Ed Byrne
Encyclopedia
Ed Byrne is a Perrier Award-nominated, Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 stand-up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

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

, voice over artist and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs (UK TV series)
Just for Laughs is an Irish hidden camera comedy show which was broadcast on Saturday nights on BBC One. It was produced by Wild Rover Productions with Philip Morrow as producer. It began airing in 2003 and ran for five series, going off air in 2007...

, and is a regular guest on various television panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....

s. As an actor he played the title character in the ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...

 adaptation of the pantomime Aladdin.

Stand-up comedy

Byrne was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In 2006 he toured the UK, recording a DVD in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, entitled Pedantic and Whimsical, which was largely a "greatest hits" set of his material to date. He has also appeared in Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...

, and performed voice-over work in the Carphone Warehouse adverts. In February 2007 Byrne appeared on a comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

s' special edition of The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...

.
Byrne has performed six sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and three sell-out UK tours. He has also developed huge success on the international circuit where he has performed to capacity audiences in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and the United States. He has since garnered a raft of major broadcast credits, including five US appearances on Late Night With Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...

(NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

). In July 2007, Byrne made his debut at the Newbury Comedy Festival
Newbury Comedy Festival
The Newbury Comedy Festival is a festival of comedy which takes place every July in the West Berkshire town of Newbury.-History:It was launched in 2004. Committed to showcasing the best comedy talent working in the UK , the comedy festival has become an annual event , and the only fully curated...

, having participated in the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...

 shortly before. He recorded a live DVD Different Class at The King's Theatre, Glasgow
King's Theatre, Glasgow
The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. The theatre is primarily a receiving house for touring...

, on 23 March 2009, which was released on the 23 November of that year.

Television work

One of Byrne's first TV appearances was on the ITV show Blind Date
Blind Date (UK TV series)
Blind Date is a British dating game show produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series, Surprise, Surprise...

. He also appeared in Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...

as a teenager mocking Father Ted and two other priests on a phone chat line, in the episode "A Christmassy Ted
A Christmassy Ted
"A Christmassy Ted" is an episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. It is the 17th episode overall and was broadcast between the second and third series. This episode is 55 minutes long, as opposed to the usual 21-22 mins of all other Father Ted episodes...

". Byrne has presented television shows Uncut! Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on The Panel, HeadJam
HeadJam
HeadJam is a BBC television game show hosted by Vernon Kay. It originally aired during the summer of 2004 on BBC Three, with a repeat soon afterwards on BBC Two.It featured two teams, each consisting of a member of the public and a celebrity...

, Mock the Week
Mock the Week
Mock the Week is a British topical celebrity panel game hosted by Dara Ó Briain that launched in 2005. The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedy, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.It is made by independent...

and Never Mind The Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...

. He has appeared on Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...

, The Bubble
The Bubble (UK TV series)
-Further reading:*...

, The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth
The Unbelievable Truth is a BBC radio comedy panel game made by Random Entertainment, devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith. It is very similar to the occasional I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue game "Lies, All Lies", which was first played in 1985...

and We Need Answers
We Need Answers
We Need Answers is a British television panel game presented by comedians Mark Watson, Tim Key and Alex Horne. The show features a pair of celebrities answering questions which have previously been texted in by the public, or the audience, to 63336, a text message service.-Format:In We Need...

. He has also appeared four times on The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show
The Graham Norton Show is a British comedy chat show that is broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. It was originally shown on BBC Two from February 2007 to May 2009 until it moved to BBC One from October 2009...

alongside Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...

, Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...

, Will Young
Will Young
William Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...

, Robert Downey Jr, Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...

 and Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt is an English actress best known for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada , The Young Victoria , and The Adjustment Bureau . She has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, two London Film Critics' Circle Awards, and one BAFTA Award...

. Byrne featured in a series of comedy shorts on the MSN Video Channel in which he discusses some of his pet hates, including occasional smokers
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...

 and his girlfriend's snoring
Snoring
Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound, due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. In some cases the sound may be soft, but in other cases, it can be loud and unpleasant...

