Phil Ellis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 October 1981 Preston, England |
| Occupation | Stand-up comedian |
| Years active | 2000s–present |
Phillip Michael Ellis [1] (born 1981 [2] [3] [4] ) is an English stand-up comedian from Preston, Lancashire. [5] In 2023, his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality, [6] and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. [7] He competed in the 20th series of Taskmaster . [8]
Ellis was born in Preston, Lancashire. His interest in comedy began as a child when he would ask his mother for comedy VHS tapes which she would buy from the Asda she worked at as she had an employee discount. [9] He watched shows like Bottom and The Young Ones , The League of Gentlemen , and Red Dwarf . He has been influenced by comedians such as Rik Mayall, Bob Mortimer, Sean Lock, and Lee Mack. [9] [10] Ellis went to Archbishop Temple School, and then Runshaw College in Leyland. [11] He later went to University of Staffordshire and was awarded a level three degree in media and production. Afterwards, he worked at an airbag factory and at Domino’s as a pizza delivery driver. [9] [10]
Ellis's TV appearances include The Russell Howard Hour , Drunk History , Roast Battle , The Tez O'Clock Show, and Redknapp's Big Night Out. [12] Ellis wrote and starred in three series of his own BBC Radio 4 show, Phil Ellis is Trying, [13] and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe every year since 2013. [12] He won the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel prize in 2014 for Funz and Gamez, a children's game show with adult jokes. [14] In his shows he is known for making up lies about his personal life, for example in his 2013 show Phil Ellis: Unplanned Orphan, one of the main premises of the show was that his parents told him at age thirty that he was adopted and in another more recent show spoke about his two children, when in reality neither of these things are true as he isn't adopted and doesn't have children. [15]
In 2023, his Edinburgh Fringe show Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. [6] Ellis was announced as a contestant of the 20th series of Taskmaster in 2025 along with Ania Magliano, Maisie Adam, Reece Shearsmith and Sanjeev Bhaskar. [16] He tied for first place with Magliano and Adam; Adam then won the tiebreaker challenge, making Ellis place second.
Ellis's 2025 Edinburgh Fringe show, Soppy Stern, won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Act That Should Make a Million Quid, [17] and was a joint-winner for Best Show for the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards. [18] Ellis also brought back his award-winning hit kids show, Funz and Gamez, for a two-week run entitled Funz and Gamez Rebootz. It won Best Fringe Kids Show at The List Festival Awards. [19]
It was announced Ellis will be taking his nationwide tour, Bath Mat, on the road starting on 9 December 2025 until 26 April 2026. It will include a 5-night run at Soho Theatre in London and stops in Cardiff, Brighton, Birmingham, Liverpool and more. [20] In October 2025, Ellis announced he was starting a podcast, Early Worms, with Anna Thomas. [21]
Ellis's shows at the Edinburgh Fringe have received many positive reviews. He was described by The Guardian as "a helter-skelter hour of fun"; [22] by Broadway Baby as "one of the finest and funniest comedians in the UK today" in 2023; and by The Skinny as a "conductor of chaos" in a 2024 review. [23] [24]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Phil's III | Writer | [25] |
| 2012 | The Tape Face Tapes | Various | BBC Comedy Feeds, pilot [26] |
| 2015 | Funz and Gamez | Writer, host, and associate producer | BBC Comedy Feeds, pilot [25] |
| 2016 | Drunk History | Second English Seaman [27] | One episode [25] |
| 2017 | The Russell Howard Hour | Himself | One episode [28] |
| Born Silly | Writer | [25] | |
| 2018 | Life Lessons | Phil | One episode [25] |
| Eaten By Lions | Ice Cream Man | [29] | |
| 2019 | The Tez O'Clock Show | Ensemble | Two episodes [12] |
| Jack & Phil's Power Hour | Himself | One-off comedy special | |
| Roast Battle | Himself | One episode | |
| 2020 | There She Goes | Captain Banana Crackers | One episode [25] |
| 2021 | Redknapp's Big Night Out | Hooligan | One episode [30] |
| Back Chat | Hans | One episode, voice only [25] | |
| 2025 | Tell Me When You're Bored from Rob Copland | Ensemble | [31] |
| Taskmaster | Himself | Contestant; series 20 [8] [16] |