Nat Coombs
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel 'Nat' Coombs is a British
television & radio presenter & writer.
Dulwich College
in Dulwich
, South London
, and at University College London
.
on ESPN since 2010 alongside Kelly Cates. The show takes a relaxed, often comical look back at the week’s big stories and action with celebrity guests and roving reporters and is to return for a 3rd season in 2011/12. Alongside Talk of the Terrace
Coombs often interviews players and provides features for other ESPN
football output.
As well as his work for ESPN
, Coombs is known as one of the leading US Sports broadcasters in the UK. He works mainly for the BBC
, presenting both live NFL and MLB coverage (including the World Series
) on BBC Radio
since 2010..
Between 2007-2010 he presented Channel 5's live NFL American Football coverage alongside analyst Mike Carlson
broadcasting all Sunday Night Football
and some Monday Night Football
games. In 2010 he also co-presented NFL: UK, a weekly magazine show, also on Channel 5 that was shown on Saturday mornings, alongside Trevor Nelson
and Natalie Pinkham
. He was reunited with Carlson in 2011 on the Americarnage podcast which they co-host, along with comedian Dan Louw.
Other notable TV work includes University Clash, a poker
tournament for students, on the Bravo channel and in 2008, Coombs was cast as one of The Invincibles, in the ITV1
show of the same name, where a crack team of professionals pranked deserving members of the public who'd be nominated by friends.
He has worked on many television shows as a talking head or panelist. He regularly appears on Radio 5 Live
, TalkSport
and ESPN in this capacity.
-nominated BBC
drama Can You Hear Me Thinking? alongside Judi Dench
. Early in his career, he appeared in music promos for bands including 808 State
& Everything But The Girl
and advertising campaigns for Doctor Martens, Levi Strauss
and Microsoft
.
and a runner-up of Stand-up Britain on ITV
.. He was also a Regional Finalist of the Jongleurs
J20 competition and a Semi Finalist in both the Amused Moose & Laughing Horse New Act competitions. Early in his career appeared on the BBC
Radio comedy program 'Spanking New' alongside comedians including Rhod Gilbert
and Shappi Khorsandi which featured live performances from some of the UK's best new comedy talent.
His stand up work has been variously described as “incredibly stylish, with up-to-the-minute stuff” by John Pidgeon
and “like The Strokes
beating the s*** out of Westlife in a car park” in Time Out magazine, though he received criticism for an overly "Americanised" style. In June 2006, he took part in the Just for Pitching competition at the Just For Laughs
comedy festival in Montreal, where journalist Tamsen Tillson from Variety
magazine described him as "setting tongues wagging".
in Autumn 2011 writing about American culture & politics.
He also writes Tea With Tony La Russa, an indpendent blog which focuses on American sports & culture from a British perspective.
Coombs created the innovative digital comedy show Chelsey OMG which he wrote and co-produced. The first series of the show, based on his character Chelsey Pucks, which originally appeared on Radio 1
comedy sketch show The Milk Run, debuted on the online social networking site Bebo
and was watched by over 3 million people. It also drew critical acclaim for its interactive format, whereby the characters interact with the shows fans. Coombs appears in the show as Jens, a German fashion photographer.
since he was a child and is a fan of the Miami Dolphins
. He is a fan of the English football team West Ham United who he watches regularly and is the top ranked celebrity fan of ESPN's Two Time Award Winning "Fantasy Focus: Football 06010" daily podcast, hosted by Nate Ravitz
and Matthew Berry
. Coombs makes an annual appearance on the podcast, usually during the week of which an NFL game will be played in England. He's married and lives in London, England.
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 & radio presenter & writer.
Education
Coombs was educated at the boys' independent schoolIndependent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
in Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, and at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Television and Radio
Coombs has presented the live studio football show Talk of the TerraceTalk of the Terrace
Talk of the Terrace is a British ESPN Magazine show hosted on Mondays between 6.30-8.00pm during the football season.-Presenters:The first series was hosted by BBC Sport presenter Mark Chapman and former Sky Sports and Setanta host Kelly Cates...
on ESPN since 2010 alongside Kelly Cates. The show takes a relaxed, often comical look back at the week’s big stories and action with celebrity guests and roving reporters and is to return for a 3rd season in 2011/12. Alongside Talk of the Terrace
Talk of the Terrace
Talk of the Terrace is a British ESPN Magazine show hosted on Mondays between 6.30-8.00pm during the football season.-Presenters:The first series was hosted by BBC Sport presenter Mark Chapman and former Sky Sports and Setanta host Kelly Cates...
Coombs often interviews players and provides features for other ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
football output.
As well as his work for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, Coombs is known as one of the leading US Sports broadcasters in the UK. He works mainly for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, presenting both live NFL and MLB coverage (including the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
) on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
since 2010..
Between 2007-2010 he presented Channel 5's live NFL American Football coverage alongside analyst Mike Carlson
Mike Carlson
Mike Carlson is the regular pundit of National Football League coverage for the United Kingdom's Channel 4 TV station, having formerly worked on Channel Five's coverage of the sport from 1998-2010. He is originally from Connecticut, USA.- Career :...
broadcasting all Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football is a weekly American football game held throughout most of the season by the National Football League. Sunday night games have been played regularly since 1987 and have thus far aired on three different television outlets:...
and some Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
games. In 2010 he also co-presented NFL: UK, a weekly magazine show, also on Channel 5 that was shown on Saturday mornings, alongside Trevor Nelson
Trevor Nelson
Trevor Nelson MBE is an English DJ and presenter.Born in Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, he attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School in Cowper St, Islington, London EC2 and Westminster Kingsway College...
and Natalie Pinkham
Natalie Pinkham
Natalie Pinkham is a British television and radio presenter, who is currently the pitlane correspondent for BBC Radio 5 Live's Formula 1 coverage. She is also known for hosting Police Interceptors Special Edition on 5*...
