Richard Ian Boldsworth (27 June 1973, in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, England), previously known under the pseudonym Ray Peacock, is a comic performer, best known for '' The ParaPod'', ''

The Peacock and Gamble Podcast ''The Peacock and Gamble Podcast'' was a weekly podcast hosted by British comedians Ray Peacock and Ed Gamble. Hosted on Chortle.co.uk and accessible via iTunes and RSS, the show started in 2009 as a spiritual sequel to the ''Ray Peacock Podcast' ...

'' and the Ray Peacock Podcast. He came to prominence in The Big and Daft comedy trio,

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London News'' and weekly ''Sunday Politics'' on television, ...

radio series, three consecutive years of sell-out

Edinburgh Festival 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 ...

shows and their own series on UK Play, ''Terrorville''.

Career

Boldsworth made his debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 2002, originally as a brash Yorkshireman character named Ray Peacock who soon became a regular act on the live circuit. In his 2006 show at the Edinburgh Festival, the character was dropped in all but name and a confessional stand-up show entitled "Out of Character" was delivered. In 2007 Boldsworth began presenting his

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

& Chortle hosted ''The Ray Peacock Podcast'' alongside fellow comedians

Ed Gamble Edward Stephenson Jamison Gamble (born 11 March 1986) is an English comedian, known for co-presenting ''The Peacock and Gamble Podcast'' and his regular appearances on ''Mock the Week''. He studied at Durham University, where he began his come ...

and former ''

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 ...

'' actor

Raji James Rajesh Kumar Jhanji (born 24 February 1970), known professionally as Raji James, is an English actor, known for his roles as Ash Ferreira in ''EastEnders'', DS Vik Singh in ''The Bill'' and Ali Shahzad in ''Hollyoaks''. He also played Abdul Kh ...

. It was later succeeded by ''

'', which is also hosted by Chortle. Launched on 8 June 2009, ''The Peacock and Gamble Podcast'' was Boldsworth's second foray into the medium of podcasting. Released every Monday, the show was a comedic insight in the two's lives and experiences. It can be found free on the iTunes Store, and also on Chortle.

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

in London hosted a large scale live show version of the show in December 2009, which featured

Nick Mohammed Nicholas George Mohammed (born 4 October 1980) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his character Mr. Swallow, which he has portrayed across both stage and television for over a decade. Outside of the United Kingdom, M ...

in supporting roles. Bumper two-hour shows commencing on 24 February 2011 at Kings Place, London – "Peacock & Gamble Emergency Broadcast" touring the UK from July 2011 (including a full run at the Pleasance during the Edinburgh Fringe). The show was based on the concept that the "real" show has been halted, so Ray and Ed take over and fill the time so the audience still have a show to watch. Early shows have featured a seance, a guide to world culture, a re-creation of the

Stanford experiment The Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was a psychological experiment conducted in the summer of 1971. It was a two-week simulation of a prison environment that examined the effects of situational variables on participants' reactions and behav ...

, a tribute to ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It ...

'', and live

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Player ...

. The Kings Place shows were also notable for their live Twitter take-overs, where Ray and Ed hack into an audience members account during the interval. A limited Edinburgh run took place every Sunday of the 2011 Fringe. The show ended with a live podcast at Kings Place on 8 December 2011. It was reincarnated for daily episodes in the 2012 and 2013 Edinburgh Festivals with a new format with a different special guest each day. In 2013, BBC Radio 4 commissioned a pilot of ''Emergency Broadcast''. 1 - Ian Boldsworth, QED Con 2017, The Parapod podcast 01

1 - Ian Boldsworth, QED Con 2017, The Parapod podcast 01

Boldsworth co-presented a 3-season paranormal podcast, '' The ParaPod'', with comedian Barry Dodds, in which they explore and

debunk A debunker is a person or organization that exposes or discredits claims believed to be false, exaggerated, or pretentious. "to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being pretentious, false, or exaggerated: to debunk adv ...

reports of paranormal activity and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

which Dodds brings to each episode. The three series consisted of 30 episodes and, as of April 2018, has been downloaded over 2 million times. He also presents a mental health podcast ''The Mental Podcast'' for which he won the digital champion award 2017 from mental health charity

Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

. In addition he has presented ''Some Nonsense'' Fubar Radio show and podcast, and since 2017 has written weekly short stories for ''4000 Words'' podcast released by Infinite Hermit Productions on

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...

