Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s.[1] Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including numerous pantomimes. He was the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 10 in 2012.
Clary was born on 25 May 1959 in Surbiton, Surrey, to Brenda (née McDonald) Clary, a probation officer, and Peter J. Clary, a police officer. He was brought up in Teddington, Middlesex, with two older sisters. By his own account, he was conceived "in broad daylight" in Clacton-on-Sea in 1958.[2] Two of his great-grandparents were Germans who had immigrated to Britain at the end of the nineteenth century.[3] He and his siblings were raised as Roman Catholics. He attended St Benedict's School, Ealing[4] and, later, he studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths' College, University of London.
Stand-up comedy
Clary is gay, and his sexuality forms the basis for much of his comedy. He refers to himself as a "renowned homosexual"[5] and is known for his outrageous and flamboyant costumes and make-up, and interactions with his audience such as looking in their bags, commenting on their attire and flirting with straight men in the audience. For those who get too close he is quick to respond "Don't touch me". He has been assisted by Hugh Jelly and others in audience participation segments.
Clary began his career under the name Leo Hurll, a fake keyboardist for pop band Thinkman (a recording project conceived by Rupert Hine).[6][7] He entered the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s, firstly under the alias Gillian Pieface and later as The Joan Collins Fan Club. He wore heavy glam make-up and dressed in outrageous clothes, often involving leather/PVC and hinting at bondage. His pet dog Fanny the Wonderdog, a whippet mongrel, also featured in performances.[8]
Since then, Clary has undertaken several tours of his stage act, some of which have been released on home video, including:
He was named Ambassador for the 2016 Adelaide Fringe, responsible for promoting the festival internationally.[12]
Television
After a number of appearances on Friday Night Live in the mid- to late 1980s,[13] Clary co-hosted the short-lived ITV game show Trick or Treat in 1989 with Mike Smith, before achieving greater success later that year with his own high-camp Channel 4 game show, Sticky Moments with Julian Clary.[14] More a vehicle for his brand of humour than a genuine gameshow, Sticky Moments was a light-hearted "non-quiz" satire, with him often awarding points because he liked the contestants, rather than because they possessed a particular skill or aptitude. He later starred in the 1992 audience participation sitcom Terry and Julian with Lee Simpson, again for Channel 4.[14]
Also in 1992, he played a cameo guest star part in the BBC drama Virtual Murder. In the episode "A Dream of Dracula", he played an undertaker, alongside other guest stars including Alfred Marks, Jill Gascoine, Ronald Fraser and Peggy Mount. In the same year, while visiting Australia, he made a controversial appearance alongside Rex Mossop on Tonight Live with Steve Vizard, during which Mossop espoused homophobic opinions.[15] He also appeared in an episode of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1991.
On 12 December 1993, he made an infamous appearance at the British Comedy Awards, where he made a joke comparing the set to Hampstead Heath (some of which is known as a cruising area for gay men) and stated he had just been fisting the former Chancellor of the ExchequerNorman Lamont, who had presented an award earlier in the ceremony. Due to the instant audience reaction, the punchline ("Talk about a red box!") was widely overlooked.[16][17][18] Although the joke was met with uproarious laughter from the audience and Lamont himself did not complain over it, he was criticised in some newspapers, particularly by the Daily Mail and The Sun, who both launched a campaign to have him banned from television.[19] Despite these attempts, Clary's next series was the BBC's studio-based All Rise for Julian Clary in 1996, in which he played a judge in a mock courtroom setting.[8]
From 1998 to 2001, he hosted three series of the Sky TV show Prickly Heat, the first two series with Davina McCall, the last one with Denise van Outen.[20] Additionally, from 1999 to 2002, he was the face of Daz laundry detergent, taking over from Shane Richie, Michael Barrymore and Danny Baker. He is a recurring performer and one of the most popular performers in the ITV Pantos. He played "First Henchman" and "Tim" in 1998's Jack and The Beanstalk; "The Good Fairy" in 2000's Cinderella; "The Genie of the Lamp" in 2000's Aladdin and "Chris the Cat" in 2002's Dick Whittington.[21] In 1999, he became a team captain on the quiz show It's Only TV...but I Like It, alongside Phill Jupitus and Jonathan Ross.[22] In 2003, he presented the first series of the Japanese TV clip show, Sushi TV for Challenge. In 2004, he took part in the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, finishing third with his partner Erin Boag.[8] In 2005, he hosted Come and Have A Go for the National Lottery.[23]
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 2001 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel during the curtain call of the pantomime Cinderella at the Richmond Theatre.[citation needed]
In September 2006, he returned to primetime TV as presenter and judge on Channel 5's brand new celebrity performance programme The All Star Talent Show. He was joined by two guest judges every week to assess celebrity performances and co-presented with Myleene Klass and Andi Peters. He also narrated the Channel 5 children's series The Little Princess with Jane Horrocks.[25]
From 20 March 2007, Clary presented a brand-new show for the BBC called The Underdog Show. Celebrities and children were paired up with rescue dogs. They then commenced training and competed against each other in obedience and agility trials in a live arena. The show ran until 26 April 2007.[28]
In March 2015, it was announced that Clary would take part in ITV's Give a Pet a Home show which works alongside the RSPCA in Birmingham.[30] The series began airing on 15 April 2015 for six episodes.
