Norman Lovett (born 31 October 1946) is a British
stand-up comedian
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, 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-line joke ...
and
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
best known for his portrayal of
Holly
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
, the ship's computer in ''
Red Dwarf
''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...
''.
Career
Lovett became a stand-up comedian in his thirties, initially supporting punk bands in the late 1970s, before establishing himself on the
alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...
scene during the 1980s. He played London's
Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
History
The Comedy ...
on many occasions.
From 1989 to 1993, Lovett wrote and starred in his own surreal BBC2 sitcom called ''
I, Lovett
''I, Lovett'' is a BBC television sitcom written by Norman Lovett and Ian Pattison. Seven episodes were broadcast, a Television pilot, pilot in 1989 and a six-episode series in 1993.
Plot
The series stars Norman Lovett playing a version of him ...
''. He played a version of himself who is an inventor living in a world of surrealism with his talking dog, voiced by
Geoffrey Hughes; spider, voiced by
Mary Riggans
Mary Riggans (19 July 1935 – 2 December 2013) was a Scottish actress and singer. She was best known for playing the role of Susie Sweet in the BAFTA award winning children’s show ''Balamory''. and Effie Macinnes in Take the High Road. She ...
; and talking inanimate objects.
During this time, he also wrote and starred in a one-off special called ''Lovett Goes To Town'', which was aired as part of
Galaxy
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
series ''The Last Laugh''.
In 1996, Lovett played a doctor in the short-lived sitcom ''
Asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
'', created by
Edgar Wright
Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...
, alongside
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
,
Jessica Stevenson
Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes ('' née'' Stevenson; born 30 October 1972) is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom ''Spa ...
,
Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...
and an ensemble cast. Lovett later worked with Edgar Wright again on ''
Is It Bill Bailey?'', a stand-up/sketch series starring
Bill Bailey.
Lovett's first television appearances include a stand-up performance on ''Pyjamarama'' in 1983, and a brief role in ''
The Young Ones'' in the episode ''
Summer Holiday''. He appeared again with ''The Young Ones'' star
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...
in sketches for UK music series ''
The Tube'', and television act ''
The Dangerous Brothers
The Dangerous Brothers was a stage and TV act by anarchic comedy duo Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, performing respectively as "Richard Dangerous" and "Sir Adrian Dangerous". Originally appearing on stage in London at the comedy club 'The Comic Stri ...
''.
Lovett has made a number of other acting appearances such as the
Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption.
Following a visit from ...
in a television adaptation of ''
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'', Mr. Follett in ''
The History of Tom Jones
''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', often known simply as ''Tom Jones'', is a comic novel by English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. It is a ''Bildungsroman'' and a picaresque novel. It was first published on 28 February 1749 in L ...
'', the film ''
The Criminal'', BBC docudrama ''
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
''Seven Wonders of the Industrial World'' is a 7-part British docudrama television miniseries that originally aired from to on BBC and was later released on DVD. The programme examines seven engineering feats that occurred since the Industri ...
'', as well as the
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, p ...
sitcom ''
Keeping Up Appearances
''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class s ...
''. He also appeared in three episodes of drama ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused on ...
'', three episodes of the Scottish sitcom ''
Rab C Nesbitt
''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character i ...
'', an episode of ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'', comedy drama series ''
Happy Families
Happy Families is a traditional British card game usually with a specially made set of picture cards, featuring illustrations of fictional families of four, most often based on occupation types. The object of the game is to collect complete fami ...
'', and children's television series ''
Gordon the Gopher
Gordon the Gopher, also known as Gordon T. Gopher, is an English puppet gopher who first appeared on Children's BBC (CBBC) between 1985 and 1987, listed on television shows by Phillip Schofield on the interstitial or in-vision continuity pro ...
''. He played a supporting role in two series of the television series ''Don't Miss Wax'', hosted by
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax (; born 19 April 1953) is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years and co-starred on t ...
