Moment fan causes TV comedy icon to break down in tears on stage-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

Sara Pascoe got emotional on stage at the Hay Festival 2024 (Picture: Hay Festival)

Sara Pascoe choked up on stage after a question from a fan left her looking back to her teenage years.

The comedian, 43, was speaking at the Hay Festival, where she introduced her debut novel, Weirdo, when she began to cry on stage.

An audience member asked: ‘If you would tell 14 year old you what you have achieved, what would you tell her and why?’

‘It’s a really good question,’ Sara responded, visibly welling up at the 11-day Hay-on-Wye event. ‘You’re going to make me cry, because the trouble is at 14 I wouldn’t have believed very positive things.’

Looking at the ceiling and blinking, Sara paused, then explained why she was crying: ‘It’s because you asked about me being a mum and now you’ve asked me about being 14.’

Holding her head in her hands and letting out a laugh at the situation, Sara quipped: ‘Literally, how to destroy me in a Q and A.’

She was asked about advice she’d give her 14-year-old self (Picture: Hay Festival)

Sara cried at this, and explained why (Picture: Hay Festival)

The star was praised for her extremely candid response (Picture: Hay Festival)

She wiped away her tears and responded beautifully: ‘The really s**t thing about being young is that you haven’t been through stuff yet. The first time it happens is the worst.

‘I’ll give you an example of heartbreak,’ she said. ‘When you get your heart broken for the first time, you’ve got no defences because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know how it feels, and you trust.

‘The horrible thing about older people, maybe your parents or other people who care about you, is that when they say, “You’re going to be okay, and this will make you stronger,” and, “You were so brave to love in the first place,” all this feels so unhelpful,’ she said of when teenagers are crying on the floor unable to see past the heartbreak.

‘When you get your heart broken a second time it might be just as bad, but it’s painful in the knowledge that you recover from this. That life went wrong. That life went on. That you laughed again, and enjoyed music again.

Sara previously opened up about struggling throughout as a teenager (Picture: Andy Sheppard/Redferns via Getty Images)

‘When I was 14, I hated school, I wasn’t popular. Everything now that I’ve made a career out of I thought was a negative. I hate to think of people unhappy being teenagers. But I also know it’s part of being happier later.

Directing her advice to the audience member, she added: ‘Also, not changing. Because you’re not wrong.’

Wiping her eyes again as the crowd applauded her candid words, Sara said: ‘That was a really hard question.’

With the post having gone viral on social media, many commented with their admiration for the Great British Sewing Bee star.

‘Such a brilliant, honest response to a great question. It resonated with me because of its essential truthfulness,’ wrote X user @mrskbay.

‘Thank you @sarapascoe for your insight, wisdom and honesty. And for your courage to show your emotions and vulnerability,’ wrote Amanda Burston.

Kirsty T said: ‘Such an honest and sincere response, and one that so many of us can completely relate to. I hated high school, but now with the benefit of hindsight I wish that I’d been a stronger person that liked herself more.’

Melanie added: ‘Very powerful and very true. A response that will have impact and be remembered by that young person forever.’

The comedian is now a mum-of-two (Picture: S Meddle/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

‘I’m going to play this for my 13 year old tonight. Thank you,’ wrote @widespreadMN, while @fadingbubbles added: ‘She really is just absolutely wonderful. What a beautifully honest but perfect response.’

Sara has been open about her teenage years in the past, and previously told The Guardian that her 14-year-old self paved the way for her career as one of the best-known British comedians going.

’14-year‑old me was amazing. She got me my job today. She had bad makeup, rejections, terrible feedback, and still kept thinking: “There’s something at the end of this,”‘ she said.

‘I look back at this skinny girl with her really long hair, her lovely 14-year-old skin, and think how terrible it was that I had those negative thoughts. Especially since becoming a mum, having my own small child, it’s made it clear how hard we are on ourselves.’

Following years of fertility issues and miscarriages, Sara welcomed her first child Theodore in February 2022, and her youngest, Albie, in October 2023.

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