Learner is Garth Marenghi's publisher, and regards Marenghi and his (highly dubious) talents with a respect that sometimes borders on worship. He also plays the role of Thornton Reed, a camp hospital administrator in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
In addition to publishing Marenghi's books and featuring in Marenghi's TV show, Learner is involved in several other side projects. One such venture is his management of the Formula Five motor racing team, "The Dean Team" which achieved significant success with driver Steve Pising winning four world titles. However, after departing The Dean Team, it is revealed that Pising experienced a major crash in his inaugural race with a new team, prompting speculation about Learner's potential involvement. After a hiatus, Pising collaborated with Learner again on a new TV show, "The Learner" where they conducted auditions for a position at Pising Parts, now under Learner's ownership.
Additionally, Dean has authored his autobiography, titled "I Have A Dean".
Ayoade portrays Learner as a notably sleazy and unscrupulous individual. The character appears devoid of emotion or the capacity to empathize with others, which may contribute to his perceived lack of acting prowess in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. For instance, in the Darkplace special features, when questioned about the fate of "Ahmed" the original financial backer of Darkplace, Learner callously states, "Ahmed very sadly died. He was shot dead in his flat". In another interview included in the Darkplace special features, Learner hints that when Marenghi partnered with another manager in the '80s, that manager swiftly met an untimely demise, leading Marenghi to return to Learner. Furthermore, there are implications that Learner possesses knowledge regarding the disappearance of Darkplace co-star Madeleine Wool, who portrayed Liz Asher. He also makes reference to an incident in which he punches one of the child actors in the head. Although Dean seems to be genuinely friendly with Garth and character actor Todd Rivers (played by Matt Berry), his relationship with other clients, colleagues and business associates of his are shown in Man to Man with Dean Learner as being more manipulative. In the sixth episode of Man to Man with Dean Learner, Dean and his cadre are shown as being primarily responsible for the public humiliation of charactor actor Randolph Caer (played by Matthew Holness), by advertising a ball to raise awareness against pubic lice using Caer's photograph.[citation needed]
Sexuality
Despite Learner's camp dress sense, he denies being homosexual. He has also been involved in pornography, including Channel Ladykiss.[citation needed]
A large part of the comedic appeal of the Dean Learner character is his odd and off-putting sexual life. In Man to Man with Dean Learner, Learner often makes awkward and unsolicited allusions to his sex life, and to his harem of girlfriends, that he refers to as "my girls". In the fictional TV show "The Learner", Learner shows favouritism only to the female contestant, and is shown to leave the set with her after shooting. In the DVD extras of Man to Man with Dean Learner, he lets his guest know that he needs to take a break to have intercourse. After having done so, he comes to his assistant to get his mouth wiped and calls her "Mommy".
Garth Marenghi is a fictional horror author created by English comedian Matthew Holness. He is depicted as a conceited hack writer, who remains blissfully unaware of his lack of talent.
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a British horror parody television series created by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness for Channel 4. The show focuses on fictional horror author Garth Marenghi and his publisher Dean Learner, characters who originated in the stage show Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight.
Andrew Hewitt is an English composer based in Los Angeles.
Matthew James Holness is an English comedian, director, author, plus actor. He created and played the fictional horror author Garth Marenghi.
Richard Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance.
Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight was a low-budget horror parody stage show written by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness, and starring Holness, Ayoade and Alice Lowe. The show, which spoofed Stephen King, was performed at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it was nominated for the Perrier Award.
Alice Eva Lowe is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has appeared as Dr. Haynes in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. She wrote, directed, and starred in the 2016 film Prevenge and starred in and co-wrote the 2012 film Sightseers. She also starred in the educational children's television series Horrible Histories.
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Matthew Charles Berry is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He has appeared in comedy television roles in The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, The Mighty Boosh, Snuff Box, What We Do in the Shadows, and Toast of London, the last of which he also co-created. The series earned him the 2015 BAFTA Award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. As a musician, he has released ten studio albums.
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Man to Man with Dean Learner is a British comedy chat show that was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 20 October 2006 and released on DVD on 3 September 2007. It features comedians Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness.
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Spencer Brown is an English comedian, actor, director and writer from London. His style is surreal and contains elements of slapstick, absurdity and silliness. He is currently presenting The Sexy Ads Show on Fiver/Channel Five.
Matthew James Green is an English actor and comedian.
Kim Noble is a comedian and artist, and was one half of the BAFTA-nominated comedy duo Noble and Silver, who won the 2000 Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. Kim has featured in shows such as The Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, and Man to Man with Dean Learner, as well as appearing onstage in his own one-man shows and exhibitions. His stage work, by himself and with Stuart Silver, had an emphasis on performance art, as well as surreal comedy.
The 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 54th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 5–27 August 2001 and presented 1462 shows over 176 venues.
Bunny and the Bull is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Paul King. It stars Edward Hogg and Simon Farnaby in a surreal recreation of a road trip. King has previously worked on British television comedies The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace; the film is made in a similar style and has cameo appearances from stars of those series.
Stuart Silver is a screenwriter, television writer, actor and director. He works solo and collaboratively and is co-founder of the BAFTA-nominated, performance duo Noble and Silver, who won the 2000 Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. Stuart has since appeared on stage in his own one-man show, You Look Like Ants and in shorter pieces. He has also featured in television shows such as Get Off Me, The Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, and Man to Man with Dean Learner.
Possum is a 2018 British psychological horror film written and directed by Matthew Holness in his feature film debut, starring Sean Harris and Alun Armstrong. It centres on a disgraced children's puppeteer who returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront trauma he suffered there.
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