Jack Dee

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jack Dee
current events
Spouse
Susan Jane Hetherington
(m. 1989)
Children4
Notable works and rolesThe Jack Dee Show (1992–1994)
'Art' (1998)
Jack Dee: Live at the Apollo (2004–2006)
Lead Balloon (2006–2011)
Don't Sit in the Front Row (2012–2013)
Josh (2014–2017)
Bad Move (2017–2018)
Websitehttps://jackdeecomedy.com

James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
.

His UK television appearances include being a team captain on

Celebrity Big Brother 1
in 2001.

Early life and education

Jack Dee is the youngest of three children born to Rosemary (née Stamper) and Geoffrey Dee, after Joanna Innes Dee and David Simon Innes Dee. He was born in the Municipal Borough of Bromley, Kent[3] (now within the London Borough of Bromley) and grew up in Petts Wood[4] before moving with his family to Winchester when he was young. His father was a printer and his mother was the daughter of two repertory actors, Henry Lionel Pope Stamper (1906–1985) and Edna May Howard Innes (1904–1969).[5]

Dee was educated at both

waiter.[6]

Career

Dee's first public act was an open-mic gig in 1986 at

The Comedy Store, which he went to one evening after work.[7]
He was encouraged to write additional material and to tour the circuit.

Since the 1990s, he has performed sell-out acts at many high-profile venues (including the

British Comedy Award for Best Stage Newcomer in 1991, Dee was offered his own show; The Jack Dee Show first went out on Channel 4 in February 1992, bringing him to a wider audience. His combination of stand-up routines on television continued with Jack Dee's Saturday Night on ITV, Jack Dee's Happy Hour in 1997 and later Jack Dee Live at the Apollo in 2004 on BBC One
.

In 1996, he starred alongside

the Grimleys pilot (1997) before the role was recast for the series, and made guest appearances on such programmes as Silent Witness, Dalziel and Pascoe and Jonathan Creek
.

In 2001, he won

Celebrity Big Brother (then linked to fundraising for Comic Relief). During evictions, he dressed up in a tweed jacket and cap and held his packed suitcase, hoping to be voted out. During the eviction of another housemate he briefly absconded to sneak a quick kiss with his wife. He also escaped for several hours at night-time. He has subsequently said that he dislikes the treatment of the housemates by the show and its producers, and has refused all permission for any of the clips to be shown again.[8]

In 2004, he played the role of Steven Sharples MP the self-styled 'Deputy Home Secretary' alongside Warren Clarke and Dervla Kirwan in The Deputy. Dee's performance was praised, though the film itself received a lukewarm response.[9] Later that year he starred in another one-off drama, Tunnel of Love. He was the celebrity advocate in Britain's Best Sitcom for Fawlty Towers and presented an hour-long documentary[10] about the series.

In 2005, he co-hosted Comic Aid, a one-off gathering of comedians that aimed to raise money for the

Suzuki Liana leader board). His series Lead Balloon, which he also co-wrote, began on BBC Four on 4 October 2006. Described as "Britain's answer to Curb Your Enthusiasm",[11] Lead Balloon sees Dee play the semi-biographical role of Rick Spleen. A second series of eight episodes was commissioned and was broadcast on BBC Two in 2007, with a third series debuting on Thursday 13 November 2008. A fourth series finished on the BBC on 5 July 2011.[12][non-primary source needed] He also starred as Harry in the 2005 film Short Order
.

In February 2009, it was announced that Dee would be one of a trio of hosts to replace the late

'Art'. He later returned as Serge for a 13-week run at the request of the director.[4]

Dee performing in 2020

In 2008, Dee took part in the 15th anniversary special of

BBC2. Dee returned as team captain in series 6 of Shooting Stars on 26 August 2009, and again for the 7th series. Over Christmas 2009, Dee played the role of John Tweedledum in The News at Bedtime
.

In 2010, Dee took part in

Zambezi River
. They raised more than £1 million for the charity.

In 2017, Dee co-wrote and starred in Bad Move, a sitcom about a middle-aged man and his wife (played by Kerry Godliman) who move from the city to a country cottage in search of the rural dream, which becomes more of a nightmare. A second series was broadcast in 2018.

Personal life

Dee met Susan Jane Hetherington in 1986, when he was working as a waiter in

Winchester, Hampshire, in 1989.[16] The couple divide their time between a family home in Wandsworth, London and a holiday house near Chichester, West Sussex.[17][18] Together, they have four children.[16]

Dee suffers from depression, and he has claimed that his work is the best therapy for his condition, saying "if you have the impulse to be creative, you ignore it at your peril".[19]

In his twenties, Dee worked at

the Ritz in Central London and started drinking heavily. He attended church and attempted to become a priest. After he realised that was not for him he gave it up, and never quit drinking, although he would later describe his condition as "alcohol abuse" rather than alcoholism, which was the diagnosis at the time.[20] Since the 1990s, he has advertised John Smith's Bitter, becoming known as "the midget with the widget
". Following his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, he had a relapse, though did not attend AA meetings because he did not want paparazzi photographing him leaving the meetings.[21]

In 2007, the Daily Express reported that he was in negotiations with publishers to release his autobiography.[22] He signed with Doubleday in 2008 and the book, Thanks for Nothing: The Jack Dee Memoirs, was released in October 2009, along with an audiobook of the same title which he narrates.[23] According to Dee, "it's really the story of how I got into comedy... It's kind of an autobiography but isn't, as it stops about 25 years ago. It goes right up to the first time I do stand up."[24]

In February 2009, Dee and several other entertainers wrote an open letter to The Times supporting Baháʼí leaders, then on trial in Iran.[25]