.
In 2006, Lovett appeared in the comedy-horror film ''
Evil Aliens''. In 2013, he featured in the mockumentary feature film ''
Behind the Scenes of Total Hell''.
Lovett's comedy has a quiet, dead-pan surrealism, and in 2000, he made a successful stand-up tour, co-headlining with
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor, comedian, and impressionist. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show ''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in th ...
, who played
Rimmer in ''Red Dwarf''.
In 2008 Lovett co-headlined a stand-up tour with
Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge (born 17 December 1959) is a British comedian and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly (Red Dwarf), Holly in ''Red Dwarf'' during the third, fourth and fifth series. She was described as a "cult figure ...
, who played the female version of Holly in ''Red Dwarf''. His career as a stand-up comedian has included regular appearances at 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 ...
. Comedian
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 ...
has cited Lovett as an influence, and on occasion the two have featured on the same bill, including an alternative comedy showcase event in 2011, curated by Lee at the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
. In 2008, Lovett released his first stand-up DVD ''Bags and Biscuits''. In 2012, he released his second stand-up DVD, ''Norman Lovett: Outside the Box''.
From 2014 to 2018, Lovett was a main cast member in
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' ...
comedy ''To Hull and Back'', alongside
Maureen Lipman
Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...
and series creator
Lucy Beaumont.
''Red Dwarf''
Lovett played the role of Holly in ''Red Dwarf'' in its first and second series.
Starting from the third series, Lovett declined to join the cast when ''Red Dwarf'' filming moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, while Lovett had moved to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
with the distance between the two cities decreasing his willingness to participate.
Lovett returned in the seventh series as a guest star and the eighth as a regular. However, a disagreement with writer/producer
Doug Naylor
Douglas Rodger Naylor (born 31 December 1955) is an English comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer.
Life and career
Naylor was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, and studied at Chetham's School of Music ...
meant that for a period Lovett refused to take part in any further ''Red Dwarf'' productions.
Following the success of ''
Red Dwarf X
''Red Dwarf X'' is the tenth series of the British science fiction sitcom '' Red Dwarf''. It was broadcast on UK television channel Dave between 4 October and 8 November 2012. '', Lovett resumed contact with Naylor, resulting in his guest appearance in the
twelfth series episode "
Skipper". After this, Lovett resumed his role as Holly in the 2020 special ''
The Promised Land''.
Lovett has also played the role of Holly in ''Red Dwarf''-related releases, such as the "
Tongue Tied" music video, a sketch for BBC's
Children in Need, the interactive DVD game ''Beat the Geek'', and additional footage filmed for ''
Red Dwarf Remastered
''Red Dwarf Remastered'' was an attempt in 1997 to bring the first three series of the BBC's cult following#Television, cult science fiction, sci-fi situation comedy, sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' up to date. A collaboration, collaborative effort between B ...
''.
Other activities
Lovett is known for political activism. He has performed stand-up comedy on numerous occasions for 'Stand Up For Labour' in support of
said party. In 2016, he was awarded Stand Up For Labour's Act of the Year. In September 2016, Lovett performed at the 'Keep Corbyn' rally in Brighton, in support of
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's campaign in the
Labour Party leadership election.
Lovett's voice is available as an in-game purchase in the 2014 game
Elite Dangerous
''Elite Dangerous'' is a space flight simulation game developed and published by Frontier Developments. The player takes the role of a pilot (colloquially referred to as "Commander" or "CMDR") of a spaceship, and explores a realistic 1:1 scale, ...
, allowing the user to customise the ships 'COVAS' speech system.
Lovett has stated that one of his personal career highlights was supporting punk rock band
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovett, Norman
English male television actors
English male comedians
Living people
People from Windsor, Berkshire
Labour Party (UK) people
1946 births
English male radio actors
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
20th-century English comedians
21st-century English comedians
Male actors from Berkshire