Joe Wilkinson

Joseph Roland Wilkinson (born 2 May 1975) is an English comedian, actor, and writer. He began his comedy career in his local village pub in 2004 and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour.[3] He has also made numerous appearances on television on programmes such as Live at the Apollo and Live at the Electric and has been touring solo since 2011. He began appearing on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in 2012, initially as Rachel Riley's assistant. He has since gone on to become a regular panelist or guest team captain. He is also one half of the comedy duo "Two Episodes of Mash", alongside Diane Morgan. In 2019 Wilkinson took part in and won a celebrity special version of The Great British Bake Off (for Stand Up to Cancer UK).

Joe Wilkinson
Birth nameJoseph Roland Wilkinson
Born (1975-05-02) 2 May 1975[1]
Bromley, London, England[2]
MediumStand-up comedy, actor, writer
Years active2004–present
Genresdark comedy, surreal humour

In 2006, Wilkinson won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year.[4]

Early life

Wilkinson was born to Brian Wilkinson and Stella (née Dunster) Wilkinson[5] on 2 May 1975 and grew up in Kent.[6][2]

Career

Wilkinson started his career in 2004 at his local pub, which was holding an "open mic" evening for which he signed himself up.[7] Since 2008, he has performed many stand up shows including the tour "Joe Wilkinson: My Mum's Called Stella and My Dad's Called Brian",[7] and has appeared at venues such as the Edinburgh Fringe and the Bloomsbury Theatre.

Television

Since 2010, Wilkinson has appeared in a number of television shows. In 2010, he played various characters in the first series of Robert's Web. He appeared on The Rob Brydon Show, The Wright Stuff, Show & Tell, Comedy Lab, My Funniest Year, and the television film England's Worst Ever Football Team. He played a major role in Him & Her as Dan Perkins, the lonely, socially awkward neighbour to main characters Becky and Steve.

Wilkinson is a regular on popular British panel shows. He has appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks and has performed at a stand-up section of Russell Howard's Good News. He has appeared in Miranda.

Wilkinson wrote three episodes in the first series of Anna & Katy, as well as an animated short in 2012, A Fishy Tale. Additionally, three episodes of Show & Tell and the episode '2001' for My Funniest Year were written by him.

Wilkinson was involved in the BBC Three comedy show Live at the Electric as half of the comedic double-act "Two Episodes of MASH" with Diane Morgan.[8] It had been previously broadcast on BBC Radio 2.[3]

Since 2014, Wilkinson has appeared as a resident comedian on the revived series of Celebrity Squares, hosted by Warwick Davis on ITV.[9] It returned for a second series in April 2015.

In 2016, he starred in the Sky 1 series Rovers which he co-wrote with David Earl.[10] He was also a contestant on the second series of Dave comedy panel show Taskmaster.[11]

In 2019, Wilkinson appeared as Jeffrey in the first series of the Netflix original series Sex Education. He also starred in Ricky Gervais' comedy-drama After Life as "Postman Pat", the incompetent and nosey postman of the main character's street.

In November 2019 he starred in the 3-part Gold sitcom The Cockfields, which he co-wrote with David Earl. Wilkinson plays Simon who takes his girlfriend Donna (Diane Morgan) to meet his family at their home on the Isle of Wight for the very first time.[12]

8 Out of 10 Cats

Since 2012, Wilkinson has made semi regular appearances on the 8 Out of 10 Cats spin-off show, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. He generally partakes in the show's second half and occasionally he stands in as Rachel Riley's assistant. He often appears in costumes, performs stunts, and brings on special guests. In 2012, during the special episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Deal or No Deal, Wilkinson made a special appearance as the banker's assistant.

Stand-up

Wilkinson has performed two major tours: My Mum's called Stella and my Dad's called Brian[13] and The Joe Wilkinson Experience.[14] Both tours have received mixed reviews, but those for The Joe Wilkinson Experience exceeded those of My Mum's called Stella and my Dad's called Brian. In an August 2011 review for My Mum's called Stella and my Dad's called Brian, Steve Bennett said, "There's just enough to earn Wilkinson three stars, but it's a close call for a comedian who always seems to attract industry attention but never really comes up with the goods to make an impact."[15]

Other work

In 2014, Wilkinson appeared in a commercial for Hellmann's Mayonnaise with Sue Barker and Brian Blessed, and in 2015, Wilkinson began voicing ads for Hotels.com.

