Ashley Blaker

Ashley Blaker
Blaker in 2020
Birth name	Ashley Blaker
Born	London, UK
Medium	Television, radio, stand-up
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Oxford University, Cambridge University
Genres	Stand-up comedy, satire, observational comedy
Subject(s)	Human interaction, religion, Judaism, family
Notable works and roles	Little Britain

Ashley Blaker is a British radio and television producer, comedy writer and performer, and author. Blaker is a longtime collaborator with Matt Lucas: he was producer of Little Britain ^[1] and Rock Profile . ^[2] He also co-created and wrote The Matt Lucas Awards , and appeared in one episode.

As a stand-up comedian, Blaker’s first Off-Broadway show, Strictly Unorthodox, opened in May 2017 at The Theater Center. ^[3] and his second Off-Broadway show, Goy Friendly opened in February 2020, at the SoHo Playhouse. ^[4] Much of Blaker's stand-up material until the early 2020s was related to him being an Orthodox Jew. Matt Lucas, amongst others, described Blaker as "the UK's only Orthodox comedian". ^{[5] [6] [7]} After "12 years of immersion in the Charedi world", ^[8] Blaker stopped being observant. ^[8] In his solo career, he has written and performed for BBC radio and authored a book.

Career

Poster for Goy Friendly

Producer

Blaker began working for the BBC as a trainee radio producer, after completing one of their graduate courses. In 1999, he bumped into his old school friend Matt Lucas on a London street, it proved a turning point for both of them. ^[9] Lucas had pitched the idea of Little Britain to the controller of BBC Two, Jane Root. ^[9] Blaker suggested turning it into a radio show and despite the initial reluctance of Lucas' writing partner David Walliams, they decided to press ahead. ^[9] The show launched in 2000, and Blaker produced two series on the radio before the show switched to TV in 2003.

With Little Britain under way, the same team collaborated on Rock Profile . The first series was broadcast in 1999, consisting of 13 episodes on digital channel Play UK, with subsequent series appearing on BBC Two.

From 2012-13, Blaker was the producer, as well as co-creator and co-writer (alongside Matt Lucas) of the BBC One television show, The Matt Lucas Awards , ^[10] appearing on-screen in one episode.

In 2019, Blaker produced Little Brexit, a one-off Little Britain special, featuring the original cast, that was broadcast on 31 October 2019 on BBC Radio 4. ^[11] The concept was created due to Brexit, the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Lucas and Walliams both returned for this episode.

Stand-up comedian

In 2017, Blaker was commissioned by the BBC to create a show called Ashley Blaker's Goyish Guide To Judaism, ^[12] described as "an insider's view of his religion"". ^[13] It was broadcast in June 2018 as part of BBC Radio Four's Stand-Up Specials series. ^[14] A follow-up was commissioned and broadcast in 2019. ^[15]

Blaker's stand-up show, Observant Jew, was part of the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. ^[16] In 2019, he performed a UK tour titled Prophet Sharing alongside Muslim comedian Imran Yusuf. ^[17]

In August 2020, a new four-part series, Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children was commissioned from Blaker by BBC Radio 4; broadcast started in July 2021. ^{[18] [19]} A second series followed in 2023. ^{[20] [21]} A new series, '‘Ashley Blaker’s Hyperfixations'’ has been commissioned by Radio 4 to be broadcast in 2025. ^{[22] [23]}

Author

Blaker has written a book, titled Normal Schmormal: My occasionally helpful guide to parenting kids with special needs’'. It was published by HarperCollins, ^[24] and serialised by the Sunday Times. ^[25] He performed an Edinburgh Fringe show in 2023 and UK tour in 2024 both also called Normal Schmormal. ^[26]

