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Comedy club to offer new mums support and a laugh

BBC Frankie B wearing a white cable knit, V-necked jumper with a black band around the neck holding her baby daughter and comedian Maxine Wade who has purple/blue dyed hair and is wearing a leopard-print top with a black, furry colour. BBC
Frankie B (left) is being mentored by comedian and friend Maxine Wade who has appeared on the BBC's New Comedy Awards

Comedians have joined forces to create a new comedy event for new mums.

The Milk Club Comedy, in Shipley, will be held during the daytime and is believed by organisers to be the first of its kind in West Yorkshire

It's the brainchild of Francesca Hindmarch, from Baildon, who performs as Frankie B, who announced she was pregnant during her own first performance.

She said she wanted to create something that would give mums a chance to "feel supported" and to give them somewhere they could come and "have a laugh".

Francesca Hindmarch A young woman with red hair scraped back into a ponytail dressed in a sparkly bra and shorts holding a microphone and using its stand to balance on stage. Francesca Hindmarch
Franke B announced her pregnancy during her first show to the surprise of her husband and his mother

She said being a new parent can be challenging but also very funny and her own experiences of being a mum to two young children is part of her comedy show

"My baby, who's now three-and-a-half months old, was actually announced when I did my first ever gig.

"I said on stage that I was pregnant, which was a surprise especially for my mother-in-law. She's lovely, so no mother-in-law jokes!"

Ms Hindmarch said it was also the reason she opted for a daytime show.

"We're already doing the nightshift as new mums," she said.

"So going out in the day with other mums is something where we can all get good support at a time that suits us.

"I want mums to feel supported in a social environment and somewhere where you can come and have a laugh."

Maxine Wade A young woman with dyed-blue hair wearing a red and black furry jacket talking into a microphone on stage.Maxine Wade
Maxine Wade is now juggling life as a professional comedian with being a mum and a nursing associate

Professional comedian Maxine Wade is another comedian helping to support the Milk Club Comedy show.

She appeared on a last year's BBC New Comedy Award Show and in addition to working for the NHS, the 33 year old from Bramley, is also legal guardian for her niece.

"I think it's important to have a laugh about being a mum because it's stressful and it's very trying," she said.

"I think laughter releases tension and I think it's good to remember that you are a person, or a woman, before anything else."

Both women will be performing, along with other mums and a single dad, at the first Milk Club Comedy event at the Activity Den on 6 November.

Ms Hindmarch sees the club as a continuation of her role as a Bradford ambassador for the Anxious Mum Club.

"The big dream is a business that I could run around my kids, I could run it during the day while also supporting other mums.

"And the real big dream would be to have a little crèche next door so we can have mums that have got toddlers, so it's accessible to mums with kids of all ages.

"Whether they're at school, or just born, or running around like little terrors!"

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