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Perrier Comedy Award
The Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Established in 1981, they are the most prestigious comedy prize in the United Kingdom. The awards have been directed and produced by Nica Burns since 1984. Format The main prize, which was for many years the only prize, and is now known as the Best Comedy Show, is awarded "for the funniest, most outstanding, up-and-coming comic / comedy show / act" at the Fringe. The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000. The Best Newcomer Award category was introduced in 1992 for Harry Hill, and is given to the best "performer or act who is performing their first full-length show (50 minutes or more)". The prize is £5,000. Newcomers are eligible for the Best Comedy Show Award, but no act is allowed to appear on both shortlists in the same year. A f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave (TV Channel)
Dave is a British free-to-air television channel owned by UKTV, a subsidiary of BBC Studios. It broadcasts mainly comedy, with some factual programming. The channel took the name Dave on 15 October 2007, but it had been on air under various identities and formats since October 1998. History UK Gold Classics and UK Gold 2 (1998–2003) UK Gold Classics, UKTV's first digital-only channel, was launched on 2 October 1998 and was only broadcast from Friday to Sunday on Sky Digital from 6.00 pm to 2.00 am. Around this time, UK Gold began to move towards newer programmes instead of older ones; the 'classics' line-up included a number of early shows, including some black-and-white programmes, which had been acquired in the early years of the UK Gold service. They also showed some recent shows from the main channel, but the main purpose of the channel was older shows from the early years of UK Gold. On weekdays, the channel was off air, showing a still caption of all the UKT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Revue
The Oxford Revue is a comedy group primarily featuring students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians, actors and satirists. The Revue writes, produces and performs several shows each term in the pubs and theatres around Oxford, as well as touring to cities in the United Kingdom and performing a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every year. History :According to a version of the Oxford Revue website circa 2003/2004, ''"the founding of the Revue in around 1952/3 is shrouded in mystery. The most accurate account of it to date is probably that of Michael Palin, former Revue Director, who describes how his brother-in-law and 'another mad gentleman' started the Oxford Theatre Group, as a source of funding for Edinburgh shows, in the early 1950s. From this, he "helped found an offshoot group, the Oxford Revue Group, to take a revue up to the Edinburgh Fringe".'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Hill
Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performance style that fused elements of surrealism, observational comedy, slapstick, satire and music. When performing, he usually wears browline glasses and a dress shirt with a distinctive oversized collar and cuffs. He won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer at the 1992 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and began his career in radio and television comedy with the radio series ''Harry Hill's Fruit Corner'' (1993–1997). He has hosted his own television comedy show ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'' (2001–2012), and has narrated ''You've Been Framed!'' since 2004. His other projects include ''The Harry Hill Movie'', released in 2013. Early life, education and medical career Hill was born as Matthew Keith Hall in Woking, Surrey, on 1 October 1964 and grew up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brendon Burns (comedian)
Brendon Burns (born 19 April 1971) is an Australian stand-up comedian and author who mostly performs in the UK. He is known for his aggressive stage performance and offensive material. Career Burns' television career began as a performer on Channel 4's late-night spontaneous comedy show ''The 11 O'Clock Show''. He has subsequently appeared as a presenter on the ITV show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'', walking off after just three shows. Furthermore, he was the conductor of masterclasses in stand-up (again on ITV). He has also appeared on ITV2's ''Comedy Cuts''. He has also performed at Montreal and South African comedy festivals. He first appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1996, hosting The Comedy Zone showcase of new acts, and performing in his debut solo show 6pm Time To Get Up For Work. He has returned to the Fringe every year since, except for 1999, and in 2007 won its top prize, the if.comedy award for his show ''So I Suppose This Is Offensive Now'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Addison
Christopher David Addison (born 5 November 1971) is a British comedian, writer, actor, and director. He is perhaps best known for his role as a regular panellist on ''Mock the Week''. He is also known for his lecture-style comedy shows, two of which he later adapted for BBC Radio 4. In addition to stand-up, Addison played Ollie Reeder in the BBC Two satire series ''The Thick of It'' and Toby Wright in its spin-off film '' In the Loop'', starred in the Sky Living comedy-drama ''Trying Again'' and appeared in three episodes of series 8 of ''Doctor Who''. He also co-created and starred in the BBC Two sitcom ''Lab Rats''. On radio, he previously hosted the weekly comedy news satire show ''7 Day Sunday'' on BBC Radio 5 Live from 2009 to 2010. In 2020, he co-created the FX parental comedy series ''Breeders'' starring Martin Freeman. Early life Addison was born in Cardiff, Wales, to English parents and moved back with his parents to Worsley, Salford, England, when he was four. On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mock The Week
