Joanne McNally: 'My bulimia was spiralling out of control; my breakdown made me'

Born in County Roscommon in 1983 and raised in Dublin, Joanne McNally is a standup comedian and writer. Her breakthrough came with the one-woman show Bite Me, and her subsequent tour Prosecco Express included a 78-night run at Dublin’s Vicar Street. She co-hosts the podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams, her standup show Pinotphile is touring Ireland and the UK until December, and she hosts Unacceptable with Ed Gamble and Richard Ayoade on TLC.

She remembers being three in her aunt’s garden, always well turned out, a giggling, story-telling child who liked an audience. As she grew up she often felt fat, played boys in school productions and thought she lacked the kind of looks that made people chase you, so losing weight became a quick route to feeling desirable.

In her 20s she drank heavily and says her bulimia was spiralling out of control. After leaving a busy PR job for a role at a mental health charity, solitude allowed the eating disorder to take over.

Ireland, Dublin

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