Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist.

Early life

Watson was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a 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 ...

. He attended

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

, where he won a "Gabbler of the Year" award. He went on to study English at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

. At university he was a member of the

Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

and contemporary of Stefan Golaszewski,

Tim Key Timothy David Key (born September 1976) is an English poet, comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality. He is best known for playing Alan Partridge's sidekick Simon in '' Mid Morning Matters'', '' Alpha Papa'', and '' This Time'', as ...

and Dan Stevens. He was part of the revue which was nominated for the Best Newcomer category in the

Perrier 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. ...

s at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and also co-directed a revue with Key.

Career

Comedy

Mark Watson Eleven Book Launch (cropped)

Although not brought up in Wales, Watson used to deliver his act with a common Welsh accent which is not quite his own. He adopted it when he started stand-up comedy saying that it made him "more comfortable to be talking in a voice that I didn't quite recognise as my own". He has since reverted to his own accent. Watson has appeared regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning the first ever Panel Prize at the if.comeddies in 2006 and being nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2005 Perrier Comedy Awards. His other awards include the '' Time Out'' Critics' Choice Award 2006 and a Barry Award nomination for best show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival 2006. Watson has performed several unusual shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne Festivals, including marathon shows lasting 24 hours or more. The first of these was performed at the 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which lasted 24 hours. At the end of the show he proposed to his girlfriend Emily Howes, who accepted. These shows have featured guest appearances from other performers such as

, Tim Minchin,

Adam Hills Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show ''Adam Hi ...

Daniel Kitson Daniel John Kitson (born 2 July 1977) is an English comedian and writer. Early life Daniel John Kitson was born in Denby Dale on 2 July 1977, the son of a primary school headteacher mother and a lecturer father. He was a pupil at Scissett Midd ...

David O'Doherty David Nicholas O'Doherty (; born 18 December 1975) is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards including the if.comedy award in 2008 ...

, Brendon Burns and

John Dorney John Dorney is a British writer and actor best known for stage roles at theatres including the National Theatre, the BBC Radio 4 sitcom ''My First Planet''; and his scripts for the Big Finish ''Doctor Who'' range. His script ''Solitaire'' was ...

as the balladeer. At the

2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 59th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Events 2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which ...

Watson hosted a literary workshop-cum-interactive comedy show entitled ''Mark Watson, And His Audience, Write A Novel''. The aim was to write, by the end of August, a novel begun from scratch and woven entirely from audience suggestions, with another 2,000 words or so added each day. The novel was not finished within the month. At the 2007 Fringe, Watson hosted a panel show ''We Need Answers'' with

Alex Horne Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is a British comedian and musician. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series '' Taskmaster'', in which he also performs as the Taskmaster's assistant. He is the host and ban ...

and

. This saw 16 comedians take part in a knock out quiz where all the questions and answers came from text service Any Question Answered.

Paul Sinha Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show '' The Chase''. Early life Supriya ...

won the competition, beating Josie Long in the final. ''We Need Answers'' returned in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

with fewer rounds, Josie Long emerged as winner, beating Sinha in the semi-final and

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...

in the final. Watson performed his final 24-hour Fringe show at the 2009 festival along with his "Earth Summit" and his "Edit". The Earth Summit was Watson's version of the

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

talk about world pollution and global warming and the Edit was a compilation of Watson's fringe shows to date, made particularly for those who had not seen him perform there. Watson's debut DVD, ''The Mark Watson Edit'', was initially due for release on 15 November 2010. However, Watson was forced to shelve the project and a new DVD recording was released on 28 November 2011, entitled ''Mark Watson Live''. In 2019, Watson staged a 26.2-hour live show to coincide with the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

, and 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 identi ...

in 2020 he hosted two 24-hour "Watsonathon" events on the

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

streaming platform.

Live shows

Television

A three-episode run of '' We Need Answers'' began on BBC Four on 12 February 2009, based on the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

show of the same name. As with the live show, Watson co-hosted with Tim Key and Alex Horne. A further 13 episodes were broadcast later in 2009. Guests for the series included

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is a British children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Early life Michael Wayne Ro ...

and

Jilly Goolden Jill Priscilla Goolden (born 28 September 1949) is an English wine critic, journalist and television personality. Career For 18 years Goolden co-presented the popular BBC2 ''Food and Drink'' television series in Britain, with Chris Kelly, Mic ...