Dee is a director of Open Mike Productions, co-founded with Addison Cresswell,[26] which produces shows for television and radio including Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow and Alan Carr: Chatty Man.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1992–1994 The Jack Dee Show Presenter
1993 The South Bank Show Himself Guest
1995 Top of the Pops Guest Presenter 3 episodes
The Steal Wilmot's Servant Guest role
1996 Jack & Jeremy's Real Lives Various characters
1997 Clive Anderson Guest
The Grimleys Doug Digby Main cast
1999 Comic Relief Presenter
It's only TV, But I like It Team captain
Silent Witness Chris Caldwell Guest role
2000 Don't Panic: The Dad's Army Story Himself Guest
2000–2001 Jack Dee's Happy Hour Himself Regular
2001 Celebrity Big Brother Contestant Winner
Trust Me I'm a Celebrity Presenter
2002 Dalziel and Pascoe Dick Dee Guest role
Jack Dee: Sent To Siberia Himself
2003 Comic Relief Himself
Jonathan Creek Dudley Houseman Guest role
2004
Spivs
Nigel
Bob Monkhouse: A BAFTA Tribute Himself Guest
Tunnel of Love Roy TV movie
2004–2005, 2007, 2013 Live at the Apollo Presenter and Guest Presenter
2005 Comic Aid Presenter One-off edition
2006 Mark Lawson Talks To... Himself Guest
The Last Drop Warren
2006–2011 Lead Balloon Rick Spleen Main cast
2007 Dawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy Regular
The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz Contestant
Jack Dee Up Close Presenter
2008 Happy Birthday Brucie Himself Guest
The Comedy Map of Britain Himself
2008–2011
Shooting Stars
Team captain
2009 Kingdom Judge Jeremey Harding Guest role
2010
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
Guest judge
Channel 4's Comedy Gala Performer
A Comedy Roast Roaster
Fry & Laurie Reunited Himself Guest
2011 24 Hour Panel People Himself
Wall of Fame
Team captain
My Favourite Joke Himself 5 episodes
2014—2017 Josh Geoff Main cast
2015 Alternative Election Night Himself Panellist
The Apprentice: You're Fired! Presenter
Series 11
2015–2016 Jack Dee's Helpdesk Presenter
2016 Power Monkeys Oliver Main cast
2017–2018 Bad Move Steve Main cast, 13 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
1991
British Comedy Award
Best Stage Newcomer Won
Perrier Comedy Award
Nominated
1997 British Advertising Award John Smith's Bitter Commercials Won
British Comedy Award
Best Stand-up Comedian Won
2006
British Academy Television Award
Best Entertainment Performance Jack Dee Live at the Apollo Nominated

Books

Stand-up VHS & DVDs

  • Live at the Duke of York's Theatre (1992)
  • Live at the London Palladium (10 October 1994)
  • Live in London (10 November 1997)
  • Live and Uncut (13 December 1999) [extended version of Live in London]
  • Live at the Apollo (18 November 2002)
  • Live Again (14 November 2005)
  • So What? Live (18 November 2013)

References

  1. Loose Ends. 24 October 2009. BBC Radio 4
    . Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. ^ Bassett, Kate (24 May 1997). "Mr Deadpan loosens up". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b BBC Comedy Guide: Jack Dee. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
  5. ^ Dee, Jack. Thanks For Nothing. Doubleday, 2009, pp. 133–34, 171.
  6. London Evening Standard. Archived from the original
    on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  7. ^ Different sources give different dates for the open-mike gig, with some saying 1986, some 1987 and some 1988. An interview with The Times in 2004 states 1987. Chortle gives 1986 and 1988 on the same page. His biography at Off The Kerb, which represents him, gives it as 1986.
  8. ^ Jack Dee, Mark Lawson (3 October 2006). Mark Lawson Talks to Jack Dee. BBC Four (TV-series).
  9. ^ Flett, Kathryn (29 February 2004). "The ups and downs of pros and cons". The Observer. London, UK. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
  10. ^ "BBC – Press Office – Britain's Best Sitcom top 10". BBC. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  11. ^ Byrne, Ciar (26 January 2006). "Dee writes BBC's answer to "Curb Your Enthusiasm"". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 14 September 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
  12. ^ "Jack Dee on Twitter".
  13. ^ "Fry, Brydon, Dee to host 'Clue' return". Digital Spy. 25 February 2009.
  14. ^ Jack Dee to host Radio 4's Clue, BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  15. ^ Farndale, Nigel (23 November 2009). "The Sunshine boy: Jack Dee interview". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 26 November 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  16. ^ a b Barfoot, Paul. "There's more to funny fella Jack Dee than just deadpan wit". BBC Entertainment. BBC. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  17. ^ "Jack on Jack: When Dee met Whitehall". 6 December 2013.
  18. ^ "Jack Dee: " I just really, really love West Sussex"". 27 September 2021.
  19. ^ The Sunshine boy: Jack Dee interview, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  20. ^ Wark, Penny (8 March 2002). "Jack Dee: a seriously funny man". The Times.
  21. ^ Billen, Andrew (17 February 2004). "Politics? I'd rather talk about God". The Times.
  22. ^ Spencer, Kathryn (4 January 2007). "Jack's back in bid to sell his life story". Daily Express.
  23. ^ "It's his autobiograph-Dee". Chortle. 4 December 2008.
  24. ^ Thair, David (8 May 2009). "HIGNFY Guest Host interview: Jack Dee". BBC Comedy Blog.
  25. ^ Bremner, Charles; Robertson, David (26 February 2009). "Stand up for Iran's Baha'is – Voices from the arts call for the imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran to receive a fair trial". The Times. London, UK.
  26. ^ Richardson, Jay (24 September 2012). "Interview: Jack Dee, stand-up comedian". The Scotsman.

External links

Preceded by
None
Series 1 (2001)
Succeeded by