From the moment she starts chatting, it’s clear Rosie Jones is living her best life. The 33-year-old comedian is in the midst of her first UK tour, and she couldn’t be happier.
"I’m living the absolute dream,” she says, with a winning smile. “I grew up watching stand-up – never in a million years did I think I’d be doing that. "Triple Threat is certainly a runaway success. The tour has just been extended until April, and by the time Rosie finishes she’ll have been on the road for nearly a year.
"I was nervous about getting bored of my own comedy," she jokes. "But I’m enjoying every single joke at every single show. I do miss my own bed though. I saved up for years and bought my own flat, so it’s annoying that I’ve bought it, decorated it and then I’m gone again."
So, what’s on Rosie’s backstage rider? £I wish it was all drugs and throwing TVs out of windows, but I’m a Yorkshire lass through and through,” she laughs. "As long as I’ve got a good mug of tea and a massive bag of crisps – always salt and vinegar – I’m happy." Warm, friendly and searingly honest, Rosie has become a trailblazer for people with disabilities – breaking boundaries and confronting ableism with her sharp wit and self-deprecating humour, a knack she developed by necessity.
"I was one of the only disabled people in my school,” she recalls. “I created my confidence, personality and humour in order to survive. I had to be the first person to crack a joke about my disability because if I didn’t, somebody else did."
Rosie admits she was a "cheeky chick" who regularly got told off for talking in class. “Even then I would lie and say, ‘You’re talking about my disability,’” she laughs. “They couldn’t say anything, I had them.”
As 24% of the UK population are now recorded as having a disability, diversity, and inclusion have never been more important. Earlier this year, Rosie made a powerful documentary on Channel 4 about ableism, which showed her wearing headphones to block out the abuse she regularly gets in the street.
"It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done," she says of the film. "I’ve spent my childhood, my adulthood and now my career making people laugh to make sure they’re OK around me and my disability. Making the documentary was the time where I’ve gone, ‘Right, it’s not up to me to break the tension, it’s up to me to tell you how difficult my life is at times.’"
She is regularly bombarded with hate speech online too. "Everyone with any kind of platform gets a hard time. But when you add being a woman onto that, it’s harder, and when you add being disabled onto that, it’s harder still,” she says. “For my own mental health and self-preservation, I take a step back from social media regularly. It can be hurtful."
While Rosie has done so much to champion diversity, she thinks we can all do far more. "It isn’t up to me to make sure that you’re OK,” she says, frankly. “It’s up to non-disabled people to learn more about disability and diversity."
She’s also passionate about inclusivity, and says that as a child she struggled with the lack of diversity in books. "Being disabled meant that I couldn’t really walk or run, or join in with playing. But I could read," she explains. "But every book had non-disabled main characters. Things like that were really damaging, because it never made me feel valid."
Determined to change the status quo, she has written three children’s books based on Edie Eckhart, an 11-year-old with cerebral palsy. "The impact it has on disabled children, reading stories where the protagonist is disabled like them, is so important," she explains. "I’m glad that I can put that into the world and hopefully change it for the better.
"Long before I considered becoming a comedian, I wanted to be a children’s writer. I actually have a bone to pick with Pixar. I recently read a story that I wrote in 1993 about a toy that comes to life. I think they got their idea for Toy Story from me!"
Chatting to Rosie is a breath of fresh air. She’s funny (obviously), radiates positivity and says she’s the one friends call when they need cheering up. But what does she do when she’s feeling down? “Oh that’s easy,” she says. "I love all the old sitcoms, like Dinnerladies or The Vicar Of Dibley. They are like a lovely, warm bath."
No doubt she’ll watch these over Christmas, when she decompresses with family. "I am the biggest Christmas fan,” she declares. “I go back home to Yorkshire for two weeks, and I spend it with my mum, dad, brother and grandparents." As for her festive wishes, she’s easy to please: "I’m very basic. I love warm socks and a candle. If I’m warm and cosy and smelling something nice, I’m happy."
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