Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is an English comedian, writer and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents his own Saturday night series, ''

Michael McIntyre's Big Show ''Michael McIntyre's Big Show'' (adapted from ''Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show'') is a British variety and stand-up comedy television series, presented by British comedian Michael McIntyre. The show was originally a one-off Christmas spe ...

'', and the game show, '' The Wheel'', on BBC One. In addition to stand-up comedy, McIntyre has hosted his own BBC One comedy programme '' Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'', has featured in three episodes of '' Live at the Apollo'' and, in 2011, was a judge on '' Britain's Got Talent''.

Early life

Born in London to Thomas Cameron McIntyre, known as Ray Cameron, a Canadian comedian and

comedy writer Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

in British television, and his wife Kati, and their daughter Lucy. McIntyre grew up in the industry. McIntyre is a dual British- Canadian citizen, by virtue of his late father who committed suicide while in Hollywood in the U.S. His mother, Kati, is of Hungarian Jewish ancestry.

Career

Television

McIntyre has appeared three times on BBC One's '' Live at the Apollo'', in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He has released four DVDs, ''Live and Laughing'', ''Hello Wembley'', ''Showtime'' and ''Happy and Glorious'', which have sold a combined total of over five million copies in the UK. McIntyre's many comedy panel show and chat show appearances include ''

Chris Moyles' Quiz Night ''Chris Moyles' Quiz Night'' is a British television comedy panel game show, presented by Chris Moyles. The show was originally shown on Channel 4 at 10 p.m. on Sundays and repeated on Mondays at 11 p.m. It included three rounds in w ...

'', '' Mock the Week'', '' 8 out of 10 Cats'', '' Have I Got News for You'', '' The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'', '' Would I Lie To You?'', '' The Apprentice: You're Fired!'', '' Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' and '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. From 6 June 2009, McIntyre began hosting '' Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'', which aired Saturday nights on BBC One. On 5 July 2009, McIntyre appeared on the BBC show '' Top Gear'' as the "star in a reasonably priced car", driving around the Top Gear test track in one minute and 48.7 seconds. During his lap of the track he almost rolled the car while going around the final corner, but his hair was kempt. On 31 March 2010, McIntyre took part in ''

Channel 4's Comedy Gala ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'' is an annual British comedy benefit show organised by Channel 4 in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. The show is filmed live at the O2 Arena in London, and then broadcast later by Channel 4. An inaugu ...

'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, filmed live at London's O2 Arena. He also appeared on the year's edition of '' The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' on Channel 4, where he was partnered with Alan Carr. On 14 December 2010, it was announced that McIntyre would join the ITV talent show '' Britain's Got Talent'' as a judge in 2011 with David Hasselhoff and Amanda Holden. McIntyre and Hasselhoff replaced Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell, although Cowell returned for the live shows and Hasselhoff was only the additional fourth judge. After only one series, McIntyre was replaced by

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She gained recognition in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B, garage and hip hop group Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded in ...

. In 2010 and 2014, McIntyre hosted the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

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 ...

. He also previously performed on the show twice: in 2006 and 2008. McIntyre co-hosted various segments of '' Comic Relief'' in 2011 and 2013 on BBC One. On Christmas Day 2011, McIntyre hosted a Christmas Special edition of ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow''. The show was watched by 8.1 million viewers. In 2014 McIntyre fronted his own BBC One talk programme, ''

The Michael McIntyre Chat Show ''The Michael McIntyre Chat Show'' is a comedy chat show presented by Michael McIntyre. It aired on BBC One from 10 March 2014 until 25 December of the same year. Episodes Series overview Series 1 ''Very Christmassy Christmas Show'' This wa ...

''. A Christmas special aired on Christmas Day in 2014. On 5 April 2015, Michael presented ''Michael McIntyre Presents...Easter Night at the Coliseum'', a one-off special for BBC One. In November 2015, it was announced that McIntyre would return to BBC One for ''Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show''. The show was recorded in front of a live audience in the Theatre Royal in London before airing on Christmas Day. Since April 2016, McIntyre has presented ''

'', a Saturday night entertainment series for BBC One. A second series began airing in November 2016. A third series began airing in November 2017. In November 2020, McIntyre started hosting a new BBC gameshow, entitled '' The Wheel''. In August 2021, it was announced that McIntyre would host a U.S. version of ''The Wheel'' on NBC.

Stage

McIntyre has performed three times on the ''

'', including in 2010 when he became the youngest ever host. In 2009, McIntyre performed for an estimated total of 500,000 people on his first tour of the United Kingdom that included a record-breaking six nights at Wembley Arena and four at The O2 Arena. In 2012, his UK tour included 71 arena dates, playing to over 700,000 people, including a record-breaking 10 nights 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 Decemb ...

in London. According to ticket sales company Pollstar the tour helped make McIntyre the world's biggest selling comedian in 2012, bringing in around £21m. On 20 April 2013 McIntyre played the biggest comedy gig in Africa to 9,000 fans at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg. In 2015, McIntyre toured the UK and Ireland with his "Happy & Glorious" tour. In February 2016, he took the tour to Norway for two dates, and in October 2016 he took it to Australia for four dates. In 2018 he became the highest selling artist in the history of the O2 Arena, selling over 400,000 tickets over 28 shows, which surpassed the previous record held by Take That.

Radio

McIntyre's radio appearances have included: *''

Does the Team Think? ''Does The Team Think?'' was a radio panel game broadcast originally on the BBC Light Programme (and later on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4) from 1957 to 1976, and revived, again on Radio 2, with a new cast, in 2007. It also broadcast as a TV progr ...

'' (

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

) *''Heresy'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Happy Mondays'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'' (all on BBC Radio 4) * *'' The Jon Richardson Show'' (

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

) *''The Jonathan Ross Show'' (

) *'' The Chris Moyles Show'' ( BBC Radio 1) *'' Desert Island Discs'' ( BBC Radio 4)

Books

In 2010, McIntyre released his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, ''Life and Laughing: My Story''. In 2021, he released the second part to memoirs, ''A Funny Life'', detailing his life after his debut at the 2006 Royal Variety Performance (the event at which his previous book concluded).

Personal life

McIntyre resides in Hampstead, London with his aromatherapist wife, Kitty, who is a daughter of actor Simon Ward and sister of actress

Sophie Ward Sophie Anna Ward (born 1964) is an English stage and screen actress, and a writer of non-fiction and fiction. As an actress, she played Elizabeth Hardy, the female lead in Barry Levinson's ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (1985), and in other featu ...

. The couple have two sons, Lucas and Oscar. McIntyre is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. McIntyre is also a keen

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

fan and has appeared on '' Test Match Special'' to discuss the sport. On 4 June 2018, McIntyre was robbed of a watch by men on mopeds while parked outside his children's school.

Filmography

Stand-up

Tours

Awards

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Michael 1976 births 21st-century English comedians Living people Best Entertainment Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners Edinburgh Comedy Festival English stand-up comedians British people of Canadian descent English people of Canadian descent English people of Hungarian descent British people of Hungarian-Jewish descent People educated at Arnold House School People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood People from the London Borough of Merton Alumni of the University of Edinburgh English television talk show hosts