Lee Peart (born 16 July 1990) is an English comedian, actor, and presenter.

Early life and education

Peart grew up in

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...

and attended The Humberston School in

Humberston Humberston is a village and civil parish south of Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire, England. Boundary and population The village's boundary with Cleethorpes runs along North Sea Lane and Humberston Road. Its population in the 2001 censu ...

. He studied performing arts at the University of Salford, where he graduated with 1st Class Honours.

Career

Comedy

In 2010, Peart became a regular on the UK comedy circuit while studying for his degree. In 2012 he took part in the

BBC New Comedy Award The BBC New Comedy Award first took place in 1995, and it is considered to be one of the top UK comedy newcomer awards. It was axed in 2006, being replaced by a nationwide talent hunt that places its emphasis on sketch writing and filmed perform ...

and Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Award. Peart replaced comic Helen Keeler for a gig in 2015 after she was dropped for "being a woman". Taking a stand against sexism in comedy, Peart and fellow comics refused to perform unless Keeler was reinstated. In 2017, Peart became the

warm-up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's daily magazine panel-show

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

. In October 2021 he spoke out regarding the stereotypes he has received as an openly gay stand-up comic, stating audiences "expect a certain style of comedy based purely on his sexuality". He also notes that as a gay comic he felt he always has to address his

sexual identity Sexual identity is how one thinks of oneself in terms of to whom one is romantically and/or sexually attracted.
''Sex ...

, stating "If we don't, we'll never have the audience on our side, they'll always be on edge." In 2022 Peart supported

Jason Manford Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the BBC an ...

on his UK stand-up tour. On 3 July 2022 it was announced that

will bring back their studio audience for the first time since the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and Peart would be returning as their resident warm-up. In 2023 Peart supported

Judi Love Judy Veronica Thomas (born 4 June 1980), known professionally as Judi Love, is an English stand-up comedian and presenter. She began her stand-up career in 2011 but came to prominence as a panellist on the ITV talk show ''Loose Women''. As well a ...

on her UK tour.

Acting

Peart toured the UK in 2016 with ''Three Days and Three Minutes with Larry'', a show about the life of British comedian

Larry Grayson Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

Radio

Peart regularly contributes on

talkRADIO TalkRadio (previously styled as talkRADIO) is a talk radio station broadcasting nationally in the United Kingdom, which was relaunched on 21 March 2016. Based in London and owned by Wireless Group, a subsidiary of News Corp., it is the sist ...

, and was previously a presenter on

Gaydio Gaydio is a radio station for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) people in the United Kingdom, broadcast on 88.4 FM in Greater Manchester, on DAB digital radio in Greater London, parts of the Home Counties, Manchester, Brighton, ...

Personal life

Peart is openly gay and a vocal supporter of LGBT equality. He has connections working with

George House Trust George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

and

Manchester Pride Manchester Pride is a leading charity that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focus ...

. In 2012, during Manchester Pride, he hosted a candlelit vigil in honor of those who have died of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. He described the vigil as "one of the most amazing experiences of my career to date". In 2022, Peart appeared on Good Morning Britain discussing the importance of

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peart, Lee 1990 births Living people English gay actors Gay comedians English male comedians English LGBT rights activists English LGBT comedians Actors from Cleethorpes 21st-century English comedians Comedians from Lincolnshire Male actors from Lincolnshire