Katherine Lynch's Working Girls
Encyclopedia
Katherine Lynch's Working Girls is a three-part Irish
comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two
in January 2008. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch
, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler. It was the pair's first television series.
Lynch described it as a "hybrid" series, featuring both comedy sketches and interaction with the general public. Darragh McManus of the Irish Independent
wrote that it was "in the spirit of the 'comedy of cringe' vein which is so in vogue".
scene
where she had the stage name Busty Lycra. She won Miss Alternative Ireland in 1998 with a show produced by Warren Meyler from County Wexford
. Music manager and judge on The X Factor
, Louis Walsh
was on the judging panel.
Meyler and Lynch adapted their characters for television and produced three shows; Katherine Lynch's Working Girls, Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen and An Audience with Katherine Lynch. Her shows have a strong following in the Irish gay scene due to her background.
Katherine Lynch's Working Girls was the comedienne's first television series. The three-part series was broadcast on RTÉ Two on Tuesday nights in January 2008. The series featured three of Lynch's characters; Singin' Bernie Walsh, Sheila Sheik and Busty Lycra.
)", "My Van" and "Stand By Your Van", to sell. The character has even performed on The Late Late Show
. Sheila Sheik is a female bellydancer
from Tallaght
, County Dublin
, with an Egypt
ian husband. The third character featured in Working Girls is a resurrected version of eighty-foot supermodel Busty Lycra, portrayed as a foot fetish
model and porn star
from Northern Ireland
who returns from Los Angeles
when her career is destroyed by a verucca
in her own foot. When Lynch walked down Dublin's Thomas Street in the guise of Busty Lycra, she was stopped on many occasions by people asking for her identity, with some people believing she was Adele King
. Lycra featured in Working Girls but was removed from the follow-up series Wonderwomen amidst concerns about perceived rudeness expressed by RTÉ.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
comedy television programme broadcast on RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
in January 2008. It stars comedienne Katherine Lynch
Katherine Lynch
Katherine Lynch is an Irish television personality from County Leitrim.Lynch is known for several television series broadcast on RTÉ Two: Katherine Lynch's Working Girls , Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen , in which she plays a variety of unusual characters such as Singin' Bernie Walsh, Liz Hurley and...
, who also co-wrote and co-produced the series alongside Warren Meyler. It was the pair's first television series.
Lynch described it as a "hybrid" series, featuring both comedy sketches and interaction with the general public. Darragh McManus of the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
wrote that it was "in the spirit of the 'comedy of cringe' vein which is so in vogue".
Background
Lynch began her career as part of the Irish gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
scene
LGBT culture in Ireland
LGBT life on the island of Ireland is made up of persons who are either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender/transsexual.-Politics:There was all-party support in 2010 for the Civil Partnership Bill which provided for legal recognition for the relationships of same-sex couples.The Labour Party,...
where she had the stage name Busty Lycra. She won Miss Alternative Ireland in 1998 with a show produced by Warren Meyler from County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
. Music manager and judge on The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
, Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh is an Irish music manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.-Band manager:...
was on the judging panel.
Meyler and Lynch adapted their characters for television and produced three shows; Katherine Lynch's Working Girls, Katherine Lynch's Wonderwomen and An Audience with Katherine Lynch. Her shows have a strong following in the Irish gay scene due to her background.
Katherine Lynch's Working Girls was the comedienne's first television series. The three-part series was broadcast on RTÉ Two on Tuesday nights in January 2008. The series featured three of Lynch's characters; Singin' Bernie Walsh, Sheila Sheik and Busty Lycra.
Characters
The show features three characters over its three episodes. According to the RTÉ Guide, Bernie Walsh, another of Lynch's creations, is her favourite character. Walsh is a country and western singer with an album, Friends in Hi Aces, featuring songs such as "Start Packin' the Van (Dundalk, DundalkDundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
)", "My Van" and "Stand By Your Van", to sell. The character has even performed on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
. Sheila Sheik is a female bellydancer
Belly dance
Belly dance or Bellydance is a "Western"-coined name for a traditional "Middle Eastern" dance, especially raqs sharqi . It is sometimes also called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli...
from Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, with an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian husband. The third character featured in Working Girls is a resurrected version of eighty-foot supermodel Busty Lycra, portrayed as a foot fetish
Foot fetishism
Foot fetishism, foot partialism, foot worship, or podophilia is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual preference for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts.-Characteristics:...
model and porn star
Pornographic actor
A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is a person who appears in pornographic film. Most actors appear nude in films...
from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
who returns from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
when her career is destroyed by a verucca
Plantar wart
-External links:* at the Mayo Clinic website* at The Merck Manual* at dermnet.com...
in her own foot. When Lynch walked down Dublin's Thomas Street in the guise of Busty Lycra, she was stopped on many occasions by people asking for her identity, with some people believing she was Adele King
Adele King
Adele King is an Irish entertainer better known as Twink from her time as a member of a group called Maxi, Dick and Twink which was a girl band in Ireland in the late 1960s and 1970s. She is Chloë Agnew's mother....
. Lycra featured in Working Girls but was removed from the follow-up series Wonderwomen amidst concerns about perceived rudeness expressed by RTÉ.