Paul Tonkinson
Encyclopedia
Paul Tonkinson is an English
radio presenter and television personality. He is perhaps best known for his work presenting on The Big Breakfast
and The Sunday Show
and his appearances on list programmes where he comments on popular culture. He was winner of the 1992 Time Out New Act of the Year Award and was Time Out Stand Up Comic of the Year in 1997. He is an avid supporter of Manchester United F.C.
.
.
Paul is also regularly booked by the UK Armed Forces, and was the first comic to perform in Iraq after the war officially ended.
He's won two Time Out Comedy Awards
.
For BBC
: Stand Up For The Homeless, The Stand Up Show, The Sunday Show, Comic Relief does Fame Academy
, EastEnders Revealed, Liquid News
, Good Evening Rockall, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
.
For Channel 4
: The Big Breakfast
, Take The Mike, Pop Gun, Top Ten, Dicing With Debt.
For ITV
: Stand Up, Live at Jongleurs, Raw Soap & Raw Soap II.
For Sky
: The Film Show, Lorraine, Spend It Like Beckham
Others: Live from the Comedy Store (five), MTV Hot (MTV), Hey DJ (UK Play)
comedy programmes, including Loose Ends and Weekending. He was also featured on Radio 4's Live From the Comedy Store.
He became the inaugural Breakfast Show presenter on Xfm Manchester
upon launch on 15 March 2006, before moving to Xfm London
in 2007. There he initially presented a variety of daytime shows to become familiar to listeners, before taking over the Drivetime slot from Richard Bacon
. Following the sudden departure of Lauren Laverne from the Breakfast Show in April 2007, producers called on his experience in Manchester and asked him to step in. This was only a stop-gap solution, however, as he decided to focus on returning to the London stand-up circuit.
He most recently presented the syndicated Saturday lunchtime show, a slot previously occupied by Lauren Laverne
, Adam
& Joe
, and Ricky Gervais
/Stephen Merchant
, before leaving radio work completely to focus on stand-up comedy.
His Manchester United devotion has led him to co-present a dedicated podcast, ManYoo Redcast with fan Eddie Nestor
.
He is a former pupil of Scalby School
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
radio presenter and television personality. He is perhaps best known for his work presenting on The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
and The Sunday Show
The Sunday Show
The Sunday Show is a British television entertainment programme that was broadcast live on Sunday lunchtimes on BBC Two between 1995 and 1997. Four series of the show were produced. Donna McPhail and Katie Puckrik hosted the first two series, with Puckrik was replaced by Paul Tonkinson for the...
and his appearances on list programmes where he comments on popular culture. He was winner of the 1992 Time Out New Act of the Year Award and was Time Out Stand Up Comic of the Year in 1997. He is an avid supporter of Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
.
Comedy
Tonkinson has been a regular on the UK comedy circuit for over fifteen years, playing both public gigs and corporate events, and regularly taking shows to the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
.
Paul is also regularly booked by the UK Armed Forces, and was the first comic to perform in Iraq after the war officially ended.
He's won two Time Out Comedy Awards
Time Out Comedy Awards
The Time Out Comedy Awards were bestowed upon the comedy community by the London listings magazine Time Out. They ran from 1991 to 2006, and include many well-known comedians as past winners: Eddie Izzard, Noel Fielding and Jimmy Carr...
.
Television
Television credits include:For 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...
: Stand Up For The Homeless, The Stand Up Show, The Sunday Show, Comic Relief does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy is a spin-off of the original Fame Academy show where celebrities sing as students of the Academy. The programme was launched in 2003 to help raise money for the charities supported by Comic Relief, with the final of the show occurring on Red Nose Day...
, EastEnders Revealed, Liquid News
Liquid News
Liquid News was the daily round up of entertainment news for BBC Three running from 30th May 2000 to 1st April 2004. It was originally a vehicle for presenter Christopher Price...
, Good Evening Rockall, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow is a British stand-up comedy television series hosted by comedian Michael McIntyre from different venues around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The first series was broadcast with six episodes in 2009. Each episode features a routine from McIntyre,...
.
For 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...
: The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
, Take The Mike, Pop Gun, Top Ten, Dicing With Debt.
For 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...
: Stand Up, Live at Jongleurs, Raw Soap & Raw Soap II.
For Sky
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
: The Film Show, Lorraine, Spend It Like Beckham
Others: Live from the Comedy Store (five), MTV Hot (MTV), Hey DJ (UK Play)
Radio
His early radio career included The Paul Tonkinson Show on London Live, as well as contributions to various Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy programmes, including Loose Ends and Weekending. He was also featured on Radio 4's Live From the Comedy Store.
He became the inaugural Breakfast Show presenter on Xfm Manchester
Xfm Manchester
Xfm Manchester is a commercial radio station broadcasting alternative and indie music to Manchester in North West England.It builds on the brand and format established by Xfm London. The majority of programming is shared but some is produced specifically for Manchester...
upon launch on 15 March 2006, before moving to Xfm London
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
in 2007. There he initially presented a variety of daytime shows to become familiar to listeners, before taking over the Drivetime slot from Richard Bacon
Richard Bacon (television presenter)
Richard Paul Bacon is an English television and radio presenter.Bacon's first high-profile media role was as a presenter of Blue Peter, from which he was sacked in 1998 following newspaper reports of him taking cocaine...
. Following the sudden departure of Lauren Laverne from the Breakfast Show in April 2007, producers called on his experience in Manchester and asked him to step in. This was only a stop-gap solution, however, as he decided to focus on returning to the London stand-up circuit.
He most recently presented the syndicated Saturday lunchtime show, a slot previously occupied by Lauren Laverne
Lauren Laverne
Lauren Cecilia Fisher , known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, television presenter, author and singer...
, Adam
Adam Buxton
Adam Offord Buxton is an English comedian and actor. With Joe Cornish, he forms one half of the duo Adam and Joe. The pair presented Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music, whilst Buxton also presents his own show on 6 Music on Sundays, called Adam Buxton's Big Mix Tape, currently on hiatus.-Major work:His...
& Joe
Joe Cornish (comedian)
Joseph Murray "Joe" Cornish is an English comedian, television and radio presenter, director, writer and actor, who along with his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, form the comedy duo Adam and Joe....
, and Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
/Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
, before leaving radio work completely to focus on stand-up comedy.
His Manchester United devotion has led him to co-present a dedicated podcast, ManYoo Redcast with fan Eddie Nestor
Eddie Nestor
Eddie Nestor is an English actor, stand up comedian, TV and radio presenter, who is best known for his starring roles in The Real McCoy and Desmonds, as well as playing a small role in Trainspotting.He hosted...
.
Accolades
| Awarding Body/Event | Awarded |
| 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... |
|
| Time Out |
|
He is a former pupil of Scalby School
Scalby School
Scalby School is a comprehensive school in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It caters for boys and girls, aged 11–16, with around 980 on roll...
.