HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Duncan James Wisbey (born 16 December 1971) is an English
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, musician,
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
and
impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. He is often credited as simply Wisbey.


Recordings and appearances

From 2001, Wisbey collaborated with
Jonny Trunk Jonny Trunk, born Jonathan Benton-Hughes, is an English writer, broadcaster and DJ as well as the owner and founder of Trunk Records. Career Trunk Records Jonny Trunk founded Trunk Records in 1995, a cult British label that specialises in film ...
, founder of
Trunk Records Trunk Records is a British independent record label, which specialises mainly in lost film scores, unreleased TV music, library music, old advertising jingles, art, sexploitation and kitsch releases. It was founded in 1995 by Jonny Trunk, and ...
, to produce the album ''Dirty Fan Male'', based on Trunk's experiences organising glamour models' fan clubs. The album comprises Wisbey's amusing recitals of the fan mail they received, and it was later turned into an acclaimed live show and a book. The inclusion of Wisbey's song "
The Ladies' Bras "The Ladies' Bras" is a song by Jonny Trunk and Wisbey which reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart in September 2007. At 36 seconds, it is the shortest song ever to enter the chart, taking the record just a few weeks after the song " Spider Pi ...
" on the 2007 compilation album ''Now We Are Ten'' and its appearances on ''The
All Day Breakfast Show Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class f ...
'' proved so successful that it was released as a single and became the shortest single ever to enter the UK Singles Chart, following a campaign on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
by
Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...
. At 36 seconds long, it became the shortest song ever to make the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 27 in September 2007. Wisbey has also appeared as an actor in several ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' audio adventures, made by
Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
, and voiced Perky in ''
The Pinky and Perky Show ''The Pinky and Perky Show'' is a 2008 revival of Pinky and Perky. It stars the two anthropomorphic pigs. It is in full CGI and produced by method Films, Picture Production Company, Telegael and in association with Pinky and Perky Enterprises. ...
''.


Radio and television

In television, Wisbey performed in and contributed to the writing of ''
Alistair McGowan's Big Impression ''The Big Impression'', known as ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression'' for the first three series, is a British comedy sketch show. It features Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona impersonating personalities from entertainment and sport. Four series ...
''. He is also the voice of the character Migo in ''
The Roly Mo Show ''The Roly Mo Show'' is a British children's television series featuring a cast of puppets; it is a spin-off of ''Fimbles'', similarly to how the series parodied Sesame Street, Rainbow and Ni Ni's Treehouse and was created by Novel Entertainme ...
''. In 2005 he appeared as himself in the documentary ''Dirty Fan Male'' about his live comedy show of the same name. Other parts have included appearances in the series ''
Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...
'' and ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...
''. In radio, Wisbey has appeared in the BBC productions ''Trapped'', '' Undone'', ''
The Secret World ''The Secret World'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game set in a modern-day real world under attack from occult forces. Ragnar Tørnquist led development of the initial game for Funcom. ''The Secret World'' uses a subsc ...
'' and ''
Go 4 It ''Go4It'' was a British children's magazine programme broadcast on Sunday evenings at 7.15pm on BBC Radio 4, and one of the few speech-based shows on British national radio aimed at younger listeners. It was broadcast between 2001 and 2009. His ...
. Wisbey also appeared in the fifth installment of the popular series '' Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines'', as a character named "Mose". Wisbey also writes for and performs in Dead Ringers (especially the musical items). Wisbey has also appeared as Doctor Brain in the
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
series ''
Ultimate Brain ''Ultimate Brain'' is a British game show on CBBC (TV channel), CBBC about science. It is hosted by Duncan Wisbey as Dr. Brain, a monkey scientist and stars Imran Yusuf as Guinea Pig (also known as GP). Series 1 began on 26 June 2014, series 2 b ...
'', and voiced several characters in the Cbeebies TV show ''
Tree Fu Tom Tree Fu Tom is a British live-action/ CGI television series which has been shown on BBC and CBeebies in the UK and Universal Kids and NBC in the USA. It is set in a miniature magical countryside and village area (Treetopolis) on the top of a pa ...
''. He was the voice over on the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
programme, ''
Four in a Bed ''Four in a Bed'' (also known as ''Three in a Bed'' from 2010–11 and 2015–16) is a British reality television game show that has been airing on Channel 4 since 21 April 2010. The show involves B&B owners, who take turns to stay with one a ...
''. In 2022, he appeared as
recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...
Martin in
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), ...
's six-part
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
sitcom ''
Hard Cell ''Hard Cell'' is a British mockumentary sitcom streaming television series developed by Catherine Tate, who also plays six of the main characters. The series premiered on 12 April 2022 on Netflix, and consists of six episodes. The series was ca ...
'', released on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.


Writing

From 2002, Wisbey contributed to the writing of stage versions of the
Dick Barton ''Dick Barton – Special Agent'' is a radio thriller serial that was broadcast in the BBC Light Programme between 7 October 1946 and 30 March 1951. Produced and directed by Raymond Raikes, Neil Tuson, and Charles Lefaux, it was aired in 15-mi ...
adventure serial, which he also performed in. He is the author of the book ''Young Dick Barton - The Making of a Legend''.


Musical work

In the theatre, Wisbey has worked closely as a musical director, arranger, and sometimes composer alongside the award-winning director, Rufus Norris, on three productions for the Young Vic Theatre Company. The first, ''Sleeping Beauty'', ran at the
Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
itself in 2002, then transferred to the Barbican and then to the New Victory on Broadway. ''Hergé's Adventures of Tintin'' which premiered at the Barbican two years later, followed by a tour run in 2007. The other production was the World Premier of Tanya Ronder's acclaimed adaptation of the book ''
Vernon God Little ''Vernon God Little'' (2003) is a novel by DBC Pierre. It was his debut novel and won the Man Booker Prize in 2003. It has twice been adapted as a stage play. Plot synopsis The life of Vernon Little, a normal teenager who lives in Martirio, T ...
''. On 13 September 2019, Wisbey opened
Tony Hawks Antony Gordon Hawksworth, MBE (born February 27, 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author. Early life Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton ...
new musical comedy '' Midlife Cowboy'' at the
Pleasance Theatre The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Stude ...
in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, playing the role of Graham, alongside
Debra Stephenson Debra Stephenson (born 4 June 1972) is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer, best known for her roles as Diane Powell in ''Playing the Field'', Shell Dockley in '' Bad Girls'' and as Frankie Baldwin in ''Coronation Street''. ...
.


References


External links

*
Wisbey's CV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisbey, Duncan 1971 births Male actors from Sheffield Living people English male television actors English male voice actors Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Musicians from Sheffield