. In 2010

ITV4 ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports, cult classic ...

commissioned ''Mark Watson Kicks Off'', a sports panel show, hosted by Watson, where each week with three celebrities taking part in numerous rounds including "Beat the Best" where Watson takes on a sporting champion but with a twist and "I'm not a successful sports star but I'm related to someone who is" where the three celebrities ask questions to a guest who is related to a sports star. In 2011, Watson hosted a pilot for an improvisational comedy show called ''Improvisation My Dear Mark Watson''. The one-off episode was commissioned and broadcast by Dave, who chose not to create a full series. The pilot aired on 9 July. In 2012, Watson starred with

Micky Flanagan Michael John Flanagan (born 7 October 1962) is an English comedian. Flanagan has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured Britain with stand-up shows. He presented ''Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?'' for Radio 4 and has appeared on vario ...

and host

Mark Dolan Mark Dolan (born 17 March 1974) is an English comedian, writer, and presenter. He currently hosts ''Mark Dolan Tonight'' on GB News. He was the host of '' Balls of Steel'' from 2005 until 2008 on Channel 4. Early life Dolan attended Universit ...

as a captain in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

panel programme '' The Mad Bad Ad Show''.

Guest appearances

Watson has made occasional appearances on BBC Two's comedy panel show ''

Mock The Week ''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was present ...

''; he has also been a panellist on BBC music quiz show ''

Never Mind The Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...

'' four times—once as guest captain and once as presenter—in addition to appearing on the topical panel show '' Have I Got News for You''. He has appeared on the panel shows '' Would I Lie to You?'', '' QI'', ''

Argumental ''Argumental'' (working title ''Whose Side Are You On?'') is a British improvised comedy panel game hosted originally by John Sergeant and later Sean Lock, alongside two teams captained by Marcus Brigstocke and Rufus Hound, followed by Robert W ...

'' and ''

Richard Osman's House of Games ''Richard Osman's House of Games'' is a British quiz show produced by Banijay (owners of Endemol Shine UK), a branch of Remarkable Television for the BBC. The show is hosted by Richard Osman. It is played on a weekly basis, with four "celebri ...

''. Watson appeared as a talking head in

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

's spoof documentary series ''

Time Trumpet ''Time Trumpet'' is a six-episode satirical television comedy series which aired on BBC Two in August 2006. The series was written by Armando Iannucci, Roger Drew and Will Smith in a similar manner to Iannucci's earlier one-off programmes, '' 20 ...

''. In Australia, Watson has been seen on '' Rove'', ''

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten ...

'', '' Spicks and Specks'' and the ''

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international comedy festival in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typicall ...

'', all aired in April 2007. Watson performed stand up on episode one of ''

Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'' is a British stand-up comedy television series hosted by comedian Michael McIntyre from different venues around the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first series was broadcast with six episodes in 2009. Each ...

'', aired 7 June 2009. In 2010, Watson took part in '' Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...

in London on 30 March. On 6 May 2011, he appeared on New Zealand comedy panel show ''7 Days''. In 2017, he competed in series 5 of '' Taskmaster'' against Bob Mortimer,

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as T ...

Nish Kumar Nishant Kumar (born 1985) is a British stand-up comedian and television presenter. He became known as the host of satirical comedy ''The Mash Report'', now known as ''Late Night Mash''. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy ...

and

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actor and writer. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedian, she ...

finishing joint second. Also in 2017, Watson appeared on '' Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls'' alongside

Iwan Thomas Iwan Gwyn Thomas (born 5 January 1974) is a Welsh sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 metres, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is a former European, Commonwealth Games and Wo ...

Jordan Stephens Rizzle Kicks are a British hip hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, ''Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As of ...

, Lucy Mecklenburgh,

Melody Thornton Melody Thornton (born September 28, 1984) is an American singer and television personality. After graduating high school, Thornton became one the main vocalists of the pop girl group the Pussycat Dolls and released the albums '' PCD'' (2005) an ...

RJ Mitte Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III (; born August 21, 1992) is an American actor, best known for playing Walter "Flynn" White Jr. on the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013). Like his character on the show, he has cerebral palsy. After moving to ...

Ryan Thomas Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...

