Arabella Weir, 62, discusses her ‘phenomenally dysfunctional’ relationship with her mother

Arabella Weir has opened up about her ‘phenomenally dysfunctional’ relationship with her late mother Alison on Tuesday’s edition of Loose Women.

In promotion of her first-ever stand-up show Does My Mum Loom Big in This?, the comedian, 62, admitted her upcoming project was inspired by her parent’s ‘fixation on me needing to be thin.’

The Fast Show star said she now ‘understands’ her mum’s tendencies as she was ‘badly neglected as a child’, which encouraged Arabella to undergo therapy before having kids of her own. 

Candid: Arabella Weir has opened up about her ‘phenomenally dysfunctional’ relationship with her late mother Alison on Tuesday’s edition of Loose Women 

A daughter of a housewife and British diplomat Sir Michael Scott Weir, the actress grew up in Washington D.C. and Cairo due to her father’s ambassador job. 

Arabella temporarily lived in Bahrain with Michael as a young teen, before moving back to London with her younger sister and two older brothers following her parents’ divorce. 

The screenwriter reflected on her tumultuous relationship with Alison, revealing she was often compared to her siblings in regards to her weight.

She told panelists Andrea McLean, Coleen Nolan, Janet Street-Porter and Brenda Edwards: ‘From about six and seven, she’d tell me ”don’t eat that you’re fat.” While eating alongside my brother and a sister, she’d tell me: ”You can’t eat what they’re eating”. 

'She couldn't conceive me doing well if I wasn't slim' The comedian, 62, admitted her new stand-up show was inspired by her parent's 'fixation on needing to be thin' (pictured as a child with her mum)

‘She couldn’t conceive me doing well if I wasn’t slim’ The comedian, 62, admitted her new stand-up show was inspired by her parent’s ‘fixation on needing to be thin’ (pictured as a child with her mum)

'She had no template of how to mother in a loving, supportive way': The Fast Show star said she now 'understands' her mum's tendencies as she was 'badly neglected as a child'

‘She had no template of how to mother in a loving, supportive way’: The Fast Show star said she now ‘understands’ her mum’s tendencies as she was ‘badly neglected as a child’

‘It was all about humiliating you into losing weight. I don’t think she could conceive me doing well in life if I wasn’t slim and pretty.’

Insisting she eventually felt sympathetic towards her mother as she approached death, Arabella added: ‘By the end of her life, I understood. 

‘She had been badly neglected as a child herself and she had no template of how to mother in a loving, supportive way. 

‘She was from that generation where if you didn’t conform, you wouldn’t get a husband.’

The TV star admitted her childhood experiences helped shape her own parenthood journey as she elaborated: ‘I had a lot of therapy before I had children and I wanted to make absolutely sure that I did the exact opposite. 

‘One of my mother’s saving graces was, when I had my kids, I said to her: “Whatever you say, I will do the exact opposite”. My mother had a great sense of humour and she said: “Well then you probably won’t put a foot wrong”.’ 

The media personality previously recalled when her mother commented on her weight just two days before her death.

Arabella – who shares her two children, Archie, 20, and Isabella, 22, with husband Jeremy Norton – told The Guardian:  ”’I said: ‘You’re dying and you’re worried about how fat I am?’ She went: ”Oh God, look at you, though.” 

An open book: The funnywoman spoke to panelists (L-R) Andrea McLean, Coleen Nolan, Janet Street-Porter and Brenda Edwards

An open book: The funnywoman spoke to panelists (L-R) Andrea McLean, Coleen Nolan, Janet Street-Porter and Brenda Edwards

‘And I said: ”We’re not doing this shit now.” And she didn’t back down, nor did she apologise.’ 

Teasing details about her string of one-woman shows, she shared on the lunchtime programme: ‘Does My Mum Loom Big in This? came out of my mother’s fixation on me needing to be thin. 

‘I wrote this solo show for last year’s Edinburgh. I thought, why don’t I do it about the thing which has dominated my life which is fitting in.

‘In the show, I talk about how she didn’t have a role model and I understand why she didn’t manage to be a very good mother. The first part is about my phenomenally dysfunctional relationship with my mother and the second half is me as a mother.’

Arabella will take to stages across the nation from Thursday at West Yorkshire’s Otley Courthouse. 

Exciting times ahead: Arabella will take to stages across the nation with her first-ever stand-up show Does My Mum Loom Big in This from Thursday at West Yorkshire's Otley Courthouse

Exciting times ahead: Arabella will take to stages across the nation with her first-ever stand-up show Does My Mum Loom Big in This from Thursday at West Yorkshire’s Otley Courthouse

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