Alan Yentob looks at her life from From her working class roots in South London, through her teenage-tearaway years in Hastings to the decade that she spent as a psychiatric nurse. Jo’s journey into comedy, says the programme, has not been an easy one.

imagine… Jo Brand: No Holds Barred goes behind-the-scenes with Brand as she presents Have I Got News For You and The News Quiz on Radio 4 - and accompanies her on the book tour circuit, as she promotes her latest book, Born Lippy: How To Do Female.

Contributors include: Peter Capaldi; Alan Davies, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Mark Thomas, Mary Beard, Morwenna Banks and Ian Hislop.

Brand has been a trailblazer for women on screen. Not only has she broken through into the tough world of stand-up comedy, but has demonstrated enormous diversity (acting, writing and performing, factual, drama and comedy) shattering stereotypes of what women on television should look, be and sound like.

imagine… Jo Brand: No Holds Barred is a BBC Studios production. The exec producer is Tanya Hudson and Series Editor and presenter is Alan Yentob. Mark Bell is the commissioning editor for the BBC. It airs on BBC One on Monday, January 28 at 10.45pm..

Picture: BBC