Paul Burling is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. A veteran of show business for 25 years, having worked in voiceover, radio and pantomime, he rose to national attention as a finalist of the fourth series of ''

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 (colloquially ...

''. His debut television show in 2010, ''It's Paul Burling!'' attracted a television audience of 3.7 million.

Biographical details

Paul Burling was born in Hertfordshire, now lives in Bristol and is a father of three.

Career

Burling "worked the holiday parks and comedy circuit for 25 years" before attracting nationwide attention on the fourth series of ''

''. He has worked in voiceover, for radio and in pantomime before being given his own Christmas special show by

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 ...

, a prime-time national television spot. His role of Christmas 2010 in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'', was his fifth pantomime season at the Central Theatre, Chatham. He has also played Wishee Washee in ''Aladdin'' and Smee in ''Peter Pan''. In 2011 he co-starred with

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

in ''Aladdin'' at the

Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes Theatre is a large theatre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It opened on 4 October 1999, 25 years after the campaign for a new theatre first started. Designed by architects Blonski-Heard with Kut Nadiadi and Robert Doe, the thea ...

. The last 3 years has seen Paul in pantomime with Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood, in Southend, Dartford & High Wycombe all with Qdos Pantomimes. Burling's radio work includes BBC Radio Kent, Devon and Wales, Pulse FM and Ocean FM, and he is an experienced voiceover artist. On ''Britain's Got Talent'', Burling became particularly associated with his impression of television comic

Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performan ...

. His show for ITV, ''It's Paul Burling!'' aired in December 2010 to a television audience of 3.7 million viewers. His expanded portfolio included impressions and satires of

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...

, ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

'',

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

, and ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. Starring alongside Paul was actress & impressionist

Jess Robinson Jess Robinson (born 1982/1983) is an English comedy actress, singer, impressionist, voice artist and comedian. Early life Robinson was born in Edgware, London, in a non-religious Jewish family, the daughter of a piano teacher and artist, and g ...

, responsible for the female impression on ITV's ''

Headcases ''Headcases'' is a British satirical animation show based on current affairs. It employed the same satirical style as ''Spitting Image'', ''2DTV'' and '' Bo' Selecta!'', but using 3D animation created by UK Visual Effects and animation house Red ...

''. Subsequently, the

iPhone 3GS The iPhone 3GS (originally styled iPhone 3G S) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the third generation iPhone and the successor to the iPhone 3G. It was unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the WWDC 2009 which took pla ...

made an app called "Burling's Game Booth". Other TV work includes ''

The Slammer ''The Slammer'' (also known as ''The Slammer Returns'' for its final two series) is a children's talent show sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One and CBBC from 22 September 2006 until 26 July 2014. Set in a fictional prison called HM Slammer, ...

'' for

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

during 2011. In 2013 he made his feature film debut in ''

The Harry Hill Movie ''The Harry Hill Movie'' is a 2013 British musical comedy film, directed by Steve Bendelack and starring Harry Hill. It was written by Hill along with Jon Foster and James Lamont. It revolves around a fictional version of Harry Hill's adventure ...

'' playing

's and

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little Britain'' (2003–2006, 2020) and '' Come Fly ...

's father. During 2015, Paul Burling toured with

Joe Pasquale Joseph Ellis Pasquale (born 20 August 1961) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. He won the fourth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2004 and participated in the eighth series of ''Dancing on Ice'' ...

visiting cities and towns throughout southern and eastern England.TEDTalent website
In 2015 it was confirmed that Paul would be part of the new Butlins pantomimes Aladdin Rocks, which was shown every week and it carried on into 2016 season at all three parks. Aladdin Rocks came to an end in January 2017. Burling did not return for Butlins new pantomime Whittington Rocks in 2017 instead went back to Qdos Pantomimes and starred in Peter Pan in Belfast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burling, Paul 1970 births Living people English impressionists (entertainers) Britain's Got Talent contestants English male comedians Television personalities from Bristol Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians