Simon Day is a
BritishThe 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...
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
most famous for his roles in the sketch show
The Fast ShowThe Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
, sitcom
Grass and a series of comedic adverts for Powergen.
Life and career
Day's teenage life was troubled: he was addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling and spent some time in
BorstalA borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
for theft.
Day rose to fame as a stand up comic, winning the Time Out new act of the year in 1991 with his music hall character Tommy Cockles. He then appeared on the
BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
show
Paramount City as a weekly guest. He continued working live all over England before joining up with
Vic ReevesJames Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
and
Bob MortimerRobert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
for two tours and two series of
Big Night OutVic Reeves Big Night Out was a cult British comedy stage show and later TV series which ran on Channel 4 for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special...
. He continued to work with Vic Reeves throughout the Nineties.
In 1994 he appeared as a cast regular in
Saturday Zoo,
Channel 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...
's Saturday night extravaganza where he appeared as his groundbreaking white rapper Ice Pick. TV credits include
Heartbeat,
Jonathan CreekJonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
,
Sensitive SkinSensitive Skin is a British black comedy/drama, produced by Baby Cow Productions for BBC Two. It stars Joanna Lumley and first aired in 2005, with a second series following in 2007. Series 1 and 2 have aired on CBC Country Canada. Series 1 aired in Australia on ABC TV in mid 2007 .On 16 April 2008,...
,
Love SoupLove Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert...
,
Driving SchoolDriving School is a docusoap that was broadcast on BBC One in 1997, which followed a group of learner drivers around Bristol and South Wales...
, and
SkinsSkins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
. Film credits include
Shakespeare in LoveShakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
, as a ferryman on the Thames.
He collaborated with The Transit Kings in 2005/2006 on their soaring ambient track "The Last Lighthouse Keeper" which appears on their debut album
Living in a Giant Candle Winking at GodLiving in a Giant Candle Winking at God is the debut album by the Transit Kings. It featured guest appearances from The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and comedian Simon Day...
.
He is also known for playing Geoff, an alcoholic car salesman in the TV sitcom
Swiss ToniSwiss Toni is a fictional used-car dealer played by Charlie Higson, and also the title of a sitcom in which he is the main character. Swiss Toni is a 50-something car dealer going through a midlife crisis. To Toni almost any situation in life is best understood as being "like making love to a...
, also starring
Charlie HigsonCharles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
and
Rhys ThomasRhys 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...
as his colleagues.
After failing to pass his driving test for charity during the 2003 Comic Relief Programme, Day later went on to gain an automatic driving licence.
In 2008 Day embarked on his first solo UK stand-up tour entitled 'What a Fool Believes' that saw him play 36 dates during the period 30 October - 15 December.
In 2009 Day collaborated again with
Rhys ThomasRhys 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...
and wrote and starred in a web series of six videos as the character Brian Pern for the
BBCThe 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...
.
In 2010, Day appeared in the long-running BBC TV series
HustleHustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
, playing Luke Baincross, a wannabe playboy with a huge country mansion.
In May 2010, Day played a hospital porter in BBC TV Series
Holby CityHolby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
on his last day at work following his resignation having won the National Lottery. He has an altercation with a patient's relative and receives a bang on the head, and he becomes increasingly lary during the episode, at one point making a pass at
Connie BeauchampConstance "Connie" Beauchamp is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Amanda Mealing. She first appeared in the series six episode "In at the Deep End", broadcast on 1 June 2004, and remained in the programme until its thirteenth series, departing in the...
; people assume he is drunk, but it transpires that he has a developed a
Subdural hematomaA subdural hematoma or subdural haematoma , also known as a subdural haemorrhage , is a type of haematoma, a form of traumatic brain injury. Blood gathers within the outermost meningeal layer, between the dura mater, which adheres to the skull, and the arachnoid mater, which envelops the brain...
as a result of the knock on the head.
Day has appeared as a pundit on the long-running
BBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
Sports Pundit Quiz
Fighting TalkFighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. Its first series aired in October 2003, and was presented by Johnny Vaughan. The second series featured Christian O'Connell. It is currently hosted by Colin Murray and is aired on Saturday...
on a number of occasions, and is most notable for swearing during a live broadcast during a show in 2009. This was later edited out on the Podcast version of the show.
Day is due to appear in an online-only version of The Fast Show sponsored by Lager brand Fosters on the 10th of November 2011 along with original cast save for Mark Williams.
The Fast Show roles
- Antonios Gubba, from Chanel 9
- Billy Bleach
- Carl Hooper
- Competitive Dad
- Dave Angel, Eco-Warrior
- John Actor, who plays Inspector Monkfish
- Tommy Cockles
- Gideon Soames, architecture expert
- Jeremy Kwee, a 'white witch doctor' who appears on the Jazz Club segment, intended as a parody of Jamiroquai lead singer Jay Kay.
External links