Life is pretty challenging right now, but for the few days its taken me to read Don't Laugh It'll Only Encourage Her, I've found a brief respite from the day to day issues and have been able to chuckle, snort, giggle and fully on belly laugh my way through the whole book! I have lived the most humiliating, ridiculous, screw-up of a life but Mum was right, you've just got to remember, sometimes the worst experiences make the most entertaining stories. There are so many mad crazy experiences in the book that I did, on occasion, question whether not they could all really be true. This book starts off amazing and until about 3/4 of the way through stays consistently funny (I’m still thinking about that showcase in under the pub) but I can’t help but feel the last few chapters were really rushed!

This audiobook is narrated by Daisy May Cooper and includes an exclusive, bonus interview with Daisy and her Dad, Paul Cooper. This is a real insight into Daisy's life pre-This Country (which is an absolute banger of a show btw) and how she grew up in poverty. One of the most hilarious books I’ve read - so many anecdotes I was nearly crying with laughter on the train. I love This Country, and reading about her early life showed how much of it has been written into the scripts, but I almost wish I hadn't read it.Together with my brother Charlie, I staggered my way through adolescence from one drama to the next until finally, after years of trying, we had This Country commissioned by the BBC. I know it's supposed to make me laugh, but I just felt so very sad for Daisy May and her family - growing up in chaos, dealing with loss and severe financial worries. There’s probably another book in the pipeline because there’s no mention of The Wrong Mans or David Copperfield which she acted in before This Country. This audio version also has the added bonus of an exclusive interview with Daisy and her father Paul. Having read Bob Mortimers book recently that has a lot of similar stories but told with much more heart this book just didn't gel for me.

Mum, I auditioned to be a stripper by snogging a pole and was laughed off the stage by a bunch of topless dancers. The stories about applying for drama courses, and eventually RADA, dreadful auditions, semi-abusive relationships, none of it felt humorous.However, the hardback printed book shows lots of previously unseen photographs, plus copies of old school text books and random drawings. There's the battle Daisy May and brother Charlie had to get back the rights to their own work from a production company who'd promised so much but delivered so little, and Daisy's own battles with low self-esteem and fear of having ideas "above her station". Even when things really do go their way and This Country finally gets commissioned to be made, it’s almost a cursory mention at the end and that’s it. It made me laugh out loud and at times it was heart breaking to read about the financial situation the family was in and the poverty they endured. Together with my brother Charlie, I staggered my way through adolescence from one drama to the next until finally, after years of trying, we had This Country commissioned by the BBC.

I then went on to follow Daisy May and Charlie Cooper on Instragam, where Daisy kept us all entertained with her what-can-you-fit-under-your-tits challenge, and all the stories of the adventures with the Sea Captain. I grew up battling rural poverty which was a struggle enough but my family were completely insane to boot.And just how much of a humiliating, ridiculous, screw-up of a s**t-storm life did I need to lead before I could finally realise my dream? Daisy and Charlie are contracted to do a cleaning job for three hours, but manage to do it in 20 minutes. All in all a great read, wish there was more about Charlie Daisy's brother - maybe he will come out with a book? She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2018 for her role as Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series This Country, a mockumentary-style show about the eccentricities of life in rural England, which she co-created and co-wrote with her brother, Charlie Cooper. Also some of the photocopied pages of old school stories and notes and stuff I couldn't read them the print was very small and the writing was hard to read.