Duncan Norvelle

Last updated

Duncan Norvelle (born 2 April 1958, Hoton, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England) is an English comedian in the variety tradition, who appeared on British television from the early 1980s. He was often referred to as Duncan "Chase me" Norvelle, stemming from his catchphrase "Chase me!" [1] His act was based on appearing to be a stereotypical camp homosexual. [2]

Contents

Entertainment career

In the mid 1980s, he hosted an unscreened pilot dating show called It's a Hoot for London Weekend Television. [3] [4] The series was eventually re-titled Blind Date and hosted by Liverpudlian singer and entertainer Cilla Black. [4] In 1991, Duncan appeared on the ITV comedy panel game show Through the Keyhole . 2008 saw him go out on tour as part of the Ricky Tomlinson Laughter Show. [1] Norvelle spent the 2009 pantomime season playing Buttons in Cinderella in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

In 2011, he appeared on Celebrity Come Dine with Me with Sean Hughes, Gina Yashere and Paul Tonkinson.

Health

Norvelle was hospitalised in 2012 after suffering a stroke, leaving him paralysed down the left side of his body. [5] After nine weeks in hospital, he cancelled his summer season with comedy duo Cannon and Ball, and was replaced by Stu Francis. [5]

In 2015, Norvelle chose the Embassy Theatre, Skegness, as his first performance after over three years off-stage, promising that funds from his show would be allocated to the Stroke Association. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Elton</span> British comedian, author, playwright, actor and director

Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as continuing as a stand-up comedian on stage and television. His style in the 1980s was left-wing political satire. Since then he has published 17 novels and written the musicals The Beautiful Game (2000), We Will Rock You (2002), Tonight's the Night (2003), and Love Never Dies (2010), the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. His novels cover the dystopian, comedy, and crime genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Wood</span> British comedian (1953–2016)

Victoria Wood was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in observational comedy and in satirising aspects of social class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Merton</span> English comedian (born 1957)

Paul James Martin, known by the stage name Paul Merton, is an English comedian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Dodd</span> English stand-up comedian and singer (1927–2018)

Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd was an English comedian, singer, and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances.

James Joseph Tarbuck is an English comedian, singer, actor, entertainer and game show host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Aherne</span> English actress, comedian and writer (1963–2016)

Caroline Mary Aherne was an English actress, comedian, writer and director. She was best known for performing as the acerbic chat show host Mrs Merton, in various roles in The Fast Show, and as Denise in The Royle Family (1998–2012), a series which she co-wrote. She won BAFTA awards for her work on The Mrs Merton Show and The Royle Family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Allen (comedian)</span> Irish comedian and satirist (1936–2005)

David Tynan O'Mahony, known professionally as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, satirist, and actor. He was best known for his observational comedy. Allen regularly provoked indignation by highlighting political hypocrisy and showing disdain for religious authority. His technique and style have influenced young British comedians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Tomlinson</span> English actor (born 1939)

Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in the soap opera Brookside (1982–1988), DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker (1993–2006) and Jim Royle in The Royle Family (1998–2012). He also played the titular character in the 2001 football mockumentary Mike Bassett: England Manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Maynard</span> English comedian and actor (1928–2018)

Walter Frederick George Williams, better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in Great Scott – It's Maynard! (1955–56). In the 1970s and 1980s, he starred in the successful British sitcoms Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt and The Gaffer and appeared in five films in the Carry On series. After a hiatus from television work in the late 1980s, Maynard starred as Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the long-running television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 2000, reprising the character in the spin-off The Royal in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Merchant</span> English comedian, actor, director and writer (born 1974)

Stephen James Merchant is an English comedian, actor, director, and writer. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series The Office (2001–2003), and co-writer, co-director, and co-star of both Extras (2005–2007) and Life's Too Short (2011–2013) alongside Ricky Gervais. With Gervais and Karl Pilkington, he hosted The Ricky Gervais Show in its radio, podcast, audiobook, and television formats; the radio version won a bronze Sony Award. He also provided the voice of the robotic "Intelligence Dampening Sphere" Wheatley in the 2011 video game Portal 2. Merchant co-developed the Sky One travel documentary series An Idiot Abroad (2010–2012) and co-created Lip Sync Battle (2015–present).

Kulvinder Ghir is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as one of the cast members in the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me (1998–2015). He is also known for playing Aslam in the Yorkshire-based film Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (1987), and Poly Verisof in Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Byrne (comedian)</span> Irish comedian

Edward Cathal Byrne is an Irish actor and comedian. He has presented the British television shows Just for Laughs and Uncut! Best Unseen Ads, has been a guest on numerous television panel games and has appeared on a number of television cooking shows.

<i>Blind Date</i> (British game show) UK game show

Blind Date is a British dating game show first produced by London Weekend Television. An unscreened pilot was made with comic Duncan Norvelle as presenter but it was eventually hosted by Cilla Black, who already hosted the LWT series Surprise Surprise. Blind Date originally ran on Saturday nights from 30 November 1985 to 31 May 2003 on ITV.

A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before. After a blind date they can decide whether they want to be in a relationship or not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Horne</span> British comedian and musician

Alexander James Jeffery Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

David Alexander Webster Lawson is an Australian actor and TV personality.

Duggie Brown was an English comedian and actor. He was the younger brother of actress and singer Lynne Perrie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Melody</span> English actor

Anthony John Melody was an English television character actor who appeared in a number of long running comedies and soap operas. with more than 100 television roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarred Christmas</span> New Zealand comedian (born 1980)

Jarred Christmas is a comedian from New Zealand who now lives and works in the United Kingdom. He won the Chortle Comedy Award for Best Compère in 2010, and the Fred Award in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Dommett</span> British actor and comedian

Joel Patrick Dommett is an English comedian, television presenter and actor. After beginning his career as an actor, and appearing in various television shows including Casualty and Skins, he embarked on stand-up comedy and television presenting and became known for his television roles in Live in Chelsea (2011–2012) and Impractical Jokers UK (2012–2014).

References

  1. 1 2 Ricky Tomlinson meets Scargill at opening - GALLERY The Star , 6 March 2008. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2021
  2. "Barrymore's Wife Falls For Another Camp Comic". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  3. "BFI Screenonline: Blind Date (1985-2003)". Screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Jennings, Luke (6 March 1994). "Independent on Sunday, 6 March 1994". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  5. 1 2 "BBC News - Comedian Duncan Norvelle suffers stroke". BBC. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  6. Comedian returns to stage at Skegness following life changing illness Boston Standard , 7 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2021