The Eleven O'Clock Show
Encyclopedia
The 11 O'Clock Show was a satirical
late-night British
television comedy
series on Channel 4
, which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items.
The series ran from 1998 to 2000, most notably while hosted by Iain Lee
and Daisy Donovan
. The programme is noted for launching the careers of Ricky Gervais
, Sacha Baron Cohen
and Charlie Brooker
.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
late-night British
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 comedy
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
series on 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...
, which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items.
The series ran from 1998 to 2000, most notably while hosted by Iain Lee
Iain Lee
Iain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
and Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan is an American-born British television presenter, actress and writer.-Early life:Donovan was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother Diana Donovan, is chairwoman of the English National Ballet School...
. The programme is noted for launching the careers of 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...
, Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
and Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker
Charlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
.
Hosts and presenters
The 11 O'Clock Show underwent a number of line-up changes during its run. There are numerous cases of external segment reporters becoming studio hosts, and vice versa. Notable presenters and cast members included:- Iain LeeIain LeeIain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
- Daisy DonovanDaisy DonovanDaisy Donovan is an American-born British television presenter, actress and writer.-Early life:Donovan was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother Diana Donovan, is chairwoman of the English National Ballet School...
- Mackenzie CrookMackenzie CrookPaul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
- Paul Garner (comedian)Paul Garner (comedian)Paul Garner is a is an English comedian, writer, producer and director.- Radio :Paul started out in radio working with Jo Bunting and Chris Morris at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire....
- Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron CohenSacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
- Ricky GervaisRicky GervaisRicky 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...
- Fred MacAulay
- Brendon Burns
- Dan Demetriou
- Sarah AlexanderSarah AlexanderSarah Alexander is an English actress, known for her roles in various British comedy series such as Armstrong and Miller, Smack the Pony, Coupling, The Worst Week of My Life and Green Wing....
- Jon HolmesJon HolmesJon Holmes is a seven time Sony award-winning and double Bafta winning British writer, comedian and broadcaster.-Early life:...
- Rich HallRich HallRichard "Rich" Hall is an American comedian, writer and musician.-Early life and career:Hall was born in Alexandria, Virginia and grew up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He is part Cherokee Indian...
- Alex Lowe (actor)Alex Lowe (actor)Alex Lowe is an English actor and comedian, who is best known as the creator and voice behind the character 'Barry from Watford' on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 show and Absolute Radio's Iain Lee Show-Barry from Watford:...
- Will SmithWill Smith (comedian)Will Smith is a British comedian, actor and writer. He was born and grew up in Jersey and is known for his love and encyclopaedic knowledge of Bergerac, as well as his posh boy persona. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey and Charterhouse School. He now lives in London...
- Tommy VanceTommy VanceTommy Vance was a British pop radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham, Oxfordshire. He was one of the few music broadcasters in the United Kingdom to champion hard rock and heavy metal in the early 1980s, providing the only national radio forum for both bands and fans...
- Ricky GroverRicky GroverRicky Grover is an English actor. His stepfather was an armed robber and his mother a hairdresser. Grover became a ladies' hairdresser and a boxer, before becoming a stand-up comedian, actor and occasional television presenter.-Career:Grover has appeared in television programmes including Red...
- Danny Boyd
- Jimmy CarrJimmy CarrJames Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
- Marc WoottonMarc WoottonMarc Wootton is an English character comedian. He is perhaps best known for his role as the fake medium and psychic, Shirley Ghostman, on the BBC Three series, High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman and he also appeared in Nativity!- Career :...
- Jason PriestleyJason PriestleyJason Bradford Priestley is a Canadian-American actor and director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role which catapulted him to recognition in the early 1990s....
Going on to success
The 11 O'Clock Show introduced a number of performers who have gone on to much greater success.- Iain LeeIain LeeIain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
, who went on to host Channel 4Channel 4Channel 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...
breakfast show RI:SERI:SERI:SE was a breakfast television show made by Princess Productions in collaboration with BSkyB for Channel 4 in the UK. It was scheduled to replace The Big Breakfast after declining ratings. It launched on 29 April 2002...
in 2003, and went on to forge a successful career in radio. - Ricky GervaisRicky GervaisRicky 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...