. Byrne appeared in the second part of the BBC2 programme Three Men Go to Scotland
Three Men in a Boat (TV Series)
Three Men in a Boat is a television comedy/documentary series produced by Liberty Bell Productions for BBC Two starring Dara Ó Briain, Rory McGrath and Griff Rhys Jones, first shown in January 2006...

on 30 December 2010 whilst hitching a ride in order to reach the Cuillin
Cuillin
This article is about the Cuillin of Skye. See Rùm for the Cuillin of Rùm.The Cuillin are a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The true Cuillin are also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan...

 mountains on Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...

 for his Munro bagging attempt - climbing every mountain in Scotland over 3000 feet (914.4 m).
Ed has made an appearance on the BBC program Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen Live is a 90 minute cookery programme, which is broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday mornings. It is currently presented by James Martin; previous presenters have included Antony Worrall Thompson and Gregg Wallace. The programme is currently produced by Cactus TV...

 A feature of the show is the guest chooses two foods Heaven & Hell. Ed was lucky and was given his food heaven choice of Sticky Ribs.

Acting

In 2001 Byrne was the main character in an RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

-produced sitcom entitled The Cassidys. It was cancelled after one series.
In 2005 he starred in the movie, Zemanovaload. The movie is about John Davies (played by Byrne) who suffers from multiple obsessive compulsive disorders. When his current model girlfriend leaves him, he decides to replace her with the most attractive woman on the planet, Czech model Veronika Zemanova
Veronika Zemanová
Veronika Zemanová is a Czech nude model.She was the centerfold of the first Czech issue of Hustler and the covergirl on the Playboy Special Edition 'Voluptuous Vixens' in 2001.- Playboy :* Playboy's Sexy 100, February 2003...

. The film follows his attempts to curb his old obsessions in order to meet his latest obsession - Veronika.
Byrne plays the part of Irish radio presenter Dylan Dale in the British feature film version of Tony Hawks
Tony Hawks
Antony Gordon Hawksworth, better known as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author.-Early life:Born in Brighton in 1960, Hawks was educated at Brighton Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton College...

' book Round Ireland with a Fridge
Round Ireland with a Fridge (film)
Round Ireland with a Fridge is a 2010 film released in September 2010 by Fridge D'Or Productions. The film is based on Tony Hawks's internationally best selling book of the same name and was written by and stars Tony....

which was released in September 2010 and on DVD on November 8, 2010.
In 2010, Byrne played Rob in the BBC television pilot Reunited
Reunited (TV pilot)
Reunited is a British television pilot written by Mike Bullen and directed by Simon Delaney. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2010.- Plot :Eight years after sharing a flat together while students at university, six friends reunite....

.

Writing

Since 2011, Bryne has written a column for the hillwalking magazine TGO
TGO Magazine
TGO is a British monthly consumer magazine focused on hillwalking and backpacking, first published in 1978. It was edited for many years by Cameron McNeish. Chris Townsend, and Jim Perrin are among many regular and long-term contributors to the magazine. Comedian Ed Byrne currently writes a column...

 in which he tries a different outdoor activity each month in the company of an expert. He also has a column in the Metro newspaper.

Personal life

Byrne lives in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 and studied horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...

.

On 15 September 2010, Byrne, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

's state visit to the UK.

Ed is currently married with one son, and was best man at fellow comic Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain
Dara Ó Briain is an Irish stand-up comedian and television presenter, noted for hosting topical panel shows such as The Panel and Mock the Week....

's wedding.

He is an atheist.

Books

  • Sit-Down Comedy (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee
    Malcolm Hardee
    Malcolm Hardee was an English comedian, author, comedy club proprietor, compère, agent, manager and "amateur sensationalist"....

     & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0091889243; ISBN 978-0091889241

Stand-Up DVDs

Title Released Notes
Pedantic and Whimsical 21 August 2006 Live at Leeds City Varieties
Leeds City Varieties
The Leeds City Varieties is a Grade II* listed music hall in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.It was built in 1865 as an adjunct to the White Swan Inn in Swan Street and the original interior is largely unaltered. Along with Hoxton Hall and Wilton's Music Hall , it is a rare surviving example of the...

Different Class 23 November 2009 Live at Glasgow King's Theatre
King's Theatre, Glasgow
The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. The theatre is primarily a receiving house for touring...

Crowd Pleaser 28 November 2011 Live at Newcastle City Hall
Newcastle City Hall
Newcastle City Hall is a concert hall, located in Newcastle upon Tyne which has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as standup and comedy acts. Opened in 1927, the City Hall was built as a part of a development which also included the adjacent City Pool...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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