Mark Dolan (born 17 March 1974) is an English comedian, writer, and presenter. He currently hosts ''Mark Dolan Tonight'' on

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ...

. He was the host of '' Balls of Steel'' from 2005 until 2008 on

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 ...

Early life

Dolan attended

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he received an MA in politics. Whilst an undergraduate at Edinburgh, he performed in the improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Dolan started as a stand-up comedian in 2000, reaching the final of Channel 4's ''

So You Think You're Funny So You Think You're Funny? (SYTYF) is an annual stand-up comedy competition for new acts. The competition began in 1988 in the United Kingdom. The finals are held every August at The Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past wi ...

'' competition in his first year of performing.. He has toured the world as a live comic and has performed 11 runs at the Edinburgh Fringe. He won an award at the 2018 Leicester Mercury Comedy Festival for best joke of the festival and later performed online during 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 ...

Radio

Dolan's career in media began as a radio producer, working for the female-only Viva Radio, 963 Liberty and the original incarnation of

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 then talkSPORT. He was the producer of the Nick Ferrari and David Banks-fronted Big Boys' Breakfast, to which he also contributed comedy sketches. In 2017 Dolan returned to radio, presenting a breakfast show on

Fubar Radio FUBAR Radio is an internet radio station based in the United Kingdom. History FUBAR received £125,000 from the Early Advantage Fund, managed by Midven on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the European Regio ...

, an online radio station based in London. In 2019, Dolan joined

, where he presented ''Drivetime'' from 4pm to 7 Monday to Friday, Saturday nights 10pm to 1am and Sundays 8pm to 10pm. He left the station in July 2021. In September 2020, at a time in the

when the wearing of face coverings was compulsory in shops and on public transport in the United Kingdom, Dolan cut up a

face mask The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human Personal identity, identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental d ...

during a

broadcast, calling the masks "wretched, godawful, damned, blinking, uncomfortable, scientifically empty, and useless". Dolan's fellow talkRADIO host

Jamie East Jamie Alexander East (born 27 March 1974) is an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and singer-songwriter. Career He was the lead singer of the band The Beekeepers, who signed to Beggars Banquet in the late 1990s. They reforme ...

quit the station when Dolan went unpunished by station bosses. Presenter

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

and doctor

Hilary Jones Hilary Jones may refer to: *Hilary Jones (doctor) (born 1953), British general practitioner and media doctor *Hilary P. Jones (1863–1938), United States Navy officer *Hilary Bevan Jones Hilary Bevan Jones is a British television producer. In ...

criticised his actions on '' Good Morning Britain'' as behaviour that could "cost lives". The next month Dolan clarified that he followed all government rules on mask wearing, but considered the science around them to be "flaky".

Television

Dolan first came to the public's attention in 2002 after writing and performing in a ''

Comedy Lab ''Comedy Lab'' is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998. Several pilots first shown on ''Comedy Lab'' have gone on to spawn full serie ...

'' entitled 'The Richard Taylor Interviews'. Dolan was the host of

show '' Balls of Steel'', which he presented from 2005 to 2008 and for which he won Best Presenter at the NRTA Awards. He was also the presenter of the TV documentary series ''The World's ...And Me'', in which he met some of "the world's most extraordinary people", including the tallest woman in the world, the smallest man and the richest teenager. The show ran to three series and twelve one-hour films and led to the release of the book ''The World's Most Extraordinary People and Me'', published by Harper Collins. In 2006, Dolan helped launch

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

as the host of ''The Last Word'', a nightly topical discussion show. He has also fronted shows for E4, including its launch comedy series, ''Show Me The Funny'', and provides his voice as presenter of a new series for

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

called ''Urban Legends''. For five years, Dolan was the presenter of

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

' weekly movie-news show ''35mm'' and Channel 4's '' The Mad Bad Ad Show''. In February 2013, Dolan took part in the fifth series of ''

Let's Dance for Comic Relief ''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...

'' as a member of "Destiny's Dad" alongside fellow stand-up comedians

Hal Cruttenden Hal Dominic Bart Cruttenden (born 9 September 1969) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. Early life Hal Dominic Bart Cruttenden was born in the Ealing district of London on 9 September 1969. He is the younger brother ...

and

Shaun Keaveny Shaun William Keaveny (born 14 June 1972) is a British broadcaster who presented the Breakfast Show on radio station BBC Radio 6 Music for 11 years, and the afternoon show for a further 3 years. Education and early life Keaveny grew up on the ...

. In 2015, Dolan co-hosted ''

If Katie Hopkins Ruled the World ''If Katie Hopkins Ruled the World'' was a British television panel show produced by Mentorn Media for TLC, presented by former ''Apprentice'' candidate and former newspaper columnist Katie Hopkins Katie Olivia Hopkins (born 13 February ...

'' with British reality TV personality

Katie Hopkins Katie Olivia Hopkins (born 13 February 1975) is an English media personality, columnist, far-right political commentator, and former businesswoman. She was a contestant on the third series of ''The Apprentice'' in 2007; following further app ...

. In 2016, he won the '' Celebrity Come Dine with Me'' Christmas Special, with a Dickensian themed meal of pea soup, three bird roast and plum duff as dessert. He also appeared in the fourth and final series of the Channel 4 wintersports entertainment show '' The Jump'', alongside

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League. As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history ...

, and Jason Robinson. Dolan joined

on 23 July 2021.

References

External links

* *
Chortle Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Mark English male comedians English stand-up comedians Living people People from Camden Town 1974 births GB News newsreaders and journalists