Bafta comic Jo Brand loves to read the Shropshire Star

The 55-year-old, whose political activist mother Joyce lives in Ludlow, was speaking in the Midlands yesterday when she spoke of her love for the county's newspaper.

And, at a reception for the Birmingham Press Club, the Bafta-award winning comic said she loved tucking into the Star to catch up on all the latest news and entertainment when she visits her mother.

Jo was appearing at a question and answer session hosted by radio DJ Ed James at the lunch, where she was also awarded lifetime membership of the club.

Her mother said Jo had always had an affection for the newspaper and enjoys the fact it is so packed with news.

She said: "Jo grew up in Kent but she did come to Ludlow with us a lot when she was younger so she does have a link with the county and the Shropshire Star is part of that."

Joyce, 79, made the front page of the Star in September 2011 after being thrown out of a council meeting for heckling and haranguing councillors over plans to cut staff wages by more than five per cent.

She has also taken petitions to Downing Street campaigning against the moving of GP surgeries out of the centre of Ludlow, and successfully led a fight to stop homes being built in the shadow of the historic St Laurence church.

Her daughter is set to perform in Ludlow at the town's Fringe Festival in the summer.

She has also written a number of best-selling books and will be departing from her staple stand-up to instead deliver a talk on her writing style and experiences at the town's library on June 27 at 2pm.