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Article: Women break into the men-only A-list of after-dinner speaking Joanna Lumley is rare in that she can charge as much as the top male speakers (that's pounds 25,000 and all the rubber chicken she can stomach). Now more female celebrities want a piece of the action
- Article from:
- The Independent on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- June 6, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 The Independent on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A regiment of women is preparing to storm one of the last male
redoubts of the social circuit: the boozy world of the after-dinner
speaker.
The country's first agency exclusively for raconteuses is opening
for business with a line-up of celebrities unafraid to make their
presence felt when the port is flowing and the air turns blue.
The firm already has an impressive team of female personalities,
including the former minister Edwina Currie, the singer and actress
Toyah Willcox, author and campaigner Erin Pizzey, athlete Sally
Gunnell, soprano Lesley Garrett and supermodel Jodie Kidd.
Speech-making is highly profitable, bringing sports stars,
politicians and TV celebrities fees of up to ...