Micky Flanagan
Micky Flanagan | |
---|---|
![]() Flanagan in 2010 | |
Birth name | Michael John Flanagan |
Born |
[1] Whitechapel, London, England | 7 October 1962
Medium | Television, radio, stand-up |
Years active | 1997–present |
Website |
mickyflanagan |
Michael John Flanagan (born 7 October 1962[2]) is an English comedian. Flanagan has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured Britain with stand-up shows. He presented Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change? for Radio 4 and has appeared on various TV shows including Mock the Week, A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Was It Something I Said? and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow.
Early life and career
Flanagan was born in Whitechapel, East London, and grew up on a Bethnal Green council estate. His father, Jim Flanagan, worked as a welder and latterly as a fish porter.[3] His father was also involved in petty crime, and served a small amount of prison time.[3]
Flanagan was a sensitive and thoughtful child, and keen to leave the East End of London.[3] At the age of 13 he joined the Young Socialists.[3] Flanagan was a bright student, but became disengaged with schoolwork, and began to skip classes.[3] He left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications.
Through his father he got his first job as a fish porter at Billingsgate Fish Market.[3] The work was well-paid, but Flanagan became disengaged with the job.[3] In 1981 he spent a summer on Fire Island, New York, where he worked as a kitchen porter.[3]
Flanagan returned to London and worked as a furniture maker for several years.[4][5] His business failed and he returned to Fire Island for another summer.[3]
Flanagan resumed education at the age of 25, beginning with a GCSE in English[6] and going on to a foundation course in arts and social sciences and a degree at City University, which he began aged 29.[4][5]
Flanagan went on to train as a teacher by taking the Postgraduate Certificate in Education,[7] but decided not to pursue teaching as a career, later describing the experience as "the unhappiest year of my life ... everything that was wrong about the school system when I was young was still the same".[4]
Comedy career
Flanagan became a professional comedian in 1997[8] after attending a comedy course at Jacksons Lane in 1996.[4]
His earliest comedy gigs were unpaid, so he worked as a painter and decorator during this time.[3]
He mined his upbringing for early comic material.[3]
In 2001 he performed in the Big Value Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe as one of four headline acts,[9] and in 2003 co-headlined a show with Nina Conti.[10]
He performed his first full-length solo show, What Chance Change? in 2006,[4] and in 2007 was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[11] He toured Great Britain with The Out Out Tour in 2010/2011.[12][13]
Flanagan was a regular performer on Out to Lunch on Radio 2 in 2008,[14] and appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow in 2009.[15] In 2010 he presented a four-part series for Radio 4 entitled Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?,[16] and performed on Live at the Apollo,[17] Stand Up for the Week[18] and the Royal Variety Performance.[19] He appeared on Mock the Week in 2010[20] and made further appearances in 2011.[21][22] He was a panellist on the BBC1 game show Epic Win, which was broadcast in August and September 2011.[23]
In 2009, Flanagan's agent lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that a television commercial for directory enquiries service 118 118 was using his "out out" catchphrase and skit.[15] The skit, performed on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, is based on the idea that people have different levels of going out, with "out out" referring to a big night out. The commercial featured an animated character using the phrase in a nightclub setting. The ASA acknowledged the similarity but said it was beyond its remit to take action.[15]
In 2011 Flanagan signed a deal with Ebury Publishing to write his autobiography.[24] He appeared in a celebrity version of The Chase, hosted by Bradley Walsh.
In 2012 he starred alongside Mark Watson and host Mark Dolan as a captain on the Channel 4 advertising-based comedy panel programme The Mad Bad Ad Show.[25] On 7 June 2013, he appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Dan Stevens, Hayden Panettiere, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. He was a team captain, alongside Frank Skinner on the BBC One comedy series I Love My Country, which is hosted by Gabby Logan. Additionally, he was a team captain on Channel 4 comedy panel show Was It Something I Said?.
In 2015 he took a year off, citing pressure and a need to process.[26]
Personal life
Flanagan is married to Mrs Catherine Flanagan (Nee Saunderson) they have one son, Joey Flanagan .[27] They live in East Dulwich.[28]
Stand-up DVDs
Title | Released | Notes |
---|---|---|
Live: The Out Out Tour | 14 November 2011 | Live at Southend's Cliffs Pavilion |
Back in the Game Live | 18 November 2013 | Live at London's Hackney Empire |
An' Another Fing Live | 20 November 2017 | Live at London's O2 Arena |
References
- ↑ Dessau, Bruce (14 September 2013). "Micky Flanagan talks to Bruce Dessau about turning 50 and his latest show". Waltham Forest Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ↑ Profile, findmypast.co.uk; accessed 31 December 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Micky Flanagan, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (Nov 2017)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hay, Malcolm (7 August 2006). "Micky Flanagan: Interview". Time Out. London. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- 1 2 Holland, Jessica (9 April 2009). "Interview with comedian Micky Flanagan". The London Paper. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ↑ Burrell, Ian (20 November 2011). "Micky Flanagan: The ragged-trousered controversialist". The Independent. London. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ↑ Fleckney, Paul (15 February 2007). "Cockney charmer". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ↑ "Micky Flanagan". Comedy Central (UK). Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ↑ "Big Value Comedy Show ... Early". Chortle. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ "Nina Conti and Micky Flanagan". Chortle. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ Smith, Alistair (22 August 2007). "Edinburgh's If.Comedy Awards shortlist announced". The Stage. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ Burgess, Marissa (28 January 2011). "Interview: Micky Flanagan". City Life. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
- ↑ "Micky Flanagan: The Out Out Tour". Chortle. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ↑ "Programme Information". BBC Press Office. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- 1 2 3 Sweeney, Mark (12 November 2009). "118 118 lifted my catchphrase, says comedian Micky Flanagan". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ "Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ "Live at the Apollo". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
- ↑ "Stand Up for the Week". Channel4.com. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ "The Royal Variety Performance". BBC Online. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ↑ "Mock the Week Series 9 Episode 3". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
- ↑ "Mock the Week Series 10 Episode 4". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
- ↑ "Mock the Week Series 10 Episode 5". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
- ↑ "Epic Win". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ↑ Neill, Graeme (12 August 2011). "Ebury buys Micky Flanagan memoir". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ↑ "The Mad Bad Ad Show, coming soon to Channel 4" (Press release). Channel 4 Press. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ↑ Micky Flanagan, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (Nov 2017)
- ↑ Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker, BBC Two, 21 December 2011
- ↑ Miranda Sawyer (5 June 2010). "Breaking news; The Reith Lectures; Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?". Retrieved 12 January 2012.