Delicacy: A memoir about cake and death

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Mary left the rest of the Ghosts in episode four… (Credit: BBC) Why did Mary – actress Katy Wix – leave Ghosts?

Katy Wix recently starred in the new Channel 4 sitcom Big Boys, which has been renewed for series two.Katy Wix: Yeah, it was so different. But actually, the loneliness I really revelled in because I’m so used to writing in collaboration with other people and I think — because I’ve mostly written for TV and radio — you go through so many other people’s notes, and then there’s often a kind of gatekeeper at the top, so it was liberating to have none of that. As soon as I realised my editor was really supportive and happy to go with my more experimental ideas, I relished that creative freedom. If you compare it to TV writing, it was like I was the director, the producer, the writer and the costume department all in one. When I start to think that they’ve written the best, hard hitting episode of the show, I’m always proven wrong because they do it again and again,” said another.

Caragh Medlicott: I was thinking the other day about those little souvenir magnets you can buy, the kind mums love, where they say stuff like “I’m watching my weight — but it’s not going anywhere!”. It’s a joke, but also it points to the longevity of it — of how it’s taken as given that women are always dieting.Writing on a fan forum, one said: “I cried so hard. I’m devastated! Mary has been my favourite from the start. I’m so sad.” Katy sees the world like no one else and deciphers it with extraordinary beauty. Delicacy took my breath away' - Lolly Adefope The one I remember the most is Abigail’s Party. Seeing Alison Steadman’s performance made me want to do character acting. It was just a phenomenal, convincing, detailed performance. Years later, I wrote a radio sitcomthat she was in. It was one of those absurd moments where you just have to leave your body and look down on yourself to be able to handle it. The star has also created her own TV comedy show Fat Camp, set in a children’s diet retreat, which she also stars in. Katy Wix: Yeah it’s like the cognitive dissonance we need to go about our lives. Otherwise we’d all just start screaming. I think before I experienced loss, I didn’t really think about it. And I think that’s kind of correct — I feel like when you’re young you shouldn’t think about it. There’s a friend of my mum’s who I suppose must be in her late 50s who still hasn’t lost anyone. Like she still has her grandparents and she kind of just looks frightened. I think it’s an emotional privilege, in many ways, to go through your 20s and not lose anyone. I have friends who lost a parent when they were really young and I think they just kind of had to park it and deal with it later.

Katy Victoria J Wix (born 28 February 1980) [1] is a Welsh actress, writer, author and artist. Her television roles include Carole in Stath Lets Flats, Mary in Ghosts, Barbara in Ted Lasso, and Jules in Big Boys. She has also appeared as a series contestant on Taskmaster and as a recurring character in the science fiction mini-series Torchwood: Children of Earth in 2009. [2] She has written two series of her own sitcom for BBC Radio 4, Bird Island and a sketch show for Channel 4, Anna & Katy. In 2017 her painting was chosen for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. She has written two books of monologues and in 2021 she published her first work of non-fiction, Delicacy. It’s like the way some writers think ‘strong female lead’ means a female character who is capable of violence/revenge, but it takes just as much strength to be fat or depressed. Before my friend died I was too shy to write, definitely too shy to write autobiographically, and now I can’t stop. But I’d trade all the words for him’: Katy Wix. Photograph: Roo Lewis/The Observer She was burned at the stake on the grounds of Button House, implying she worked there as a servant. Katy sees the world like no one else and deciphers it with extraordinary beauty. Delicacy took my breath away’– Lolly Adefope

Brilliantly original, funny and insightful. Dry and comic, but also very moving. I absolutely loved Delicacy' - Katy Brand Whatever the reason Katy Wix decided to leave the show, it’s clear her character will be hugely missed! How did fans react to Katy Wix leaving the role of Mary? It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the feeling of cycling – the freedom, the smells and sights of being outdoors – it was more that I felt unwilling to let myself be looked at whilst doing it, because I struggled to ride a bike, and I looked like someone who struggled to ride a bike, and I was so ashamed. The humiliation outweighed the joy. It’s possible that schedule conflicts have prevented Katy from returning to Ghosts for future series.