Critical reception

His material has been described by the New York Times as being different from most other Jewish comics': "In contrast to most overtly Jewish comedy, which usually compares Jews and gentiles, most of his material juxtaposes the frum and not frum." ^[27] The paper's review described him as "a skilled joke-teller with none of the borscht belt timing you would expect from a Catskills comic. And since we rarely hear the perspective of the ultra-Orthodox in comedy clubs, there’s a pleasing freshness about an act that offers a look into a world often hidden from public view." ^[27]

Personal life

Blaker was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, a school that produced a number of comedians at around the same time. He is four years younger than alumnus Sacha Baron Cohen, ^[6] but wasn't at the school at the same time as David Baddiel. Most significantly, Blaker became friends at school with Matt Lucas, with whom he went on to create Little Britain. ^[1] He is a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge. ^[28] He embraced Orthodox Judaism in his early twenties. ^[1] By 2024, he was no longer observant. ^[29] He has six children, who in 2024, were aged 10-20. ^[29]

Bibliography

• Lucas, Matt (2017). Little Me. London: Canongate. ISBN   978-1786890863.

References

1. Richardson, Jay (2 January 2018). "The comedians who are putting their faith in jokes". iNews.
2. "Search - BBC Programme Index".
3. "Ashley Blaker: Strictly Unorthodox (Closed June 28, 2018) | Off-Broadway | reviews, cast and info | TheaterMania".
4. "Goy Friendly | Theater in New York".
5. Lucas 2017, p. 133.
6. Hoffman, Gil (27 December 2016). "Ashley Blaker: Born to Kvetch". Jerusalem Post.
7. Freedland, Michael. "Jonathan Sacks at 70 reinvents himself as the 'cartoon rabbi'" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
8. https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/why-ashley-blaker-switched-his-black-hat-for-blonde-hair-and-tattoos/
9. Lucas 2017, p. 160.
10. British Comedy Guide. "The Matt Lucas Awards - BBC1 Panel Show - British Comedy Guide". Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
11. "BBC Radio 4 - Little Brexit". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
12. "BBC Radio 4 - Stand-Up Specials, Ashley Blaker's Goyish Guide to Judaism - 1".
13. "BBC - BBC Radio 4 announces dazzling line-up of new comedy titles - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk.
14. "BBC Radio 4 - Stand-Up Specials, Ashley Blaker's Goyish Guide to Judaism". BBC.
15. "BBC Radio 4 - Stand-Up Specials, Ashley Blaker's Goyish Guide to Judaism - 2". BBC.
16. Savitsky, Sasha (23 July 2018). "Orthodox Jewish comedian Ashley Blaker works in show business but he can't own a TV". Fox News.
17. "Ashley Blaker and Imran Yusuf: 'It's incredible how much we are alike. Thankfully, we never seem to run out of material!'". 16 October 2019.
18. "Ashley Blaker lands new Radio 4 series". 4 August 2020.
19. "New radio comedy for Ashley Blaker - and his family : News 2020 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide".
20. https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2021/11/22/49673/radio_4_renews_ashley_blaker%3A_6.5_children
21. https://www.bigissue.com/culture/radio/anti-vaxxers-the-jewish-conspiracy-and-6-5-children/
22. https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2024/07/17/56044/radio_4_commissions_a_new_ashley_blaker_stand-up_series
23. https://www.comedy.co.uk/radio/news/7979/radio-4-commissions-including-french-and-saunders/
24. https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/harpernonfiction-bags-comedian-blakers-memoir
25. https://www.thetimes.com/article/3bab667c-0a30-4d0b-8481-2d2ef00cd3ea?shareToken=140aa65330d52618c1f7867e2d9e5d90
26. https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/shows/1401/ashley-blaker-normal-schmormal/
27. Zinoman, Jason (13 June 2018). "What's So Funny About Orthodox Judaism? This Comic Has One Answer" – via NYTimes.com.
28. Hoffman, Barbara (25 May 2018). "This Jewish comedian has a lot to kvetch about".
29. https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/why-ashley-blaker-switched-his-black-hat-for-blonde-hair-and-tattoos/