Latest news with #PerrierAward
Times
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Harry Hill: My kids tell me, ‘You can't say that, Dad'
Comedian Matthew Hall, known as Harry Hill, 60, grew up in Kent and started his career as a doctor. His comedy breakthrough came when he won the Perrier award for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1992. Harry Hill's TV Burp, the show he presented for 11 years, won three Bafta TV awards. He also narrated You've Been Framed! for 18 years and now presents Junior Bake Off. He lives in Kent with his wife, Magda Archer, with whom he has three daughters. I've had friends who have been 'cancelled'. They worry about it. But on the whole, unless they've done something really awful, everyone has forgotten about it. There are so many people being cancelled every day; it's like a build-up of bodies. I typed into Chat GPT, 'Write an original routine in the style of Harry Hill.' It wasn't even funny, ironically — AI doesn't have any idea about writing jokes. So I don't worry about it taking my place. I went to school in my glasses and got teased. Kids would say, 'Can I have a go with your glasses?' They'd take them off me and pass them around. It was an awful feeling. To this day, if anyone asks to try on my glasses for selfies, it makes me really antsy. I made a conscious effort to wear glasses when I became a comic because I remember whenever someone wore glasses on TV. Audiences are more alert to the idea that they might be offended. Certain words or things make them anxious. They're thinking, 'Oh no, I hope he's not going to say something that we will need to be offended by.' My kids pick me up on stuff – they say, 'No, you can't say that, Dad.' Which is helpful, because you don't want people to be offended. The responsibility of being a doctor was pretty scary. I was never as nervous going on stage as I was being 'on call'. It was people having heart attacks and strokes, so I was thinking, if I get this wrong… We were all doing these long hours and were treated really badly by our superiors and we couldn't push back. It was one of the low points for the health service. • Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews It shows you how bad things have got when doctors are going on strike. Because the whole health service is run on the goodwill of the doctors and nurses. Once that's gone, the whole game's up. Bill Bailey and Chris McCausland have screwed it up for every comedian who thought about going on Strictly Come Dancing. If you're a 60-year-old out-of-shape bloke who can't dance, what hope have you got? Everyone gets divorced now, but in the Seventies it was a bit taboo. You had to do a lot of explaining to people because it was quite unusual. [Hill's parents divorced when he was just starting primary school.] It wasn't very pleasant. When you get a bit older, you don't particularly want to go and stay with your dad for the weekend. Chris McCausland is an inspiration. I did a TV show with him and it was fantastic spending time with someone who can't see — a real education for me. I was supposed to be looking after him, but the first day he got in the car and banged his head. The producer was saying, 'Where were you?' I kept my kids away from the TV studio and showbiz. I didn't want them going into it just because it looked glamorous or fun. The truth is, for any success in this game you've got to be very pushy. They've come with me on the road for my most recent tour. It's been interesting for them to see what it involves: a lot of time spent on the North Circular and eating sandwiches. I don't have fond memories of a lot of the stuff I did, even though it was successful. It just seems like a blur and a lot of stress. I don't do any exercise. I never have. It's revenge. At school, PE is the one subject where, if you're not very good at it, the teacher picks on you. I always had crappy kit — I used to get a lot of hand-me-downs. Art is therapeutic. At medical school, I had a sketchbook on which I used to take out my frustration. People spend money on meditation and yoga, but art is a very low-cost hobby. In the old days, I'd do a gig then have a drink and a laugh. Now I get in the car, fall asleep, do the show, get back in the car and fall asleep. But I don't think I've ever enjoyed it as much as I do now. Harry Hill voices Bristles the talking paintbrush in Go Get Arty, available on CBBC and BBC iPlayer
Scotsman
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe Hot Tickets 2025: Here are all 17 Edinburgh Comedy Award winners returning this year
With a over 3,300 shows to choose from across 265 venues at this year's feast of culture, there's something to be said for opting for performers who have a winning record – and there's no bigger prize in British comedy than the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Launched in 1981, the award is presented to the comedy show judged to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is recognised as the most prestigious comedy prize in the UK. Formerly known as the Perrier Award , it is designed to promote acts that have yet to become household names, so comedians judged to have 'star status' are not eligible - for instance if they have a show on a major television channel or can regularly fill a 500-set venue. The first winners were a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson, while other names catapulted to fame by the award over the years include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Al Murray, Tim Key, and Emmy -winning Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd . A Best Newcomer Award was added in 1992, followed by a Panel Prize in 2006 - for those who have made a particularly special contribution to the Fringe Festival. Here are all 17 winners you can see in Edinburgh this year. 1 . Urooj Ashfaq Urooj Ashfaq won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for best Newcomer in 2023 for her show 'Oh No!', about "her, her family, things that annoy her, and things she loves". This year she's back with a new hour entitled 'How To Be A Baddie' in which she promises to be a "bona fide bad girl and edgelord who at times mentions sexy things and topics..." She's on at the Monkey Barrel from July 30-August 24. