Russell Howard: from BBC comedy to the world stage
The Bristol-raised comedian built a career spanning topical television, radio and international stand-up.
Read the entrySearch
2,879 entries
David Mitchell: comedy shaped by character and argument
From Peep Show’s interior monologues to the lively scepticism of Would I Lie to You?, Mitchell has made a distinctive contribution to British television comedy.
Read the entry
Paul Merton: improvisation, satire and a career in British comedy
A Journey through Humour: Paul Merton's Timeless Contribution
Read the entry
Catherine Tate: comedy, character and the stage
The London-born performer made a defining sketch series and brought a distinctive comic voice to Doctor Who.
Read the entry
Harry Enfield: sketch comedy, satire and a cast of characters
From Loadsamoney to Kevin the Teenager, Harry Enfield built a television career around characters that made social attitudes comic, visible and memorable.
Read the entry
Ben Elton: satire, sitcoms and the stage
From The Young Ones and Blackadder to novels and musicals, Ben Elton has carried a distinctive strand of British comedy across generations and forms.
Read the entry
Rory Bremner: political satire in a changing Britain
The Scottish impressionist built a career from political mimicry, sketch comedy and a distinctive ability to make public affairs comic.
Read the entry
Jimmy Carr: the one-liner, the panel show and the live circuit
From Cambridge and the Edinburgh Fringe to Channel 4 and international tours, Carr has built a career across stand-up, television and books.
Read the entry
John Bishop: from Liverpool football to the comedy stage
The comedian turned personal experience into a distinctive stand-up career, then carried it across television, drama and major charity challenges.
Read the entry
Michael McIntyre
The London-born comedian who took observational stand-up from clubs to arenas and Saturday-night television.
Read the entry
Dara Ó Briain
Irish comedian known for hosting "Mock the Week" and his intelligent humor.
Read the entry
Jack Whitehall: comedy, character and the long road to television
From early Edinburgh performances to Fresh Meat, Bad Education and a travel series with his father, Whitehall has built a career across British comedy and television.
Read the entry
Rob Brydon: the Welsh comic who made reinvention a craft
From radio and character comedy to Gavin & Stacey, Would I Lie to You? and The Trip, Rob Brydon has built a career around performance, voices and sharp comic observation.
Read the entry
Lee Mack: the comic behind Not Going Out
From an Edinburgh Fringe breakthrough to a long-running BBC sitcom and a regular place on British television, Lee Mack has built a career across stand-up, writing and presenting.
Read the entry
Miranda Hart: turning awkwardness into British comedy
The comedian and writer built a distinctive television voice in Miranda, then brought it to audiences in drama, books, live performance and charity broadcasts.
Read the entry
Sacha Baron Cohen: satire in character
From Ali G on Channel 4 to Borat on the world stage, the actor and comedian has used invented identities to expose prejudice, credulity and the absurdities of public life.
Read the entry
Jo Brand: from psychiatric nursing to British comedy
A distinctive stand-up voice became a familiar presence on television, while her nursing experience informed work on mental health and the NHS.
Read the entry
Sarah Millican: from South Shields to the comedy stage
A breakthrough Edinburgh show grew into a career spanning stand-up, television, radio and writing.
Read the entry
Eddie Izzard: comedy, performance and a life beyond the stage
From London street performance to award-winning stand-up, screen roles and extraordinary charity runs, Izzard has built an international career with deep British roots.
Read the entry
Alan Partridge: Steve Coogan’s broadcaster, from radio to BBC One
Created by Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci, Alan Partridge has moved from a hapless sports reporter to a long-running satire of broadcasting, fame and self-importance.
Read the entry
Peter Kay: Bolton life, comic characters and a record-breaking tour
From early stand-up in Manchester to Phoenix Nights, Car Share and a chart-topping Comic Relief single, Peter Kay has built a career from close observation of everyday life.
Read the entry
Jimmy Carr: the one-liner, the panel show and the argument
From Cambridge and a marketing job at Shell to British television and international stand-up, Carr has built a career around fast, often controversial comedy.
Read the entry
Russell Brand: comedy, controversy and reinvention
From British television and stand-up to Hollywood films and political commentary, Brand’s career has repeatedly crossed genres—and drawn scrutiny.
Read the entry
Matt Lucas: from sketch comedy to the West End
The London-born performer built a career across British television, theatre and film, from Little Britain and Shooting Stars to Doctor Who and The Great British Bake Off.
Read the entry
David Walliams: comedy, books and a career in the public eye
From Little Britain and children’s fiction to live television and Sport Relief swims, Walliams has worked across several strands of British entertainment.
Read the entry
Tony Hancock: the comic who made failure funny
From radio variety to an uneasy, self-deluding everyman, Hancock helped make character and situation the centre of British sitcom.
Read the entry
Kenneth Williams: the voice behind British comedy
From Hancock’s Half Hour and Round the Horne to the Carry On films and Just a Minute, Williams built a distinctive career across stage, radio and television.
Read the entry
Morecambe and Wise: a partnership made for television
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise turned variety, sketches and guest appearances into a defining feature of British television, with Christmas specials watched by millions.
Read the entry
Tommy Cooper: the magician who made failure funny
From variety theatres to live television, Cooper built a singular act around conjuring tricks that appeared to go wrong.
Read the entry
Frankie Howerd: the comic who made the pause part of the punchline
From wartime concert parties to Lurcio in Up Pompeii!, Howerd built a distinctive career on carefully timed asides, apparent innocence and a remarkable series of comebacks.
Read the entry
Lenny Henry: comedy, performance and a call for change
From Dudley television talent show winner to comedian, actor, writer and advocate for greater representation in British media.
Read the entry
Victoria Wood: the comic who made the everyday sing
From New Faces to As Seen on TV, dinnerladies and Housewife, 49, Victoria Wood built a distinctive body of British comedy across stage and screen.
Read the entry
Billy Connolly: from Glasgow shipyards to the world stage
The Scottish performer turned songs, stories and a distinctive comic voice into a career spanning stand-up, music, acting and art.
Read the entry
Ronnie Corbett: the craft behind the chair monologues
From Edinburgh stages to The Two Ronnies, Corbett made measured storytelling and precise comic timing his own.
Read the entry
Ronnie Barker: the writer and actor behind Britain’s best-loved comedy
From repertory theatre to The Two Ronnies, Porridge and Open All Hours, Barker built a career on exact writing, carefully observed characters and a gift for language.
Read the entry
Spike Milligan
The Irish-born comedian and writer helped remake British radio comedy with The Goon Show and carried his surreal imagination into television, theatre, poetry and memoir.
Read the entry
Hugh Laurie: from Cambridge comedy to global television
The actor, comedian and musician built a distinctive career in British comedy before international success as Dr Gregory House.
Read the entry
Stephen Fry: comedy, broadcasting and the power of words
From Cambridge comedy to Blackadder, QI and a landmark documentary on mental health, Stephen Fry has built a career across British television, theatre, books and audio.
Read the entry
Terry Jones: comedy, history and the shape of Monty Python
The Welsh comedian helped reinvent television comedy, directed landmark Python films and brought fresh arguments about the past to a wide audience.
Read the entry
Michael Palin: comedy, journeys and a wider view of the world
From Monty Python sketches to journeys across continents, Michael Palin has made curiosity a defining part of his work on British television.
Read the entry