Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audienc ...

and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''

Grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

''.

Career

Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning the ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' new act of the year in 1991 with his music hall character Tommy Cockles. He then appeared on 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, ...

show ''Paramount City'' as a weekly guest. He continued working live all over England before joining up with Vic Reeves and

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the '' Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing ...

for two tours and two series of '' Big Night Out''. He continued to work with Vic Reeves throughout the 1990s. In 1994 he was a cast regular in ''

Saturday Zoo ''Saturday Zoo'' is a British alternative comedy and chat show series, featuring an eclectic mix of stand-up acts, interviews and music. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, it ran for 13 episodes, beginning in January 1993, on Channel 4. Production The s ...

'',

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 ...

's Saturday night extravaganza, in which he appeared as groundbreaking white rapper Ice Pick. His other TV credits include '' Heartbeat'', ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...

'', '' Sensitive Skin'', ''

Love Soup ''Love Soup'' is a British television comedy drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery (a role written especially for her) and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond (Series 1 on ...

'', ''

Driving School ''Driving School'' is a docusoap that was broadcast on BBC1 in the summer of 1997, which followed a group of learner drivers around Bristol and South Wales. The series was made on a reduced budget but shown in primetime, it created one of the ...

'', and '' Skins''. His film credits include '' Shakespeare in Love'', as a ferryman on the Thames. In 2006 he collaborated with The Transit Kings on their song "The Last Lighthouse Keeper" which appears on their debut album '' Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God''. In 2008 Day embarked on his first solo UK stand-up tour, titled 'What a Fool Believes', which saw him play 36 dates during the period 30 October - 15 December, including

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

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 ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

. In 2009, Day collaborated again with Rhys Thomas and wrote and starred in a web series of six videos as the character Brian Pern for the BBC. In 2010, Day appeared in the long-running BBC TV series '' Hustle'', playing Luke Baincross, a wannabe playboy with a huge country mansion. In May 2010, Day played a hospital porter in BBC TV series ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' Casualty'', and ...

'' on his last day at work following his resignation having won the National Lottery. He had an altercation with a patient's relative and received a bang on the head, and he became increasingly lairy during the episode, at one point making a pass at

Connie Beauchamp Connie Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical dramas ''Holby City'' and '' Casualty'', portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six, episode 35, "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and ...

; some people assumed he was drunk, but it transpired that he had developed a

Subdural hematoma A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a type of bleeding in which a collection of blood—usually but not always associated with a traumatic brain injury—gathers between the inner layer of the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the meninges surround ...

as a result of the knock on the head. Day has appeared as a pundit on the long-running

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

Sports Pundit Quiz ''

Fighting Talk ''Fighting Talk'' is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is based on a similar format to the ESPN show '' Around ...

'' on a number of occasions, and is most notable for swearing during a live broadcast during a show in 2009. This was later edited out on the podcast version of the show. Day appeared in an online-only version of ''The Fast Show'' sponsored by Lager brand Fosters on 10 November 2011 along with original cast save for Mark Williams. In 2012, he published his autobiography, ''Comedy and Error: They Really Were Marvellous Times''. Day has presented his own series, ''The Simon Day Show'' 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 ...

in May to June 2012. From 2014 to 2017, he co-wrote and starred in the spoof-documentary series '' Brian Pern'', a

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

comedy which parodied the life and career of former

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

singer

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

. In 2015 Day appeared as Charlie Beckett in the BBC TV series '' Death in Paradise'' episode 4.2. In 2019 he appeared as Sid Onslow, a pub landlord, in '' Pennyworth''. Day starred as Big Gary King, father of Tom Davis' titular character in the

sitcom '' King Gary,'' appearing in the 2018 pilot episode and the full series broadcast in 2020. Day reprised his ''Fast Show'' character 'Dave Angel, Eco Warrior' in 2021 in energy usage advertising.

Personal life

Day's teenage life was troubled: he was addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling, and spent some time in

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

for theft. He continued to take illegal drugs including

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

and

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

into the 1990s at the height of his ''Fast Show'' fame. After failing to pass his driving test for charity during the 2003 Comic Relief Programme, Day later went on to gain an automatic driving licence. He is married to Ruth, a former waitress, with whom he has two children, Lloyd and Evie.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Japanese site with pictures of characters he plays
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Simon 1962 births Alumni of the University of East Anglia BBC Radio 4 presenters British comedians British sketch comedians Comedians from London English autobiographers Living people People from Blackheath, London The Fast Show