WHEN Annette Gregory first tried her hand at filming a funny video on the balcony of her Barrhead flat during day four of lockdown, it was only intended to entertain her work colleagues at Asda.

Now her sardonic speech about the ‘thrills’ of housework has been enjoyed by thousands of Facebook users across the world.

Annette has gone on to post a string of hilarious commentaries, written and performed at home, that take a candid look at the struggles many have faced while stuck indoors, such as attempting home workouts designed by Mr Motivator and finding something decent to watch on TV.

The 65-year-old sales assistant at Asda Barrhead started making the comedy videos after she was advised to shield at home for four-and-a-half months due to her blood cancer diagnosis.

“I missed my colleagues at work, so I thought I’d do this for a wee laugh for them in the canteen,” Annette told the Barrhead News.

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“I was asked to make the videos public on Facebook so they could share them and, before I knew where I was, I was getting messages from all over the world, including Budapest, Canada and New Zealand.

“I even got a message from Australia requesting subtitles.”

As a former professional singer, Annette has experience of performing in radio jingles and advertisements but had never considered comedy before starting her ‘Barrheid balcony’ series in March.

“My hero is the Scottish entertainer Dorothy Paul, who used to do a one-woman show in the theatre where she would dress up as a cleaner and just talk away,” she said.

“I thought it would be funny to do something similar for the girls working at Asda and give them a laugh, so I held the phone in front of my face and started talking.

“The videos were just intended to be the patter of a local woman, giving her view of life during lockdown, but it developed from there and she became a character.”

Originally from Glasgow, Annette has lived in Barrhead for around two decades and started working at the Asda store when it first opened six years ago.

Her comedic persona has become so popular that, since returning to work, she has become something of a local celebrity, with customers often quoting lines from her videos back to her.

“I’ve got a lot of customers coming in, asking if I’m the ‘balcony woman,’ and others who come in to make a point of saying hello,” Annette revealed.

“My colleagues and friends think it’s great that the videos represent the typical West of Scotland attitude to things.”

Annette’s videos have also helped to put her local fish and chip shop on the map.

“I love going into Alpino’s for a fish tea,” she said. “I mentioned in one of my videos that it was the first place I wanted to go once I was able to get out of the house and, when I went in, they had a wee fish tea ready for me as, apparently, a lot of people had been coming in to ask if I’d managed to pay a visit yet.”

Bosses at Barrhead construction firm George Lesley were so enchanted with Annette’s comedy creation that she was asked to star as her well-known character for the company’s new health and safety video about Covid-19.

“They thought my character would get the message about how to stay ‘Covid Smart’ across to their workers better than a standard instructional video,” said Annette.

“I’m glad that the character makes people laugh and, to an extent, it is also getting the message over to people about the importance of keeping safe just now, especially as I have blood cancer and have to be very careful myself.”

Annette believes her strong support network of friends, colleagues and neighbours has been essential in getting her through the many months of shielding from the coronavirus.

“Barrhead has a real community atmosphere, with people looking out for me during the lockdown,” she said.

“Asda Barrhead were fantastic to me when I was shielding. They treated me very well and my colleagues were very supportive. It’s a small store with a small team, so we all look out and help each other.

“Another reason I wanted to do the videos was because shielding during lockdown can be very isolating and receiving all these kind messages of support from all over the world meant a great deal to me.

“It was very hard to be on my own for that length of time.”

When she isn’t working or uploading viral videos, Annette enjoys reading, writing songs with her singing partner and taking her friend’s two dogs out for a walk.

And while she is no longer producing videos at the same rate as when she was shielding, she has no plans to retire her Facebook persona.

“I’m very happy that the videos have been so popular and people have been telling me they really reflect how they’ve been feeling during the lockdown,” said Annette.

“I had planned to stop the videos when I came back to work but I think that, if I’ve got something to say now and again, I’ll still do them, as people seem to enjoy them.

“It’s been good to be able to contribute something during lockdown, rather than just sitting on my backside doing nothing all day.”

To watch Annette’s latest video from her Barrheid balcony series, visit www.facebook.com/annette.gregory.716.