From 1 August 2015, Clary presented Nature Nuts with Julian Clary, a new three-part nature show for ITV.[31]
From 2 October 2007, he played the much coveted role of 'Emcee', in Rufus Norris's Olivier Award-winning production of Cabaret, which was in its second year in the West End. Clary was with the show until 19 April 2008. The following year he took part in the Strictly Come Dancing Tour in January and February 2009. He was partnered with Lilia Kopylova.[8]
Clary starred as Michael in Le Grand Mort, a play written specifically for him by playwright Stephen Clark (prior to his death in 2016), opposite James Nelson-Joyce as Tim from 20 September to 28 October 2017 at Trafalgar Studios 2 in London's West End.
Clary has appeared in numerous Christmas pantomimes and has recently become a regular star of the London Palladium pantomimes. In December 2019, Clary was inducted in a ceremony held by Andrew Lloyd Webber onto the Wall of Fame, joining the many stars that have appeared at the Palladium.[34]
In 2023, Clary joined the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar for the UK tour, playing the part of Herod from 11 September onwards.[35]
Clary returned to film in 2001 in the film The Baby Juice Express[37] which starred Lisa Faulkner, Samantha Womack, Ruth Jones and David Seaman, about a prisoner who is desperate to find some way of conceiving with his wife while he is in prison, but the sperm ends up getting hijacked. It was released on DVD in 2004.
In 1992 Clary hosted a radio show for the BBC called Intimate Contact, the premise of which was for him to act as a genial 'Mr Fix-it' for a wide range of 'punter' problems. Clary attempted to solve these issues over the telephone, with the assistance of roving reporter "Hugh Jelly" (actor Philip Herbert). It originally aired on BBC Radio 1 for two series; the pilot and 6-part first series have since been repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra a number of times.[39][40]
In 2024 it was announced that Julian will star in BBC Radio 4 comedy series Tom and Lauren are Going OOT playing the role of Neil.
Writing
Clary has released two large-format comedy books: My Life With Fanny The Wonder Dog (1989) and How To Be A Man (1992). Between 2005 and 2008, Clary wrote a fortnightly column for the New Statesman magazine.
Autobiographies
He published an autobiography, A Young Man's Passage, which covers his life and career up to the 1993 "Norman Lamont incident" at the British Comedy Awards (see above). Then in 2021 The Lick of Love: How Dogs Changed My Life, telling his life through his pets to more recent times.
Clary, Julian (7 April 2005). A Young Man's Passage. Ebury Press. ISBN978-0-09-190872-0.
Clary, Julian (October 2021). The Lick of Love: How Dogs Changed My Life. Quercus. ISBN978-1529412505.
Novels
In 2007, Clary released his first novel, Murder Most Fab, published by Ebury Press. His second novel, Devil in Disguise, was published in 2009.
Clary, Julian (3 March 2016). The Bolds to the Rescue. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1783443802.
Clary, Julian (13 July 2017). The Bolds on Holiday. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1783445066.
Clary, Julian (February 2018). The Bolds' Great Adventure: World Book Day 2018. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1783446292.
Clary, Julian (September 2018). The Bolds in Trouble. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1787611283.
Clary, Julian (October 2019). The Bolds' Christmas Cracker: A Festive Puzzle Book. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1783448425.
Clary, Julian (July 2020). The Bolds Go Wild. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1783448043.
Clary, Julian (July 2021). The Bolds Go Green. Andersen Press. ISBN978-1839132070.
Music
Clary often performs comical renditions of musical numbers in his stage and television appearances, ranging from old classics to original material. He released a music single in 1988 (credited as the Joan Collins Fan Club), a humorous rendition of "Leader of the Pack", which he often performed in his stage and television appearances at the time. The single was produced by Rupert Hine and reached number 60 in the UK Singles Chart.[41] Another single, "Wand'rin' Star", was released in 1990. The single was backed with the self-penned track, "Uncanny and Unnatural".
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↑ "Close Up talks to camp comedian Julian Clary". Tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 12 May 2010.:(Commentary; "The conservatively raised Catholic with the flawless skin is now happy to confront aging and he is taking it literally in his stride.")
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