. In April 2018 Boldsworth announced the upcoming release of ''The Parapod Movie'', in which he and comedian Barry Dodds travel around the UK in a hearse with Dodds attempting to convince Boldsworth of the existence of ghosts. On general release it will become the first ever podcast to be transferred to movie format. In September 2013, Boldsworth hosted a three-hour radio show on

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

dedicated to comedy icon

Les Dawson Leslie Dawson Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and Mother-in-law joke, jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Earl ...

Work

Live

* "Ray Peacock – Here Comes Trouble UK TOUR" – 2014 – 2015 * "Ray Peacock – Here Comes Trouble" – Edinburgh Fringe 2014 * "Peacock & Gamble Heart-Throbs UK TOUR" – 2013 * "Peacock & Gamble Heart-Throbs" – Edinburgh Fringe 2013 * "Peacock & Gamble Don't Even Want To Be on Telly Anyway UK TOUR" – 2012 – 2013 * "Peacock & Gamble Don't Even Want To Be on Telly Anyway" – Edinburgh Fringe 2012 * "Peacock & Gamble Emergency Broadcast UK TOUR" – 2011 * "Peacock & Gamble Emergency Broadcast" – Edinburgh Fringe 2011 * "Peacock & Gamble Podcast Live" – Edinburgh Fringe 2011 * "Peacock & Gamble Emergency Broadcast" – London Residency, Kings Place 2011 * "The Ray Peacock Podcast Live" 2008 * "Ray Peacock – Out of Character" – Edinburgh Fringe 2006 * "Edinburgh & Beyond" – with

Russell Howard Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He was known for his television show ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and is currently doing ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and his ...

Russell Kane Russell Kane (born Russell David Anthony Grineau; 19 August 1975) is an English writer, comedian, and actor. He has 4 times been nominated at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, winning the Best Comedy Show award in 2010. Although known mainly for st ...

Reginald D Hunter Reginald Darnell Hunter (born March 26, 1969)Maxwell, Dominic (March 10, 2007).The N-word is out. ''The Times'' (Times Newspapers). is an American stand-up comedian based in the United Kingdom. Early life and family Hunter was born in Albany, ...

– Edinburgh Fringe and National Tour 2005 * "Ray Peacock & Son" – Edinburgh Fringe 2005 * "The Comedy Zone" – Edinburgh Fringe 2002 * "Big And Daft UK TOUR" with

Rob Rouse Rob Rouse (born 1974) is an English comedian. Overview Rouse grew up in Gawsworth, Cheshire. He trained as a geography teacher at the University of Sheffield and got into comedy in his final year at university. Having fully qualified as a teach ...

& Jon Williams – Tour 2001 * "The Big And Daft Christmas Show" with

& Jon Williams – Edinburgh Fringe 2001 * "Big And Daft in Space" with

& Jon Williams – Edinburgh Fringe 2000 * "Big And Daft" with

& Jon Williams – Edinburgh Fringe 1999

TV studio audience warm-up

* ''

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 ...

'' (The Promised Land- 2019) * ''

'' (Series 12 Dave – 2016) * ''

'' (Series 11 Dave – 2015) * '' Taskmaster'' (Dave – 2015) * ''

Russell Howard's Stand Up Central ''Rob Delaney's Stand Up Central'' (formerly known as ''Russell Howard's Stand Up Central'' and ''Chris Ramsey's Stand Up Central'') is a British stand-up comedy television show. It started broadcasting on Comedy Central on 29 April 2015, and ran ...

'' (Comedy Central – 2015) * ''Brotherhood'' (Comedy Central – 2015) * ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' was a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...

'' (BBC – 2009–2015) * ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...

'' (BBC – 2007–2014) * ''A Short History of Everything Else'' (Channel 4 – 2012) * ''

'' (Series 10; Dave – 2011–2012) * '' Frankie Boyle's Rehabilitation Programme'' (Channel 4 – 2011) * ''

That Sunday Night Show ''That Sunday Night Show'' is a British television chat show presented by Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and ...

'' (Series 2; ITV – 2011) * ''

Lee Nelson's Well Good Show ''Lee Nelson's Well Good Show'' is a British comedy sketch show, written and presented by Simon Brodkin and produced by Avalon Television for BBC Three. It featured Brodkin hosting a studio based show as his comedy character Lee Nelson, a happy- ...

'' (Series 2; BBC – 2011) * '' Felix and Murdo'' Pilot (C4 – 2011) * ''Al Murray's Compete for the Meat'' (BBC – 2011) * ''That Sunday Night Show'' (ITV – 2011) * ''

Lee Mack's All Star Cast ''Lee Mack's All Star Cast'' is a Saturday night television programme by the BBC. Each week, host Lee Mack is joined by two celebrity guests and a live studio audience who are entertained by stand-up comedians, random sketches and various games. ...