In June 2015, Wilkinson appeared in a live recording for the Flatshare Slamdown. From the beginning of the show, he was quite inebriated and had to be substituted with a member of the audience when he left to get himself another glass of wine. The episode was published in August 2017.[16]

In 2019, Wilkinson took part in a special episode of The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer, with Georgia Toffolo, Jeremy Paxman and Sally Lindsay. He made Gherkin inspired biscuits in round one which Paul Hollywood loved and he won First place. Round 2 was Chocolate Crumpets that also won First place. Round 3 was to bake a cake representing a Hobby he chose a Chocolate Orange cake to represent his "peachy bum" rear of the year award, this cake again won First place. Overall Joe Wilkinson won Star Baker [17]

Personal life

He married Petra Exton in July 2015 and lives in Brighton.[18] Wilkinson has been very open about how his life has been "boring" and states that it has been useful in giving him material for his stand-up tour and comedies.[19]

Wilkinson is a supporter of Gillingham F.C.[20][18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2008Monster from Bikini BeachLuau Burdett
2010England's Worst Ever Football TeamHimselfDocumentary
2012EggboxFast EddieTelevision film
2014The Feeling Nuts Comedy NightHimself
2015SuperBobThe Postman

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010–13 Him & Her Dan Perkins Main role
2011–19 8 Out of 10 Cats Himself Guest panellist (20 episodes)
2011 The Rob Brydon Show 1 episode
Comedy Lab Sheriff Episode: "Rick and Peter"
Show and Tell Himself 2 episodes
The Wright Stuff Guest panellist (1 episode)
2012 Russell Howard's Good News 1 episode
2012–present 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Rachel Riley's assistant, later regular panelist/guest team captain (48 episodes)
2012 Live at the Electric Various characters 8 episodes
2013 Have I Got News for You Himself 6 episodes
Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live 1 episode
2013–14 Miranda Norman 3 episodes
2014 Derek Cliff 2 episodes
24 Hours To Go Broke Himself 1 episode
2014–15 Celebrity Squares Resident comedian (15 episodes)
2015 Russell Howard's Stand Up Central 1 episode
2016 Taskmaster Contestant (5 episodes)
Rovers Lee Also writer, associate producer
2017 Still Open All Hours Wayne 1 episode
2018 The Crystal Maze Himself Contestant (1 episode)
2019 After Life Pat [21]
Comedians Watching Football with Friends Himself [22]
Moominvalley Hemulen Fisherman and Park Keeper (Voice) 2 episodes
The Cockfields Simon 3 episodes, also co-writer
2019-present Sex Education Jeffrey 2 episodes
2020 After Life Pat Season 2

References

  1. "Joseph Roland Wilkinson - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 26 November 2019. Occupation: Comedian
  2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007
  3. "Radio 2's Comedy Showcase, Two Episodes of Mash". BBC Online. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  4. "The Very Best of New Act Of The Year 2006 - Hosted by Tim Vine". All In London. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  5. "Joe Wilkinson: My Mum's Called Stella and My Dad's Called Brian". Edinburgh Festival. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  6. England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005
  7. "Interview with Joe Wilkinson". Comedy Blogedy. 21 November 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  8. Seale, Jack (2 June 2012). "Live at the Electric: Series 1 - Episode 1". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  9. "Celebrity Squares - resident comedians announced" (Press release). ITV. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  10. "Sky 1 scores a blinder with Rovers, a brand new comedy produced by Craig Cash". Sky UK. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  11. Taylor, Frances (13 December 2017). "Taskmaster Champion of Champions: Alex Horne rates the contenders". Radio Times. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  12. "The Cockfields - Gold Sitcom". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  13. Challis, Chris (12 October 2011). "Joe Wilkinson: My Mum's Called Stella, My Dad's Called Brian, Komedia, Brighton, October 12". The Argus. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  14. "Current Events - id:198 The Joe Wilkinson Experience". The Invisible Dot Ltd. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  15. Bennett, Steve (23 August 2011). "Joe WIlkinson: My Mum's Called Stella And My Dad's Called Brian". Chortle. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  16. British Comedy Guide. "Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown - Series 7 - Episode 4 (Stained Carpet)". SoundCloud. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  17. Archer, Katie (27 March 2019). "The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Joe Wilkinson's bottom cake wins him Star Baker". Yahoo! News.
  18. Bannister, Mike (12 September 2015). "Comedy Joe". Run Brighton. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  19. "Joe Wilkinson: My Mum's Called Stella and My Dad's Called Brian". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  20. Bill, Joe (31 October 2011). "A life less ordinary for Joe Wilkinson". Kent News. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  21. Wiseman, Andreas (5 July 2018). "'Downton Abbey' & 'Game Of Thrones' Stars Join Ricky Gervais In His New Netflix Comedy 'After Life', Shoot Under Way". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  22. "Comedians Watching Football With Friends press clippings". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
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