Jo Brand has revealed that a woman who lives in the house where the she was born found a toy car that may have belonged to one of her late brothers and gave it to her after one of her gigs.
Comedian Jo, 66, took to Instagram on Sunday to share that the woman had found the car while digging in the garden.
And in an incredible turn of events, writer and presenter Jo said the date the car was sold suggests it is ‘highly likely’ that it belonged to one of her late brothers.
Jo’s younger brother, whose name is not known, died from stomach cancer in 2015, while her older sibling Bill passed away in 2021.
‘I miss both of them very much and am choosing to believe I’m right,’ she said of the toy possibly being a family heirloom.
Jo Brand revealed that a woman who lives in the house where the comedian was born found a toy car that may have belonged to one of her late brothers in a post on Instagram on Sunday
The former psychiatric nurse-turned-comic captioned the post: ‘This might need some explanation! Last week I did a gig in Clapham. Afterwards, a woman gave me this car.
‘She lives in the house where I was born and found the toy car whilst digging the garden.’
Jo added: ‘The car, a Ford Thunderbird, was first sold in 1959, so I think it’s highly likely it belonged to one of my brothers in the picture.’
Several of Jo’s famous friends showed their support for Jo on the post, sharing how ‘lovely’ a coincidence it was.
‘Jo this is so lovely! Xxx,’ said comedian Tom Allen, Jo’s trusty sidekick on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice.
TV and radio presenter Gaby Roslin said ‘Oh Jo this is so lovely ❤,’ while Welsh comedian and writer Kiri Pritchard-McLean added ‘This is beautiful. X.’
‘That’s amazing,’ said writer and activist Katie Piper.
Meanwhile, TV presenter and gardening expert Carol Klein said: ‘So lovely – and what class – a Thunderbird!
‘I have two brothers though only one of them is still with us. Just reminds me of what a joy it is to have brothers. Thank you you’re the best x.’
The former psychiatric nurse-turned-comic captioned the post: ‘This might need some explanation! Last week I did a gig in Clapham. Afterwards, a woman gave me this car’
In an incredible turn of events, writer and presenter Jo (seen in 2021) said the date the toy car was sold suggests it is ‘highly likely’ that it belonged to one of her late brothers
Several of Jo’s famous friends showed their support for Jo on the post, sharing how ‘lovely’ a coincidence it was
Last year, Jo attended the Maldon Mud Race, which her daughter participated in, to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of her older brother Bill who died of cancer in 2021.
Sharing a picture of herself and Bill on Instagram in May, Jo wrote: ‘My lovely brother Bill trying to teach me (unsuccessfully) how to fish.
‘He died of cancer in 2021 and that’s why I’m going to The Maldon Mud Race this Sunday with my daughter @maisimaisimaisi and her boyfriend @alfiericher to raise money for the wonderful McMillan Cancer.’
In 2019, Jo told how the death of her younger brother, whose name she did not reveal, in the middle of her 2015 tour put her off going on the road again.
Jo cancelled five shows when her brother passed away from cancer and the star said she was too grief-stricken to confide in others on tour about what had happened.
Sharing a picture of herself and her brother Bill on Instagram in May, Jo wrote: ‘My lovely brother Bill trying to teach me (unsuccessfully) how to fish’
At the time she apologised to audiences who had seen some of her later performances, as she said she was on ‘auto pilot’.
‘People don’t actually know what’s going on in your life and the last time I toured, which was in 2015, my little brother had just died,’ she told the Sunday Express at the time.
‘He had stomach cancer and it was an absolutely devastating time for me. I had five gigs off and then I had to finish the tour which was like another two months.’
Jo added: ‘I am sorry for people who saw that tour. I was just on automatic pilot so I was all over the place, because I really didn’t want to be working.’
