Celebrity Poker Club
Encyclopedia
Celebrity Poker Club was a British
television series featuring celebrities playing poker
. It aired on Challenge from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off to Channel 4
's popular Late Night Poker
series. Liam Flood
was the casino manager for the program, and Cayt Dear was the producer.
Other celebrities featured have included Dave Gorman
, Rory McGrath
, Dexter Fletcher
, Dennis Taylor
, Louise Wener
, Nick Leeson
, Howard Marks
, Charles Ingram
, Martin Amis
, Al Alvarez
, Phil Taylor, Raj Persaud
, Hattie Hayridge
, Johnny Vegas
, Darren Campbell
, Phil Daniels
, Graham Linehan
, Ally McCoist
, Colin Murray
and Michael Praed
.
Several celebrities playing in the tournament were put forward by celebpoker.com.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television series featuring celebrities playing poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
. It aired on Challenge from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off to Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's popular Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker is the pioneering television show that helped pave the way for the explosion of interest in poker in the 2000's. With it's ground breaking use of "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards, the show became a cult hit on Channel 4 UK when it first...
series. Liam Flood
Liam Flood
Liam Flood is an Irish bookmaker and professional poker player who is a former European poker champion.-Poker career:Flood began playing poker tournaments in the 1980s in Ireland. He won the Irish Poker Open in 1990 and 1996, becoming one of only four players to have won that tournament multiple...
was the casino manager for the program, and Cayt Dear was the producer.
Commentators
- Series 1: Jesse MayJesse MayJesse May is an American poker commentator and player.Jesse May was raised in Madison, New Jersey, where he first became hooked on poker playing with friends. In 1988 he started attending The University of Chicago, but he found that classes were clashing with his poker games, and so dropped out...
and Barny BoatmanBarny BoatmanBarny M. P. Boatman , is an English professional poker player and the oldest member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob... - Series 2: Jesse May and Grub SmithGrub SmithMichael 'Grub' Smith is an English television presenter and journalist for FHM and Poker Player magazines.-Early life:Born Michael Smith, he adopted the name Grub when at Downside School, effectively a promotion after being given the nickname Maggot by a master at his prep school.Grub Smith is a...
- Series 3: Jesse May and Victoria CorenVictoria CorenVictoria Elizabeth Coren is a British writer, presenter and champion poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect....
, with backstage interviews by Helen ChamberlainHelen ChamberlainHelen Marie Chamberlain is an English television presenter.She previously worked as a holiday camp entertainer and Disc Jockey before working on a variety of radio and television programmes...
Series finalists
| Season | Winner | Prize | Runner-Up | Other Finalists | Semi-Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Clive Sinclair | £25,000 | Keith Allen |
|
Fiona Foster Fiona Foster is a British television presenter and journalist with a lively high note voice, who has also spent several years working in the United States. She is currently a presenter on the BBC World travel programme Fast Track.... Sam West Samuel Filmore West was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams between and . Listed at 5' 11", 165 lb., West batted and threw left handed. He was born in Longview, Texas.... Nolan Hemmings -Early life:Hemmings is the son of actor/director David Hemmings and actress Gayle Hunnicutt. He is named after his father's character, Captain Nolan, in The Charge of the Light Brigade.-Career:... Grub Smith Michael 'Grub' Smith is an English television presenter and journalist for FHM and Poker Player magazines.-Early life:Born Michael Smith, he adopted the name Grub when at Downside School, effectively a promotion after being given the nickname Maggot by a master at his prep school.Grub Smith is a... John Bishop (comedian) John Joseph Bishop is an award-winning comedian.His television debut came on The Panel. As an actor, he has appeared in the E4 teen drama Skins as Mr Fitch, father of twins, Katie and Emily and in the Ken Loach film Route Irish... Nigel Lindsay Nigel Lindsay is an English actor. He was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the 2011 British Comedy Awards for his performance as Barry, the Muslim convert in Chris Morris's BAFTA winning Four Lions and won the 2011 Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor as Dr Harry... |
| 2 | Victoria Coren Victoria Coren Victoria Elizabeth Coren is a British writer, presenter and champion poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect.... |
£25,000 | Willie Thorne Willie Thorne William Joseph "Willie" Thorne , is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970... |
Barry Hearn Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker... Norman Pace Norman Pace is an English actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace with his friend and comic partner Gareth Hale... Tom Parker Bowles Thomas Henry Parker Bowles is the son of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Andrew Parker Bowles. His stepfather and godfather is Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. His younger sister is Laura Lopes.... Steve Davis Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire... Eric Bristow Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :... |
Raj Persaud Rajendra Persaud , also known as Raj Persaud , born 13 May 1963, Reading, Berkshire is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster, and author of popular books about psychiatry.... Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall is a British actor, known in the UK for his starring roles in several high-profile, popular television programmes, particularly in Bugs as Nick Beckett and later in The Bill as a character named Ron Gregory, a convicted paedophile.As a child, he attended the Anna Scher children's... Jon Ronson Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine... |
