She runs the Birmingham-based group Women and Theatre and performs stand-up comedy as her character Mrs Barbara Nice.

Connolly has also appeared in Coronation Street, That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights, Max and Paddy's Road To Nowhere, Thin Ice and Dead Man Weds.

In 2017, Connolly was awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Years Honours list for services to community arts in the West Midlands.

[6] Connolly was performing as Barbara Nice at the Palace nightclub in Levenshulme in 1997 when spotted by Peter Kay at the finals of the Manchester Evening News New Act of the Year.

[8] The BBC said: "Barbara is worried she and Ken (played by John Henshaw) are at risk of adding to the numbers of silver splitters - they have nothing in common; Ken's idea of retirement involves a marathon session of Pointless and that doesn't fit with Barbara's idea of a well-spent golden age.

[10] In October 2015, Connolly appeared in the stage adaptation of Meera Syal's novel Anita and Me at the Birmingham Rep, for which she was acclaimed for her "comic talent".

[7] The company is committed to social change through new theatre and drama and in its mission statement, it states that it aims to make heard the voices of those who are not usually listened to.