. He was reunited with Carlson in 2011 on the Americarnage podcast which they co-host, along with comedian Dan Louw.
Other notable TV work includes University Clash, a 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...
tournament for students, on the Bravo channel and in 2008, Coombs was cast as one of The Invincibles, in the ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
show of the same name, where a crack team of professionals pranked deserving members of the public who'd be nominated by friends.
He has worked on many television shows as a talking head or panelist. He regularly appears on Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, TalkSport
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
and ESPN in this capacity.
Acting
Coombs is also an accomplished actor, most notably appearing in the BAFTABritish Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
-nominated BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama Can You Hear Me Thinking? alongside Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
. Early in his career, he appeared in music promos for bands including 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
& Everything But The Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
and advertising campaigns for Doctor Martens, Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Comedy
He began his career as a stand up comedian, performing at leading venues across the UK and appearing regularly on radio and TV. As an emerging act, he had reasonable success in stand up competitions. He was a semi-finalist at the BBC New Comedy AwardsBBC New Comedy Awards
The BBC New Comedy Awards first appeared in 1995 and were considered to be one of the top UK comedy newcomer awards until they were axed in 2006. It was announced in the summer of 2006 that they were being replaced by a nationwide talent hunt that places its emphasis on sketch writing and filmed...
and a runner-up of Stand-up Britain on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.. He was also a Regional Finalist of the Jongleurs
Jongleurs
Jongleurs is a chain of comedy clubs in the United Kingdom. Maria Kempinska MBE established and opened the first Jongleurs club in 1983 in Battersea, London. In 1985 Maria then met her business partner John Davy, and together they built the Jongleurs brand. The company evolved into a corporate...
J20 competition and a Semi Finalist in both the Amused Moose & Laughing Horse New Act competitions. Early in his career appeared on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio comedy program 'Spanking New' alongside comedians including Rhod Gilbert
Rhod Gilbert
Rhodri "Rhod" Gilbert, is a Welsh comedian who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008, he was nominated for the main if.comedy ....
and Shappi Khorsandi which featured live performances from some of the UK's best new comedy talent.
His stand up work has been variously described as “incredibly stylish, with up-to-the-minute stuff” by John Pidgeon
John Pidgeon
Sir John Allen Stewart Pidgeon is a successful contractor and property developer, who have been along with his sister, Valmai Pidgeon, involved with the Queensland construction industry since joining their father's business in the 1940s....
and “like The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
beating the s*** out of Westlife in a car park” in Time Out magazine, though he received criticism for an overly "Americanised" style. In June 2006, he took part in the Just for Pitching competition at the Just For Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
comedy festival in Montreal, where journalist Tamsen Tillson from Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine described him as "setting tongues wagging".
Writing
Coombs regularly writes or contributes US Sports content to the UK print & online media including the UK website of ESPN and has his own column on the ESPN America website. He started a column on the men's lifestyle site BlokelyBlokely
Blokely is a men’s lifestyle pure play website based in the UK. An independent platform, it evolved from a blogging site, which focused mainly on grooming and style stories, to a web portal site with a constant run of in-depth features on entertainment, music, grooming, lifestyle and sport...
in Autumn 2011 writing about American culture & politics.
He also writes Tea With Tony La Russa, an indpendent blog which focuses on American sports & culture from a British perspective.
Coombs created the innovative digital comedy show Chelsey OMG which he wrote and co-produced. The first series of the show, based on his character Chelsey Pucks, which originally appeared on Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
comedy sketch show The Milk Run, debuted on the online social networking site Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
and was watched by over 3 million people. It also drew critical acclaim for its interactive format, whereby the characters interact with the shows fans. Coombs appears in the show as Jens, a German fashion photographer.
Personal life
Coombs has followed the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
since he was a child and is a fan of the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He is a fan of the English football team West Ham United who he watches regularly and is the top ranked celebrity fan of ESPN's Two Time Award Winning "Fantasy Focus: Football 06010" daily podcast, hosted by Nate Ravitz
Nate Ravitz
Nate Ravitz is Deputy Editor for espn.com fantasy, dealing with fantasy sports. Apart from his internal duties for ESPN, Nate is best known as the co-host of the award-winning Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast and Fantasy Focus Football Podcast. Nate also provides analysis for the Fantasy Focus...
and Matthew Berry
Matthew Berry
Matthew Berry is an ESPN fantasy sports analyst and ESPN.com columnist. He writes under the nickname "the Talented Mr. Roto," or "TMR". Berry currently works as ESPN's senior director of fantasy sports.-Hollywood writer:...
. Coombs makes an annual appearance on the podcast, usually during the week of which an NFL game will be played in England. He's married and lives in London, England.
External links
- Vivienne Clore Talent Agency
- Nat Coombs Official Website
- Stardoll to launch video channel with comedy series New Media Age 4 June 2009
- Nat Coombs Group Facebook
- Nat Coombs Twitter
- http://www.teawithtlr.com Tea With Tony La Russa (blog)