felt like tonight we watched as a star was born.
David Walliams
A warm and wonderful act, an enthusiastic , livewire force of nature it’s hard not to love.
Chortle
I have a feeling the public are going to love you.
Simon Cowell
Phoenix Nights star Janice Connolly’s comedy creation Mrs Barbara Nice is a loveable force of nature. Hilarious and uplifting, she’s the perfect antidote to doom and gloom and if you’re in need of a comedy pick me up Barbara’s your woman, like your favourite aunt at a family wedding she’ll get you going with her unique comic insights and her celebrations of daily life.
Barbara Nice is the overenthusiastic housewife alter-ego of award-winning comedian Janice, who was discovered by legendary comedian Peter Kay, who asked her to play Holy Mary in Phoenix Nights. She has been compared to Victoria Wood, Mrs. Merton, and Julie Walters.
Having supported comedians Johnny Vegas and Peter Kay on tour in the past, Barbara Nice is a circuit headline act in her own right, as well as being one of the most experienced comperes in the country. She has also performed solo shows in Edinburgh, Brighton and Manchester.
In a smash hit audition, Barbara wowed the judges with her humour and eccentric style on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2019. Her audition was such a success, the judges gave Barbara their seal of approval and she went on to the semi-finals.
She has also appeared in Coronation Street, That Peter Kay Thing, Max and Paddy’s Road To Nowhere, Thin Ice and Dead Man Weds. Her four-part series Barbara Nice was broadcast in March 2017 as part of BBC Radio 2’s Comedy Showcase.
In 2017 Janice was awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Years Honours list for services to community arts in the West Midlands.