Adam Kay (writer)
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Adam Richard Kay (born 12 June 1980) is a British comedy writer, author, comedian and former doctor. His television writing credits include ''
Crims ''Crims'' is a British television sitcom created by Dan Swimer and Adam Kay. It centres on two men sent to a young offenders' institution after one of them involves the unaware other in a bank robbery. It was screened in early 2015 on BBC Thr ...
'', ''
Mrs. Brown's Boys ''Mrs. Brown's Boys'' is an Irish television sitcom created by and starring Brendan O'Carroll and produced in the United Kingdom by BBC Scotland in partnership with BOC-PIX and Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The series stars O'Carroll as Agnes ...
'' and ''
Mitchell and Webb Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, composed of David Mitchell and Robert Webb. They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show'' and their radio and TV sketch shows '' That Mitchell and Webb Sound'' and '' ...
''. He is best known as author of the number-one bestselling book '' This Is Going to Hurt''.


Early life

Kay was born to Stewart and Naomi Kay and grew up in a Jewish household with a sister, Sophie, and brother, Philip Kaye. His father being a doctor, he describes becoming a doctor as being a default decision.''This Is Going to Hurt'', . The Kay family was from Poland, the original family name being Strykowski. Kay attended
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
, leaving in 1997, and
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
, where he read medicine and graduated in 2004. During his time at medical school, Kay began performing in medical school shows in 1998. While at medical school, he founded the musical comedy group
Amateur Transplants Amateur Transplants was a parody music band fronted by London-based, British comedian Adam Kay and Suman Biswas (born 1978). Amateur Transplants came to prominence in 2005 with a song about the London Underground, parodying the Jam song "Going ...
and wrote for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
.Curtis Brown Talent Agency
"Adam Kay"
As of April 2017.


Career


Medicine

Similar to his brother Philip, Kay worked as a doctor between 2004 and 2010, leaving the profession after a patient suffered an undiagnosed
placental abruption Placental abruption is when the placenta separates early from the uterus, in other words separates before childbirth. It occurs most commonly around 25 weeks of pregnancy. Symptoms may include vaginal bleeding, lower abdominal pain, and dangerou ...
; the expectant mother was subsequently taken to the
intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...
, while the baby was delivered stillborn. The mother also died. Kay worked for a number of years as an obstetrics and gynaecology trainee, writing textbooks on the subject, before leaving medicine for a career in writing. Kay worked alongside his brother Philip at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham for a brief 6 months, however, left seeking a different challenge.


Music

Kay founded the
Amateur Transplants Amateur Transplants was a parody music band fronted by London-based, British comedian Adam Kay and Suman Biswas (born 1978). Amateur Transplants came to prominence in 2005 with a song about the London Underground, parodying the Jam song "Going ...
. Their song "London Underground", which was set to the tune of "
Going Underground "Going Underground" is a single by The Jam, released in March 1980. It debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top. "Going Underground" was the first of four number one singles the band were to achieve throug ...
" by
The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...
, gained significant popularity on the internet in the UK in 2005.