| 3 | A. D. Bower Adrian Bower Adrian Bower is an English actor, best known for his role as physical education and geography teacher Brian Steadman in the first three series of the British comedy series Teachers... |
£25,000 | Edward Giddins |
Mike Tindall Michael James Tindall, MBE is an English rugby player who plays outside centre for Gloucester Rugby and has captained the England team... Ashley Hames Ashley Martyn Hames is an English television presenter, director and writer.-Presenting & Direction:... Alexander Armstrong (comedian) Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius... Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring... |
Kitty Flanagan Kitty Flanagan is an Australian comedian.She is best known in Australia for her work on the television series Full Frontal and in the United Kingdom for her work on The Sketch Show. Before getting a job at Full Frontal, Kitty spent 5 years masquerading as a copywriter before moving into stand-ups... Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf... Oliver Chris Oliver Chris is an English actor from Tunbridge Wells.-Early life:He passed his Eleven plus exam and attended Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys before moving to the Michael Hall Steiner School in his fourth year. He later attended the Central School of Speech and Drama... Lucy Porter Lucy Donna Porter is an English actress, writer and comedienne.She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She has also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel shows, including Quote..... James Hewitt James Hewitt is a former British household cavalry officer in the British Army. He had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales for five years, receiving extensive media coverage after revealing details of the affair.-Early life:... Anne Savage (DJ) Anne Savage is a UK hard dance DJ.-Early life:Savage was born in Burnley, Lancashire and raised in the Ribble Valley. She attended, the private Westholme School. She took classical guitar lessons at an early age. In the late 1980s she played guitar in a punk band called 53rd State.-Career:Savage... |
Other celebrities featured have included Dave Gorman
Dave Gorman
David James Gorman is an English author, stand-up comedian and presenter. He has performed comedy shows on stage in which he tells stories of extreme adventures and presents the evidence to the audience in order to prove to them that they are true stories...
, Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath
Patrick Rory McGrath is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over....
, Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher is an English actor. He is best known for his role in Guy Ritchie film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as television roles in such shows as the dramedy Hotel Babylon, the critically acclaimed HBO series Band of Brothers and earlier in his career, the children's show...
, Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
, Louise Wener
Louise Wener
Louise Jane Wener is an English writer and singer, formerly of the band Sleeper. Sleeper recorded three full length albums: Smart, The It Girl, and Pleased to Meet You...
, Nick Leeson
Nick Leeson
Nicholas "Nick" Leeson is a former derivatives broker whose fraudulent, unauthorized speculative trading caused the collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdom's oldest investment bank, for which he was sent to prison...
, Howard Marks
Howard Marks
Dennis Howard Marks is a Welsh author and former drug smuggler who achieved notoriety as an international cannabis smuggler through high-profile court cases, supposed connections with groups such as the CIA, the IRA, MI6, and the Mafia, and his eventual conviction at the hands of the American Drug...
, Charles Ingram
Charles Ingram
Charles Ingram is a former British Army major who made headlines worldwide after he was accused of cheating in the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 2001. He was convicted of deception, although he maintains that he did not cheat...
, Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
, Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez is an English poet, writer and critic who publishes under the name A. Alvarez and Al Alvarez....
, Phil Taylor, Raj Persaud
Raj Persaud
Rajendra Persaud , also known as Raj Persaud , born 13 May 1963, Reading, Berkshire is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster, and author of popular books about psychiatry....
, Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge is a British stand-up comedienne and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly in Red Dwarf during the third, fourth and fifth series, along with the role of Hilly in Parallel Universe, the final episode of the second series.After graduating from the...
, Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
, Darren Campbell
Darren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell MBE is a former English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay...
, Phil Daniels
Phil Daniels
Philip W. "Phil" Daniels is an English actor, most noted for film and television roles as "cockneys" such as Jimmy in Quadrophenia, Richards in Scum, Stewart in The Class of Miss MacMichael, Mark in Meantime, Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, DCS Frank Patterson in New Tricks and Edward Kitchener "Ted"...
, Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
, Ally McCoist
Ally McCoist
Alistair Murdoch "Ally" McCoist, MBE ; 24 September 1962) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Rangers in Scotland....
, Colin Murray
Colin Murray
Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...
and Michael Praed
Michael Praed
Michael Praed born Michael David Prince, 1 April 1960 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire) is a British actor, is probably best known for his role as Robin of Loxley in the British television series Robin of Sherwood, which attained cult status worldwide in the 1980s...
.
Several celebrities playing in the tournament were put forward by celebpoker.com.