''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was presented by Dara Ó Briain and featured regular appearances by comedian Hugh Dennis, as well as guest appearances by a variety of stand-up comedians, some of whom had regular appearances in several series. The format of the programme saw six comedians divided into two teams and performing on a faux game show, in which the quiz aspect of answering questions relating to major and regional news items, all taken from the week before each episode's filming, is sidelined to focus on satirical, topical discussions on news items, stand-up routines, and the use of improvisational comedy. Every series also included a compilation episode featuring notable scenes, out-takes and additional footage cut out after filming, with repeats of episodes being frequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Davies
Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only permanent panellist on the BBC panel show '' QI'' since its premiere in 2003, outlasting its original host Stephen Fry. Early life Davies was born in Loughton, Essex, and spent his childhood years in Chingford. When Davies was six his mother died from leukaemia and he was raised by his father. He was sexually abused by his father from age 8 to 13, as described in his book ''Just Ignore Him''. Davies wrote that his brother and sister were turned against him. Davies identified this as making him strongly want to please others, which led him to shoplift for schoolmates, and play the joker at home. Davies attended Staples Road School in Loughton and was privately educated at the independent Bancroft's School in Woodford Green, where he gained eig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Miller
Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two series of the BBC crime drama '' Death in Paradise'', and for portraying James Lester in the ITV science-fiction series ''Primeval''. Early life and education Miller was born in London, England and grew up in Nantwich, Cheshire. The son of an immigrant father, Ben's father Michael Miller was a lecturer in American literature at the City of Birmingham Polytechnic; and his mother Marion was from Wales. His paternal grandfather was a Lithuanian tailor who emigrated to the UK and lived in London's East End. His paternal great-grandmother, Rose Elizabeth Lincoln, taught English at South Cheshire College. He has two younger sisters, Leah and Bronwen. Miller was educated at Malbank School and Sixth Form College, his local comprehensive school in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter and singer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', as well as the morning show on Classic FM. He is one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Armstrong's television credits include ''Armstrong and Miller'', '' Beast'', '' Life Begins'', ''Hunderby'' and '' Danger Mouse''. He is also known as the voice of Mr Smith, Sarah Jane Smith's alien (Xylok) supercomputer in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and the series 4 finale of ''Doctor Who''. Armstrong is a bass-baritone and has released three studio albums. Early life Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, on 2 March 1970, the youngest of three children, to physician Henry Angus Armstrong and Emma Virginia Peronnet (née Thompson-McCausland). The Armstrongs are a North East landowning family distantly related to The 1st Baron Armstrong. Armstrong's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matt Holness
Matthew James Holness (born 1975) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He is best known for creating and playing the fictional horror author Garth Marenghi. Early life and education Born in Whitstable, Kent, Holness became a fan of Hammer horror films at a young age, to the extent that when, at the age of six, he asked Hammer star and fellow Whitstable resident Peter Cushing for his autograph, Cushing expressed concern that the child knew so much about the films. Holness attended Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury and went on to read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. As a member of the Cambridge Footlights, he appeared in a number of shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the mid-1990s. He also served as vice-president when David Mitchell was president. Other contemporaries included Robert Webb, Richard Ayoade and John Oliver. Holness received the Master of Arts from Cambridge, graduating ''in absentia'' due to his comedy work. Career In 2000, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Ayoade
Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance. From 1998 to 1999, Ayoade was the president of the Footlights club whilst a student at the University of Cambridge. He and Matthew Holness debuted their respective characters Dean Learner and Garth Marenghi at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2000, bringing the characters to television with '' Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' (2004) and ''Man to Man with Dean Learner'' (2006). He appeared in the comedy shows ''The Mighty Boosh'' (2004–2007) and ''Nathan Barley'' (2005), before becoming widely known for his role in ''The IT Crowd''. After directing music videos for Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, he wrote and directed the comedy-drama film ''Submarine'' (201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' is a British horror parody television series created by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness for Channel 4. The show focuses on fictional horror author Garth Marenghi (played by Holness) and his publisher Dean Learner (played by Ayoade), characters who originated in the stage show ''Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight''. The series is presented as a special release of the fictional television series ''Darkplace''. Within the canon of the show, ''Darkplace'' was produced in the 1980s, but failed to gain an audience anywhere but Peru, eventually becoming a lost series. Saved footage has recently resurfaced, with Marenghi republishing with the intent of gaining interest from a modern audience. The "original footage" of the show is intercut or bookended with commentary from many of the "original" cast, where characters such as Marenghi and Learner reflect on what it was like to make the show. ''Darkplace'' parodies the fashion, special effects, production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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