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 programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

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 spec ...

'', and the game show, '' The Wheel'', on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. In addition to stand-up comedy, McIntyre has hosted his own

comedy programme ''

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 ...

'', has featured in three episodes of '' Live at the Apollo'' and, in 2011, was a judge on ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

''.

Early life

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

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 origin ...

in British television, and his wife Kati, and their daughter Lucy. McIntyre grew up in the industry. McIntyre is a dual British-

citizen, by virtue of his late father who committed suicide while in Hollywood in the U.S. His mother, Kati, is of

Hungarian Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

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'', ''

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 ...

'', '' 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 ''

'', which aired Saturday nights on BBC One. On 5 July 2009, McIntyre appeared on the BBC show ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'' 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 inaugur ...

'', a benefit show held in aid of

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospita ...

, 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 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 ...

, where he was partnered with Alan Carr. On 14 December 2010, it was announced that McIntyre would join the ITV talent show ''

'' as a judge in 2011 with

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on '' The Yo ...

and

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

. McIntyre and Hasselhoff replaced

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 (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was ...

and

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

, 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 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 ...

on ITV. He also previously performed on the show twice: in 2006 and 2008. McIntyre co-hosted various segments of ''

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

'' in 2011 and 2013 on

. 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

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 ...

''. 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

. In November 2015, it was announced that McIntyre would return to

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

. 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 The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

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 Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

and four at

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...

. 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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

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 Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

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'', ''Happy Mondays'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'' (all 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's ...

) * *''

The Jon Richardson Show ''The Jon Richardson Show'' was a weekly radio show on BBC 6 Music, which was created due to the departure of Russell Howard from ''The Russell Howard Show'', which Jon Richardson co-hosted with Russell. The show was broadcast on Sundays from 10a ...

'' (

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 only ...

) *''The Jonathan Ross Show'' (

) *'' The Chris Moyles Show'' (

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

) *''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' (

)

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 Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. 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 st ...

fan and has appeared on ''

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 LW ...

'' 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