Hattie Hayridge
It’s a common misconception among casual viewers and non-nerds that there are two Hollys in Red Dwarf. We scoff in the face of such idiocy.
For the truth is there has only ever been one Holly - he merely decided to assume a woman’s face for a while. The face, to be specific, of Hilly - his equivalent in a parallel universe. All of which explains why, despite having a somewhat prettier visage, the female Holly is every bit as gormless - and unhelpful to the crew - as the male Holly. Just like Norman Lovett, Hattie Hayridge faffed about for years before making the plunge into comedy.
It’s all down to booze; while attending an open mike night in a club, she got loaded on Southern Comfort and improvised a riff about her life as a secretary. It led to her first gig, and within the year she was cast as Hilly on Red Dwarf. Later, when Lovett decided to move on from the show, Hattie won the role of Holly over other contenders including Kathy Burke. Apart from having the most well-known disembodied female head in comedy, Hattie’s also written comedy for Rory Bremner, Jasper Carrott and Lee Evans.