, who went on to co-create The OfficeThe Office (UK TV series)The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
and ExtrasExtras (TV series)Extras is a British sitcom about extras working on TV and film sets and in theatre. The series was co-produced by the BBC and HBO, and is created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in it... - Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron CohenSacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
, who went on to create Da Ali G ShowDa Ali G ShowDa Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....
and films BoratBoratBorat Sagdiyev is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen...
and BrünoBrüno (film)Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno... - Mackenzie CrookMackenzie CrookPaul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
, who also went on to The OfficeThe Office (UK TV series)The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
as well as TV to GoTV to Go-Notes and references:* at BBC Online...
, before a role in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. - Sarah AlexanderSarah AlexanderSarah Alexander is an English actress, known for her roles in various British comedy series such as Armstrong and Miller, Smack the Pony, Coupling, The Worst Week of My Life and Green Wing....
, who had appeared on TV before, and went on to play Susan Walker in CouplingCoupling (UK TV series)Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to June 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their thirties, often depicting the three women and the three...
, Dr Angela Hunter in Green WingGreen WingGreen Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
and Mel Cook in The Worst Week of My LifeThe Worst Week of My LifeThe Worst Week of My Life is a British comedy television series, first broadcast on BBC One between March and April 2004. A second series was aired between November and December 2005 and a three-part Christmas special, The Worst Christmas of My Life was shown during December 2006... - Jon HolmesJon HolmesJon Holmes is a seven time Sony award-winning and double Bafta winning British writer, comedian and broadcaster.-Early life:...
co-created Dead RingersDead Ringers (comedy)Dead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry...
, stars in The Now ShowThe Now ShowThe Now Show is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs presented by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis...
and hosts his own show on BBC 6 MusicBBC 6 MusicBBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years.... - Brendon Burns, who went on to co-host I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Live! amid other regular television appearances
- Marc WoottonMarc WoottonMarc Wootton is an English character comedian. He is perhaps best known for his role as the fake medium and psychic, Shirley Ghostman, on the BBC Three series, High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman and he also appeared in Nativity!- Career :...
who went on to star in Shirley Ghostman and My New Best FriendMy New Best FriendMy New Best Friend is a British Comedy broadcast on Channel 4 during 2003. The idea was a hidden camera show where a member of the public would enter into an agreement to be filmed for a whole weekend with the task of convincing their friends and family a character being played by Marc Wootton was... - Andre VincentAndre VincentAndre Vincent is a stand-up comedian, writer and actor. Vincent sits on the board of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society...
and Shaun PyeShaun PyeShaun Pye is an English actor, comedian, writer, critic, television producer, editor and journalist, known for co-creating the animated sketch comedy Monkey Dust with the late Harry Thompson, and for his role as Greg Lindley-Jones on Ricky Gervais's sitcom Extras.-Career:A former comedy critic for...
were both writers on the show - Comedy writer/performers who also wrote on the show include Alex Lowe (actor)Alex Lowe (actor)Alex Lowe is an English actor and comedian, who is best known as the creator and voice behind the character 'Barry from Watford' on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 show and Absolute Radio's Iain Lee Show-Barry from Watford:...
David MitchellDavid Mitchell (actor)David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
, Robert WebbRobert Webb (actor)Robert Webb is an English actor, comedian and writer, and one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell.-Early life:...
, Rhys ThomasRhys Thomas (comedian)Rhys Thomas is an English comedian and actor.-Career:His breakthrough came while working as a runner on Shooting Stars, when he showed Charlie Higson and Bob Mortimer some sketches he had performed in college...
, Tony WayTony WayTony Way is an English actor, comedian, and writer, who is best known for playing various characters, in the hit BBC sketch comedy TV series Tittybangbang and playing the character Dave in the hit comedy movie, Ali G Indahouse....
, James BachmanJames BachmanJames Bachman is an English comedian, actor and writer.He has written for many U.K. radio and television programmes, including That Mitchell and Webb Look , That Mitchell and Webb Sound , Popetown , and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway...
, and Charlie BrookerCharlie BrookerCharlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...