'' (BBC – 2010–2011) * ''The Count Arthur Strong Game Show'' (BBC – 2010) * '' Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club'' (ITV – 2010) * ''The Stephen K Amos Show'' (BBC – 2010) * ''

The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the fict ...

'' Series IV (C4 – 2010) * ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' (BBC – 2010) * '' Miranda'' (BBC – 2009) * ''

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme features Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show) ...

'' (BBC – 2009–2010) * ''

'' Series III (C4 – 2008) * ''

Harry Hill's TV Burp ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'' (also known as just ''TV Burp'') is a British television comedy programme broadcast between 2001 and 2012 on ITV. The show was produced by Avalon Television and was written and hosted by comedian Harry Hill. Each epis ...

'' (ITV – 2008) * ''

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 ...

's Soapington Way'' (ITV – 2007) * ''

The Consultants The Consultants are a comedy sketch team who first reached public prominence in August 2002 where they won the Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. The team, consisting of Neil Edmond, Justin Edwards and James Rawlings, have s ...

'' (2007) * ''

French & Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

'' (BBC – 2007) * ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...

'' (C4 – 2007–2008) * ''

Bremner, Bird and Fortune ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' is a satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune ("the Two Johns") with the satirical impressionist Ror ...

'' (C4 – 2006) * ''Nigella'' (ITV – 2006)

TV

* Steve in

(Dave- 2017) * Ray in ''

Live at the Electric ''Live at the Electric'' is a British comedy series that aired on BBC Three from 31 May 2012 and 28 February 2014 and is hosted by Russell Kane who performed stand-up in between comedy sketches from a variety of performers such as Joe Wilkinso ...

'' (BBC – 2012) * MC in ''

'' (BBC – 2012) * Peacock & Gamble in ''

'' (BBC – 2011) * Himself in "The Many Faces of Les Dawson" (BBC – 2011) * Various in ''Russell Howard's Good News'' (BBC – 2011) * Ray in "Warm Up" (BBC – 2011) * Himself in ''Most Annoying People 2010'' (BBC – 2010) * Himself (stand-up) in ''Russell Howard's Good News'' (BBC – 2010) * Roger in '' Skins'' (C4 – 2009) * Darren in ''

No Heroics ''No Heroics'' is a British superhero-comedy television series, which began on 18 September 2008. The show was ITV2's first original sitcom. It was nominated for Best New British TV Comedy of 2008 at the British Comedy Awards. Setting ''No Hero ...

'' (ITV – 2008) * Banto in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' (credited as Ian Boldsworth) (BBC – 2007) * Billy Taft in ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'' (credited as Ian Boldsworth) (BBC – 2006) * DI Penhaligon in '' Cracker'' (credited as Ian Boldsworth) (ITV – 2006) * Ray Peacock on ''Edinburgh & Beyond'' (Paramount – 2005) * Ray Peacock in ''Paramount Shorts'' (Paramount – 2005) * Garth in ''Skin Deep'' (credited as Ian Boldsworth) (C4 – 2005) * Programme Consultant on ''Les Dawson's Finest Hour'' (C4 – 2002) * Ian in ''Terrorville'' (credited as Ian Boldsworth) (BBC UKPlay – 2001)

Radio

* Ian Boldsworth Show – Fubar Radio (2016–present) * Some Nonsense With Ray Peacock – Fubar Radio (2014–2016) * Barnes & Peacock Do Sex – Fubar Radio (2014) * Peacock & Gamble – Fubar Radio (2014) * Great Lives – Radio 4 (2014) * Listen to Les Dawson – Radio 4 (2013) * Peacock & Gamble Emergency Broadcast – Radio 4 (2013) * The Comedy Club on Radio 4 Extra (2011–2013) * Big And Daft – BBC London (2001)

Podcasts

* The Ray Peacock Podcast – 2007 * The Peacock and Gamble Podcast – 2009 * The Parapod – 2017 * The Mental Podcast – 2017 * Jim Won't Give Ian His VR – 2017 * 4000 Words – 2018

Films

* The ParaPod: A Very British Ghost Hunt - 2020

Awards

* Internet Award (nominated) – Chortle Awards 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017 * Best Compere (nominated) – Chortle Awards 2012, 2014 * Best Online Comedy (winner) – Midlands Comedy Awards 2016 * Best Podcast (nominated) – Ockham Awards 2017 * Digital Champion (winner) – Mind Mental Health Awards 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boldsworth, Ian 1973 births Living people Alumni of Bretton Hall College People from Warrington English male comedians English podcasters English male actors