Dawn French has cause to celebrate as she marks huge career milestone

Dawn French has reason to celebrate as her book has become an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

The comic revealed the news on Twitter by retweeting a tweet from the publishers. It read, "We're SO pleased that@Dawn_French's life-affirming new novel#BecauseOfYouis an instant Sunday Times bestseller!"

Because Of You is Dawn's seventh book, and readers are calling it her "best yet".

Dawn, 63, may have moved to Cornwall 14 years ago to escape London, but recently she's been busier than ever juggling writing with her busy schedule.

Opening up about how she balances it all, she told the Guardian that lockdown as a result of the global pandemic proved the perfect time to get her head down.

"Well, lockdown was due to be a writing time for me, because March, April, May, June were my chance to write my second draft of this book," she revealed.

"Which is good, because at the beginning of the lockdown, like a lot of people, the next 18 months of work just fell off a cliff. I was supposed to be touring, doing a bit of theatre, and everything that was public just disappeared."

Talking about her inspiration behind the book, Dawn said, "I wanted to investigate what would happen if you really challenged the idea of: who is your parent? Somebody steals a baby at the beginning of this book.

"That shouldn’t be something you could ever, ever forgive – but I’ve tried to write a character that you might forgive for doing that. The moral dilemma is: was this daughter raised in the right family for her after all? Who makes us: those who raise you or those whose biology you carry – or a mixture of both? Or is it people who step up for you?"

Being an author has also made Dawn realise she's a "functioning introvert" - a fact she recently revealed on Jessie Ware's Table Manners podcast.

Speaking on thepodcastshe said that what she discovered as she started to write was “that it was quiet and just me on my own in my own head.” She added, “What I think I’ve discovered about myself through my writing is that I’m a kind of functioning introvert. That’s who I really am.”

Despite needing little “pools” of showing off and going out to connect with people from time to time, the comedian and writer then went on to explain that she is in fact quite “hermity” at home in Cornwall.

This is something her husband Mark Bignell and daughter Billie have come to understand as French revealed, “I’m very at home with the door shut and writing.”