Guy Malachi Jones Williams (born 19 September 1987) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

comedian and television personality. Williams was a co-host on satirical news and entertainment television programme ''

Jono and Ben ''Jono and Ben'', previously titled ''Jono and Ben at Ten'', was a satirical news and entertainment show hosted by Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce in New Zealand. The show aired on Three on Thursday nights at 7:30pm, and was filmed the night before ...

'', until the show's end in 2018. In 2019, he began hosting '' New Zealand Today,'' a show detailing the lives and events of New Zealand towns and the people who live in them.

Early life

Williams was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

to Gary and Roseanne Williams, and moved to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

when he was twelve months old. He attended primary school at St Joseph's School, and was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 2001 to 2005; in 2005 he travelled to Gallipoli with Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

after winning a student essay competition. He was a member of the school's 'A' basketball team from 2003 to 2005.''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition He attended

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in political science in 2011. While at Victoria University he held the positions of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association Activities Officer in 2009, and ran for president in 2010, but withdrew his application for the latter.

Career

Williams began performing stand-up comedy in Wellington in 2007. In 2009 he performed as Dai Henwood's opening act after winning Dai's Protégé Project. He is a regular performer in the New Zealand Comedy Festival in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. In 2010, he started co-hosting on The Jono Project, where he appeared on TVNZ's breakfast show in a prank in which he claimed to be a promoter of commercial whaling in New Zealand as a way to save whales. When the show was merged with WANNA-BEn in 2012 to form '' Jono and Ben at Ten'', Williams followed. He was promoted to co-host in 2013. In 2012 Williams won the

Billy T Award The Billy T Award is a New Zealand comedy award recognizing up-and-coming New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award. The Billy T ...

for his debut solo show "On the verge of nothing". On 15 January 2014, it was announced in a press release that Williams would join

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

in a new radio show, ''

The Edge Afternoons with Guy, Sharyn & Clint Guy, Sharyn & Clint was a MediaWorks New Zealand brand, composed of personalities Guy Williams, Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts. The trio hosted The Edge drive show ''The Edge Afternoons with Guy, Sharyn & Clint'', Saturday show ''The Edge Fat 40 ...

'' with Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts. In comedic fashion, he is quoted in the press release as saying: "It has been my dream to work on The Edge radio station ever since last week when they told me I would be working on The Edge radio station. I’m super excited to make my dream a reality." In March 2014, Williams was selected by ''TV Guide'' magazine as

's Sexiest Male Television Personality, beating ''Shortland Street''s Benjamin Mitchell, who had won the award for several years beforehand. He also co-hosted '' The Xtra Factor'', a follow-up programme of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' with Casey and Roberts from March–May 2015. In June 2015, he began narrating ''

Come Dine with Me New Zealand ''Come Dine with Me New Zealand'' was a New Zealand television reality programme based on the UK's '' Come Dine with Me''. Narrated by comedian Guy Williams, it premiered on TV3 on 15 June 2015, with the final episode airing on 7 August 2015. Orig ...

''. In September 2015, he released a charity single entitled "The Pigeon Song", featuring Christchurch rapper Scribe. It peaked at the number two position in the New Zealand singles chart. He left The Edge in December 2016. At the time, he cited this as being for advancements in his career. In 2017, he recorded and released his first half hour stand-up special "In an election year" live at Q Theatre in Auckland. In 2019, he began hosting the satirical news show '' New Zealand Today'', which began as a popular segment on Jono & Ben. The fourth season of the show is currently in development. In 2020, Williams competed on the first season of '' Taskmaster NZ'', the New Zealand version of the British television show. His brother,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, served as the Taskmaster's assistant.

Personal life

Williams was in a relationship with Green Party MP

Golriz Ghahraman Golriz Ghahraman ( fa, گلریز قهرمان; born 1981) is an Iranian-born New Zealand politician, member of Parliament, and author. The former United Nations lawyer was a child asylum seeker, and became the first refugee elected to New Zea ...

, which ended in late 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Guy 1987 births Living people New Zealand television personalities New Zealand comedians New Zealand male comedians People educated at Nelson College People from Nelson, New Zealand Victoria University of Wellington alumni The Edge (radio station)