Sabrina star says she 'grew up listening to Billy Connolly'

The actress and stand-up comedian, who played Aunt Hilda on 90s TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, will perform her stand-up show I Identify as a Witch at Eastwood Park Theatre in Giffnock later this month as part of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF).

Born in Canada, Caroline spent her summers growing up visiting Scotland, calling it her "part-time childhood home" and says she was a fan of the Big Yin.

"When I got to meet him, I was completely starstruck and he couldn’t have been nicer," she reveals.

"He was totally lovely."

As a child, Caroline spent a lot of time on Islay where her grandparents had emigrated to Canada, as well as Skye and Jura.

"It’s funny as a Canadian we would go to these freezing cold places for summer,” she laughs.  

"My mother and I would drive around Scotland in the summertime.

"I’ve spent so many happy times there.

"When I land there, I immediately feel like I’m home."

While having a stand-up career spanning 35 years, Caroline is most recognised by many as Hilda Spellman from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

She says she named her stand-up show I Identify as a Witch because "every day of my life someone calls me Aunt Hilda".

Starring in the sitcom from its premiere in 1996, Caroline says she first realised how big the show was while on a trip to Edinburgh.

She explained: "The show had been on for a couple of years, and we had no idea how popular it was because we were always working and making it.

"But I remember being in Edinburgh and I was buying sneakers and this guy said ‘where’s the wee cat?’ and I was like ‘ooh, you watch the show’."

L-R: Beth Broderick, Melissa Joan Hart, Caroline Rhea (Image: Supplied)

While Caroline describes herself as a "comedian first and foremost", she says getting to be on a show like Sabrina was like "winning the lottery".

"It was sort of like getting to be an ambassador when you were on that show," she says.

"I would go to children’s hospitals, and they were so happy.

"It’s probably within the top 10 greatest gifts of my life getting to be on that show.

"It made kids happy; I don’t know what more you could possibly ask for."

She continued: "During Covid, they started playing it again so there’s four generations who have seen that show which is kind of bizarre.

"It’s like winning the lottery when you get to be on a show that’s still on and people love."

I Identify as a Witch will cover Caroline’s life in the spotlight making it an unmissable show for fans of Sabrina the Teenage Witch which she starred in for seven years, as well as Disney’s Phineas and Ferb where she is the voice of Linda Flynn-Fletcher.

"My show is very interactive," Caroline says, "I always think of it like I’m serving dinner and you’re my guest.

"I talk about the show [Sabrina] and the experience of being on it, and then all the mystical, magical things that have happened in my life.

"I would say that’s the theme of it but mostly it’s really stand-up.

"And my hilarious meeting with Taylor Swift, that’s a big chunk of it."

The tour was a major hit in the USA before touring globally with stops in Australia and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but Caroline says she’s looking forward to bringing it in front of a Glasgow crowd. 

Coming to Scotland in the 1970s, she says Glasgow was described as "terrifying place" but when she finally visited for the first time she thought "it’s so beautiful here".

"You’re sort of cheeky, but hilarious though," she admits.

"[As a comedian] You have to bring your best A-game because that’s a very smart crowd."

Caroline Rhea’s I Identify as a Witch will be at Giffnock’s Eastwood Park Theatre on Saturday, March 16, Greenock’s Beacon Arts Centre on Sunday, March 17 and the Oran Mor on Friday, March 22.