Leo Kearse (born Hamilton-Kearse, 17 July 1976) is a comedian and broadcaster from Scotland. His stand-up comedy routines have earned him the Scottish Comedian of the Year award and UK Pun Champion. A self-professed right-wing comedian, Kearse regularly appears on GB News.
Kearse grew up in Penpont in Dumfriesshire and attended Wallace Hall school. [1] After graduating from the University of Stirling, Kearse worked as a criminal intelligence analyst then as a consultant in national security and government. [2]
Kearse is known for being a right-wing comedian. [3] He covers anti-woke issues, such as cancel culture and perceived left-wing bias at the BBC. [4] [5]
He was a New Comedian Of 2011 finalist at the Leicester Square Theatre [6] and a finalist of the Laughing Horse New Act Of The Year Final 2012. [7] He then won the Chelmsford Comedian of the Year in 2012. [8]
Kearse was crowned the UK Pun Champion in 2015 after he beat off competition from fellow comedians Rob Thomas and reigning champion Darren Walsh. [9] Leo won the contest with such jokes as "I was in hospital last week. I asked the nurse if I could do my own stitches. She said 'suture self' and "Growing up on a farm, my dad was always telling me to use the indoor toilet. But I preferred to go against the grain". [10] [11]
After being awarded runner-up in 2016, he won the Scottish Comedian of the Year award in 2017. [12] [13] [14]
His breakthrough show Right Wing Comedian was cancelled by the Court Hotel venue at the Perth Fringe World in Australia in 2019 after his material was accused of being transphobic. [15] [16]
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Leo And Stephen Go Down On You | 2012 | With Stephen Bailey |
| Am I Right? | 2013 | |
| The Mangina Funalogs | 2014 | |
| I Can Make You Tory | 2017 | |
| Right-Wing Comedian | 2018 | |
| Transgressive | 2019 | |
| Cancel Culture | 2021 | |
Kearse has criticised the Scottish National Party, Scottish independence and the Scottish Hate Crime Act. [17] [18] [19]
The latter issue led him to become a Reclaim Party candidate in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Kearse stated that "With wokeness and extreme nationalism seemingly the only acceptable discourses allowed in Scotland these days, I feel now is the right time to stand up and be counted." He stood in Glasgow Pollok held by Humza Yousaf where he received 114 votes (0.3%). He also stood on the Glasgow regional list where he received 174 votes (0.1%) [20] [21]
Kearse is a GB News presenter appearing on the Headliners programme and presents his own show Saturday Night Showdown. [22] He also appeared as a guest on Good Morning Britain where he defended the principle of free speech. [23]
He is a co-host of the 3 Speech podcast with fellow comedians Darius Davies and Nico Yearwood. [24]
Kearse has written opinion pieces for The New Zealand Herald , The Independent and The Sun newspapers. [25] [26]