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . Jordan Brookes Officially the longest-reigning Edinburgh Comedy Award winner of all time (he won in 2019 before the global pandemic led to a three year break before the prize was awarded again), Jordan Brookes is back in Edinburgh with a work in progress show called 'Until The Wheels Come Off'. The only thing he guarantees is that he'll show up! See him at the Pleasance Courtyard from July 30-August 24. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Lara Ricote Another former winner bringing a work in progress show to Edinburgh is Lara Ricote, who took home the Best Newcomer trophy in 2022 with her show 'GRL/LATNX/DEF'. She didn't even have an idea for a show when she had to submit a description for the Fringe programme, so we know nothing about it. Find out what she's up to at the Monkey Barrel from August 11-17. | Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Adam Riches The Edinburgh Comedy Award shortlist was particularly strong in 2011, including Andrew Maxwell, Chris Ramsey, Josie Long, Nick Helm and future winner Sam Simmon. But it was the character and sketch comedy of Adam Riches, in 'Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches' that most impressed the judges. The hugely-entertaining performer last year made the switch to the theatre section with a critically-acclaimed show about tennis player Jimmy Connors. This year he's back to comedy with a typically singular slant, namely "medieval heartstab Sean Bean is going to read 15th century Middle English tome Le Morte d'Arthur out loud, for an hour. That's it." Discover if that really is 'it' at the Monkey Barrel from August 11-13. | Getty Images Photo Sales
Scotsman
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
What to see at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025: Here are all 17 Edinburgh Comedy Award winners returning this year
With a over 3,300 shows to choose from across 265 venues at this year's feast of culture, there's something to be said for opting for performers who have a winning record – and there's no bigger prize in British comedy than the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Launched in 1981, the award is presented to the comedy show judged to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is recognised as the most prestigious comedy prize in the UK. Formerly known as the Perrier Award , it is designed to promote acts that have yet to become household names, so comedians judged to have 'star status' are not eligible - for instance if they have a show on a major television channel or can regularly fill a 500-set venue. The first winners were a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson, while other names catapulted to fame by the award over the years include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Al Murray, Tim Key, and Emmy -winning Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd . A Best Newcomer Award was added in 1992, followed by a Panel Prize in 2006 - for those who have made a particularly special contribution to the Fringe Festival. Here are all 17 winners you can see in Edinburgh this year. 1 . Urooj Ashfaq Urooj Ashfaq won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for best Newcomer in 2023 for her show 'Oh No!', about "her, her family, things that annoy her, and things she loves". This year she's back with a new hour entitled 'How To Be A Baddie' in which she promises to be a "bona fide bad girl and edgelord who at times mentions sexy things and topics..." She's on at the Monkey Barrel from July 30-August 24. | Getty Images Photo Sales 2 . Jordan Brookes Officially the longest-reigning Edinburgh Comedy Award winner of all time (he won in 2019 before the global pandemic led to a three year break before the prize was awarded again), Jordan Brookes is back in Edinburgh with a work in progress show called 'Until The Wheels Come Off'. The only thing he guarantees is that he'll show up! See him at the Pleasance Courtyard from July 30-August 24. | Getty Images Photo Sales 3 . Lara Ricote Another former winner bringing a work in progress show to Edinburgh is Lara Ricote, who took home the Best Newcomer trophy in 2022 with her show 'GRL/LATNX/DEF'. She didn't even have an idea for a show when she had to submit a description for the Fringe programme, so we know nothing about it. Find out what she's up to at the Monkey Barrel from August 11-17. | Getty Images Photo Sales 4 . Adam Riches The Edinburgh Comedy Award shortlist was particularly strong in 2011, including Andrew Maxwell, Chris Ramsey, Josie Long, Nick Helm and future winner Sam Simmon. But it was the character and sketch comedy of Adam Riches, in 'Bring Me the Head of Adam Riches' that most impressed the judges. The hugely-entertaining performer last year made the switch to the theatre section with a critically-acclaimed show about tennis player Jimmy Connors. This year he's back to comedy with a typically singular slant, namely "medieval heartstab Sean Bean is going to read 15th century Middle English tome Le Morte d'Arthur out loud, for an hour. That's it." Discover if that really is 'it' at the Monkey Barrel from August 11-13. | Getty Images Photo Sales
