Helen Atkinson-Wood (born 14 March 1955) is an English actress and comedian born in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, Cheshire, and was a childhood friend of singer-songwriter Ian Curtis. Atkinson-Wood studied fine art at Oxford University, where she performed with Rowan Atkinson, also at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she met Ben Elton. Atkinson-Wood was a regular presenter of Central Television's controversial O.T.T., but is probably best known for her role as Mrs. Miggins in Blackadder (by then co-written by Elton) and had a cameo in the 1984 Young Ones episode "Nasty". During the same period, she was the only woman on comedy programme Radio Active, where she played Anna Daptor and other roles, and also participated in the televisual equivalent of Radio Active, KYTV. She also appeared in the final episode of Joking Apart as a morning television presenter. In 2007, she guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio play I.D.. She has been a regular presenter for the Channel 4 series Collector's Lot. She has also made guest appearances on programmes such as Call My Bluff. She holds the record for the highest score in a single episode of QI, with 200 points, gained from one question on the chemistry of exploding custard. She is married to writer John Morton.
