Simon Evans (born 9 May 1965) is an English comedian.

Early life

Evans attended

Verulam School Verulam School is a state secondary school for boys with academy status in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, founded in 1938 as St Albans Boys' Modern School. The name was changed in the 1940s to St Albans Grammar School for Boys and in 1975 ...

in St Albans and then studied law at

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, graduating in 1986.

Stand-up comedy

Evans is an established UK comedian with his own

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' ...

series ''Simon Evans Goes to Market'', and with numerous TV appearances to his name. He was on '' Live at the Apollo'' (January 2013) and was a weekly regular on '' Stand Up for the Week'' (Autumn 2013,

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 ...

). TV appearances have also included ''

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 ...

'' in Sunderland (

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, ...

, 2010) and ''Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live'' (

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

, 2010). A prolific live act, Evans toured his show ''Fringe Magnet'' in 2010–11, ''Friendly Fire'' 2011–2012, then ''Leashed'' which debuted 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 ...

in August 2013. In 2018 Evans toured his show ''Genius'' which garnered four-star reviews at Edinburgh in 2017 and was described in

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

as an "extraordinarily accomplished hour… a masterclass in socio-political comedy". In early 2010 Evans supported

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...

on his UK tour ''Going Out'', and as a writer has made a long running contribution to Mack's BBC sitcom ''Not Going Out''. He has performed one-man shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 2000 and at the New Zealand Comedy Festival 2002, Cape Town Comedy Festival 2001 as well as in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Winnipeg and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. In July 2004 he performed at the Just for Laughs festival in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, and the following spring at the

Aspen Comedy Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. Since July 2010 when he appeared alongside

Emo Philips Emo Philips (born Philip Soltanec February 7, 1956) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer and producer. His stand-up comedy persona makes use of paraprosdokians spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice. The confused, childlike deli ...

at Latitude Festival in Suffolk he has returned to Latitude on several occasions. In early 2018, after an appearance on BBC Radio 4's ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History ''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with Barry Norman as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by Barry Took from 1979 to 1981, Simon Hoggart f ...

'', Evans was referred to by

Rod Liddle Roderick E. Liddle (born 1 April 1960) is an English journalist and an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. He was an editor of BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme. His published works include ''Too Beautiful for You'' (2003), ''Love Will Destr ...

in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' as a right-wing comedian. Dominic Maxwell in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (26 March 2018) described ''Genius'' as an intelligent, reliably funny show that nods to everything from

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

PornHub Pornhub is a Canadian-owned internet pornography website. It is one of several pornographic video-streaming websites owned by MindGeek. , Pornhub is the 10th-most-trafficked website in the world and the second-most-trafficked adult website aft ...

to Ivan Turgenev's two-kilo brain' and notes that 'Evans has fun with the right and the left'. Evans also makes regular contributions in a slightly more serious vein, as a regular guest on current affairs TV shows (such as ''

The Big Questions ''The Big Questions'' is an interfaith dialogue and ethics television programme usually presented by Nicky Campbell. It is broadcast live on BBC One on Sunday mornings, replacing '' The Heaven and Earth Show'' as the BBC's religious discussion ...

'' and

Andrew Neil Andrew Ferguson Neil (born 21 May 1949) is a Scottish former journalist and broadcaster who is chairman of ''The Spectator'' and presenter of '' The Andrew Neil Show'' on Channel 4. He was editor of ''The Sunday Times'' from 1983 to 1994. He f ...

's '' This Week'') as well as on live radio, such as Radio Five's ''Afternoon Edition''. He was also part of the comedians' team on ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

: The Professional''s (BBC Two) – being beaten by eventual series winners the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

– and has won '' Celebrity Mastermind'' (BBC One): his specialist subject was

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...

. Evans is also a regular columnist for the British Internet magazine '' Spiked''.

Television writing

Evans has written for TV shows including: * ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4. Originally presented by Chris Evans and Gaby Roslin, the show was latterly presented by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu. The p ...