Sharron Davies Sharron Elizabeth Davies, (born 1 November 1962) is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. Davies has attended 12 ...

and Shazia Mirza. Watson left on doctors orders after suffering from severe chest pains and insomnia in the final episode. In February 2021, he appeared on

alongside

Josie Lawrence Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and as Manda Best in ...

Raj Bisram Raj Bisram (born 1956) is a British antiques expert and auctioneer. He co-founded Bentley's Fine Art and Antiques Auction House in Cranbrook, Kent in 1995. He has appeared on several British TV programmes on antiques including ''Antiques Road Tr ...

and Laura Whitmore.

Radio

'' Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better'' aired on

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' ...

in February 2007, followed by a second series in August 2008. Both series featured poems by Tim Key and music, performed by Tim Minchin in the first series and

Tom Basden Thomas William Basden (born 30 November 1980) is an English actor, comedy writer, and a member of the British four-man sketch group Cowards. He has written and performed extensively for comedy shows on the BBC and Channel 4 and often collabo ...

in the second. In August 2009, Watson hosted a three-episode series on BBC Radio 5 Live called ''100 Million or Bust'', where a panel of guests attempted to spend £100 million on transfers as managers of an English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

team. Another collaboration with Basden and Key, ''Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation'', was broadcast as a pilot in February 2011, with a full series of 6 episodes broadcast in late 2011. A similar series entitled ''Mark Watson Talks About Life'', again featuring Basden and Key, was broadcast in autumn 2014. Watson has made regular appearances on the BBC Radio 5 Live show ''

Fighting Talk ''Fighting Talk'' is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is based on a similar format to the ESPN show '' Around ...

''.

Books

Watson has written seven novels: ''Bullet Points'' (2004), ''A Light-Hearted Look At Murder'' (2007), ''Eleven'' (2011), ''The Knot'' (2012), ''Hotel Alpha'' (2015), ''The Place That Didn't Exist'' (2016), and ''Contacts'' (2020). In addition, he has written the non-fiction book ''Crap at the Environment'' (2008), following his own efforts to halve his carbon footprint over the course of one year. In 2015, he released a graphic novel, ''Dan and Sam'', with illustrations by Oliver Harud.

Other work

In 2009, Watson appeared in adverts for Magners Pear Cider, which became the subject of an extended routine by fellow comic

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 ...

as part of his 2009, "If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One" live show. Watson provided the voice over for a rabbit in an Innocent Smoothies advert in 2010. On 25 February, Watson presented the 2009 NME Awards at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

. At the start of the 2009/2010 season, Watson wrote a regular article in the

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

official matchday programme Well Red. In December 2009, Watson's television drama '' A Child's Christmases in Wales'' starring

Ruth Jones Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019). Jones has also appeared in various ...

was broadcast as part of the Christmas 2009 season on BBC Four; it was described as peeping into the Christmases of a South Wales family during the 1980s. He has his own production company ''Impatient Productions'' which produces his own radio shows as well as producing for others such as Angela Barnes From 2018, Watson appeared in TUI commercials alongside fellow comedian Zoe Lyons on Sky One. In 2020 during the

, Watson, Tim Key and Alex Horne started a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel playing a game known as No More Jockeys. The three were given

Chortle Chortle is a British comedy website launched in 2000 by Steve Bennett. The site is a major source of comedy news in the UK. It also reviews comedy shows nationwide, including extensively at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and presents the ...

Legends of Lockdown awards for No More Jockeys as well as their individual work. In December, he launched a podcast through his production company with co-host Michael Chakravety called ''menkind'', discussing masculinity with a weekly guest.

Personal life

Watson was married to Emily Howes, a fellow novelist, writer-performer and theatre director.

was Watson's

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

. Watson and Howes have two children; they divorced in 2019. Watson is now in a relationship with comedy producer Lianne Coop; they live in East London. Watson is a lifelong supporter of Bristol City Football Club.

Stand-up specials

* ''Mark Watson Live'' (28 November 2011, DVD) * ''Flaws'' (2014, DVD) * ''The Infinite Show'' (2020, Vimeo) * ''This Can't Be It'' (2022, Amazon Prime)

References

External links

*
Mark Watson Fans

Profile at Karushi Management
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Mark 1980 births English male comedians 21st-century English novelists Living people Writers from Bristol Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English people of Welsh descent English male novelists 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male writers