Gareth Richards (18 August 1979 – 7 April 2023) was a British comedian and radio presenter.

Career

Richards was co-host of The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio. He appeared on such BBC shows as ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' was a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on ...

'' and ''

4 Stands Up ''4 Stands Up'' is a BBC radio comedy show which first aired December 2007. The programme, which was broadcast on Thursdays at 6:30 pm on BBC Radio 4, contains stand up material from three comedy acts each show, with additional material from th ...

'' as well as

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, ...

, BBC Radio 2 and

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' ...

. His debut Edinburgh Fringe show, ''Stand Up Between Songs'', was nominated for the best newcomer award at the

Edinburgh Comedy Awards 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. ...

. The songs from this show were released as an EP, titled ''These Songs Could be Used in Adverts''. From 2016 to 2017, he hosted ''Gareth Richards' Lonely Hearts Podcast'' with David Trent.

Personal life and death

Richards lived in Bournemouth with his wife and children. His brother is the cinematographer Joshua James Richards. Richards was a musician, featuring songs written using the

omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate known as "Sonic Strings", preset rhythms, auto-bass line functionality, and buttons for ...

in his stand-up routines. He also played the Qchord, guitar and harmonica. On 27 March 2023, Richards was involved in a car crash on the M25 motorway near Heathrow Airport; he suffered severe brain injuries and was placed on life support. He died on 7 April when his life support was removed. A crowdfunder to set up a trust fund for his sons raised over £18,000 in the first few days, and as of 26 June 2023 had raised over £47,000. At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, comedian friends Mark Simmons and Danny Ward staged "A Show for Gareth Richards" in his name, including Frank Skinner,

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

and

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 20 ...

. The show won the first Victoria Wood award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023 and raised almost £20,000 for Richards' family.

Awards

Hackney Empire New Act of the Year The NATYS: New Acts of The Year Showcase, previously known as The Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, is an annual industry showcase that promotes new waves of emerging Comedy and Variety acts. It ran at the Hackney Empire Theatre from 1988 unti ...

(2007, third place) * Amused Moose Laugh-Off (2007, joint runner-up) *

Newbury Comedy Festival The Newbury Comedy Festival was a festival of comedy which took place every July in the West Berkshire town of Newbury, in England. The last festival took place in 2012 although the ''You Must Be Joking'' new act competition continues on its own s ...

(2007, runner up) *

Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year The ''Leicester Mercury'' Comedian of the Year is held during the Leicester Comedy Festival every February. All the finalists picked are nominated by the UK's top comedy clubs and must meet certain criteria. The competition is sponsored by the ''Le ...

(2008, nominee) *

Edinburgh 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. ...

Best Newcomer (2010, nominee) *

Chortle Awards The Chortle Awards were set up in 2002 by the comedy website Chortle to honour the best of established stand-up comics currently working in the UK. A panel of reviewers draw up a shortlist, which is presented for public vote at the Chortle websit ...

(2010 Best Newcomer sponsored by Impressive PR, nominee) *

Victoria Wood award (2023, winner)https://www.comedyawards.co.uk/winners

References

2023 deaths English male comedians British radio presenters People from Bournemouth Road incident deaths in England 1979 births Comedians from Dorset {{UK-comedian-stub