'' * '' Lily Savage'' * ''Johnny Vaughan Tonight'' * ''Look at the State We're In' * '' TV Heaven, Telly Hell'' * ''

The Late Edition ''The Late Edition'' is a British television programme broadcast on BBC Four. It takes the form of a weekly topical chat show in the vein of ''The Daily Show'', presented by comedian Marcus Brigstocke. Each episode typically features comical ne ...

'' * ''

They Think It's All Over "They think it's all over" is a quote from Kenneth Wolstenholme's BBC TV commentary in the closing moments of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, when England beat West Germany 4–2 after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup. In the final few seco ...

'' * ''Revolver'' * '' Eight out of Ten Cats'' * '' Turn Back Time'' * ''

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 ...

Television appearances

Evans has appeared on ''The Comedy Store'' (Five) and ''The Stand Up Show'' (BBC1). Evans's other television include shows on the Comedy Network, and appearances on ''Five's Company'' (Five) and as a contestant on '' The Krypton Factor''. * ''Brain Candy'' (BBC Choice) (2002) * ''

The Way It Is The Way It Is may refer to: Music * ''The Way It Is'' (Bruce Hornsby album), by Bruce Hornsby and the Range ** "The Way It Is" (Bruce Hornsby song), the title song * ''The Way It Is'' (Glenn Hughes album), or the title song * ''The Way It Is' ...

'' (BBC1) (2000) * ''Edinburgh Nights'' (BBC2) * ''The Comedy Store'' (Five) * ''The Stand Up Show'' (BBC1) * ''Gas'' (Channel 4) * ''Life's a Pitch'' (BBC1) (2000) * ''The Comedy Network'' (Five) * ''Five's Company'' (Five) * ''

Take a Girl Like You ''Take a Girl Like You'' is a comic novel by Kingsley Amis. The narrative follows the progress of twenty-year-old Jenny Bunn, who has moved from her family home in the North of England to a small town not far from London to teach primary school ...

'' (2000) * '' Rich Hall's Cattle Drive'' (2006) as Melvin Turpin * ''

'' (BBC1) (2010) * ''

Dave's One Night Stand ''Dave's One Night Stand'' is a British comedy programme made by Amigo Television and Phil McIntyre Television for Dave. The series featured stand-up comedians performing in their hometowns. It was first broadcast for four series from 10 October ...

'' (Dave) (2011) * ''

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 ...

'' (BBC2) (2011) * '' Dara Ó Briain: School of Hard Sums'' (Dave) (2012) * '' Live at the Apollo'' (BBC1) (2013) (2014) * ''

'' (BBC1) (21 January 2018) * ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

'' (BBC1) (2 May 2019) * ''Headliners'' (

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ...

) (2021)

Radio

Evans appears regularly on

– hosting and writing seven series of the spoof news show ''

'' (as Richard Richard), as well as appearing on numerous panel games including ''The News Quiz'', ''

Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive ''Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive'' is a British radio comedy programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2005 with a second series in 2006, a third in 2007 and a fourth in 2008. Series 2, 3 and 4 of the show were broadcast in the p ...

'' and ''The Unbelievable Truth'', and discussion programmes such as ''Off the Page''. He is a regular contributor to both BBC Radio 4 and London Live and has had full-length comedy scripts commissioned by the BBC for both TV and radio. * ''

'' (Radio 4) – Writer and performer * ''Best Policy'' (Radio 4) – Anchored * ''True Lies, A world without... and others'' (Radio 4) – Pundit/panellist * ''Beating the System'' (Radio 4) – Sole writer and performer * ''Troublestarter'' (Radio 4) – Three part series – Sole writer and performer * ''

The Mighty Boosh The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spanned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three which aired ...

'' (Radio 4) – Performer * ''

'' (Radio 4) – Performer * ''The Big Booth'' (Radio 4) – Performer * ''Simon Evans Goes To Market'' (Radio 4)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Simon 1965 births Living people People from Luton Alumni of the University of Southampton English male comedians English screenwriters English male screenwriters English stand-up comedians English male television actors GB News newsreaders and journalists 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians