Walsh was born in Camden in London and in his early years lived in Lewisham with his mother, father and brother.[1][2] Throughout his entire upbringing Walsh's father was addicted to heroin and he has spoken about this experience in two of his stand up comedy specials "Kiss" and "Seann Walsh: Is Dead, Happy Now?".[3][4]
He attended St Winifred's primary school in Lewisham before moving to Brighton where he attended High School.[3][5][6] He left school with one GCSE examination pass, in Drama.[6][5] Walsh has commented that “I was too hyper as a child. You wouldn’t have got me to do anything. I’d no interest in sitting down behind a desk. I was much more interested in smoking in the woods, which is mainly what I did.”[7] and he has further commented on his regular cannabis use in high school on comedy panel shows.[8][9]
When Walsh was young he would regularly watch Jim Carrey films and Lee Evans stand-up specials and would repeat lines and re-enact scenarios from the films.[3] When Walsh was 17 he attended a stand up comedy club in Brighton[10][11] and this experience would later contribute to his interest in beginning stand up comedy.[3]
Career
Walsh is a graduate of Jill Edwards'[12] comedy workshops and performed his first gig in November 2006. He won several awards early in his career including Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (2009)[13] and Chortle Best Newcomer (2009).[14] Walsh supported Stephen K. Amos on his 2008/09 Find the Funny and 2009/10 The Feelgood Factor tours,[6][5] as well as at the 2010 Reading and Leeds Festival.
Walsh performed his 2012 show Seann to Be Wild[15] at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and toured the country with it. He has performed shows with fellow comedian Josh Widdicombe named "Ying and Young". His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show The Lie-In King received good press.[16]
Walsh's stand-up style has been described as "impressively universal, gag-heavy, observational".[16]
From 8 September 2018, Walsh participated in the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Katya Jones. Early in the series, it was reported that he had become romantically involved with Jones despite both of them being in long-term relationships, and his popularity suffered as a result.[18] Walsh and Jones did an interview with Zoe Ball following the controversy, where after a televised grilling from Ball, Walsh apologised.[19] The couple were voted out in Week 6.[20][21]
Walsh's relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries ended in October 2018 after a video and photos of him kissing his Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones were published. It was later reported that Katya and her husband Neil Jones had separated as an indirect result of the incident.[25] In a now-viral tweet, Humphries stated that Walsh had called her “mental” and “psycho” for voicing her suspicions about his relationship with Jones in the weeks leading up to the incident.[26] In her 2022 memoir Why Did You Stay?, Humphries alleged that Walsh had reacted similarly when confronted about other instances of inappropriate behaviour throughout their five-year relationship. Humphries described Walsh as an emotionally abusive, controlling, and aggressive partner, and stated that several women had come forward following the Strictly scandal to reveal Walsh’s numerous past affairs.[27] Walsh subsequently incorporated his experiences on Strictly into his standup act.[18] During an interview with Ellie Calnan, in March 2022, Walsh described how the incident was still "trauma" for him and how he underwent treatment for depression and anxiety, to help him cope with the fallout.[28]
Walsh has been in a relationship with dance teacher Grace Adderley since 2019. They live in Shepherd's Bush, London, and welcomed their first child, a daughter, in February 2023.[29][30] He is a Queens Park Rangers fan.[31][32]
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