Writing

Kay's first book, '' This Is Going to Hurt'', based on diaries from his former career as a doctor, was published by
Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...
in September 2017 and became an instant ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' bestseller. The paperback edition was also an instant ''Sunday Times'' number one bestseller, a position it held for well over a year and selling over one million copies. It was the book of the year in the UK's 2018
National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...
s. The book was well received by critics, including in the literary pages of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'', ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'', and ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
''. In addition to book of the year, it also won at the National Book Awards in the categories of Non-Fiction Book of the Year, New Writer of the Year and Book Club Book of the Year. It was also awarded
Blackwell's Blackwell UK, also known as Blackwell's and Blackwell Group, is a British academic book retailer and library supply service owned by Waterstones. It was founded in 1879 by Benjamin Henry Blackwell, after whom the chain is named, on Broad Street, ...
Debut Book of the Year 2017, ''Sunday Times'' Humour Book of the Year, and won both non-fiction book of the year and the overall prize in the 2017
Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards The Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards are annual literary awards presented by the Booksellers Association in the UK and Ireland since 2016. They are sponsored by National Book Tokens. History and administration The awards were launched at the 2016 ...
. It was nominated for Non-Fiction book of the year in the 2018
British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by '' The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Nationa ...
, won ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'' Book of the Year and was a selection of the
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...
Book Club. It has been translated into 28 languages, achieving number-one status internationally. It was the UK's second-best selling book of 2018. On 6 July 2018, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
announced that Kay would be adapting ''This Is Going to Hurt'' as a seven-part comedy-drama for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. It was made by Sister Pictures and Kay is one of the co-executive producers. Part one of the series, also titled '' This Is Going to Hurt'', was broadcast on 8 February 2022. Kay's second book, ''Twas the Nightshift before Christmas'', was released in October 2019. Kay is now an established screenwriter, having written and co-created the 2015
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
sitcom series ''
Crims ''Crims'' is a British television sitcom created by Dan Swimer and Adam Kay. It centres on two men sent to a young offenders' institution after one of them involves the unaware other in a bank robbery. It was screened in early 2015 on BBC Thr ...
'' - along with ''
Grandma's House ''Grandma's House'' is a sitcom television series broadcast on BBC Two. Written by Simon Amstell and long-term collaborator Dan Swimer, the series stars Simon Amstell playing a version of himself: an ex-television presenter searching for meaning ...
'' writer Dan Swimer, with other television work as a writer and
script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...
including ''
Mrs. Brown's Boys ''Mrs. Brown's Boys'' is an Irish television sitcom created by and starring Brendan O'Carroll and produced in the United Kingdom by BBC Scotland in partnership with BOC-PIX and Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The series stars O'Carroll as Agnes ...
'', ''
Mongrels A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed and including those that are the result of intentional breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, many mongr ...
'', '' Watson & Oliver'', ''
Up the Women ''Up the Women'' is a BBC television sitcom created, written by and starring Jessica Hynes. It was first broadcast on BBC Four on 30 May 2013. The sitcom is about a group of women in 1910 who form a Women's Suffrage movement. Hynes originally p ...
'', '' Very British Problems'', '' Flat TV'', ''Our Ex Wife'', '' Who is America?'', ''
Mitchell and Webb Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, composed of David Mitchell and Robert Webb. They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show'' and their radio and TV sketch shows '' That Mitchell and Webb Sound'' and '' ...
'' and '' Child Genius''. In April 2020, it was announced that Trapeze would publish a collection of personal stories about the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
(NHS) edited by Kay. Entitled ''Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You'', the book will include letters from stars including
Sir Paul McCartney ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
,
Louis Theroux Louis Sebastian Theroux (; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received two British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. After graduating fro ...
, Caitlin Moran and
Jameela Jamil Jameela Alia Jamil (born 25 February 1986) is a British actress and presenter. She began her career on Channel 4, where she hosted a pop culture series in the T4 strand from 2009 until 2012. She then became the radio host of ''The Official Cha ...
. Kay's third book ''Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients'' was published in 2022.


Performing

Kay has sold out for six years at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
and has also had sell-out nationwide UK tours. His 2018 tour of ''This Is Going to Hurt'' sold out a season at the EICC, the largest venue of the Edinburgh Fringe and a week at the
Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...
, before culminating in two shows at the
Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...
. He performs regularly at music festivals including
Latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
, and cultural events such as
Cheltenham Literature Festival ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature held every year in October in the English spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for t ...
. Kay won Best Musical Variety Act at the 2014 London Cabaret Awards and has been named by the ''
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...
'' as one of London's most influential people. He has performed songs on the topical
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
series ''
The Now Show ''The Now Show'' is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The show used to feature regular appearances b ...
'' and has appeared on numerous TV shows, such as ''
The Russell Howard Hour ''The Russell Howard Hour'' is a British topical comedy news show, which airs on Sky Max (formerly Sky One) and is hosted by Russell Howard where he gives his thoughts and opinions on current topics as well as featuring special guests and other ...
'' on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
, ''
BBC Breakfast ''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
'', ''
Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
'', '' Peston on Sunday'' and ''
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of ''Countdown'', but presented in a comedic panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...
''.


Personal life

Kay is gay, and was voted in ''
Pink News ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005. It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights aro ...
'' top 50 most influential LGBT Twitter users. Kay lives in Oxfordshire, with his husband, ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' executive James Farrell, and their Airedale terrier, Pip."Walking the Dog with Emily Dean: Adam Kay - Returns!"
14 September 2021. In his book ''Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients'' Kay revealed that he was raped at a
sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
in 2012.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Adam 1980 births Living people People educated at Dulwich College British comedy writers British comedians English Jewish writers English people of Polish descent Gay comedians English gay writers LGBT Jews 21st-century LGBT people People from Brighton