Steve Punt

Last updated

Steve Punt
Now Show 2005.jpg
Steve Punt (right) with Hugh Dennis on The Now Show in 2005
Birth nameStephen Mark Punt [1]
Born (1962-09-15) 15 September 1962 (age 62)
Dhekelia, Cyprus [ citation needed ]
Medium Radio, television
NationalityBritish
Alma mater St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Genres Political satire
Subject(s) Politics, current events
Notable works and roles The Mary Whitehouse Experience
The Now Show
It's Been a Bad Week

Stephen Mark Punt (born 15 September 1962) [1] is a British comedy writer, comedian and actor. Along with Hugh Dennis, he is part of the double act Punt and Dennis and was presenter of BBC Radio 4 satirical news programme The Now Show . He is also a writer and programme associate for various television panel game shows, including Would I Lie to You? and Mock the Week , and is a writer for fellow comedians such as Rory Bremner and Jasper Carrott.

Contents

Early life

Punt was educated at Whitgift School [2] and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he read English. While at Cambridge, he joined Footlights, where he first met comedy partner Hugh Dennis and was vice-president from 1983 to 1985 with Nick Hancock as president. He was in the writing team for three revues in a row. [3]

Career

While at university Punt began writing for the BBC Radio 4 series Week Ending . Punt and Dennis later became resident guest comedians on shows presented by Jasper Carrott, including Carrott Confidential and Canned Carrott with Punt contributing in the writing team as well. They also toured with Carrott as a live support act.

They were then recruited in 1988, along with fellow former Footlights member David Baddiel and his comedy partner Rob Newman, to write and perform a satirical sketch and stand-up show called The Mary Whitehouse Experience on BBC Radio 1. After three years, the show had proved such a big hit that it transferred to television. Punt and Dennis went on to perform in their own TV sketch show, The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show , and co-wrote and starred with Nick Hancock in the sitcom Me, You and Him .

Punt has worked more as a writer, script editor and voice-over artist in recent years, though he has also performed with Dennis in It's Been a Bad Week for BBC Radio 2. The pair were also the main presenters and writers of BBC Radio 4's The Now Show and the writers of Radio 4 sitcom The Party Line . Punt, with Mark Tavener, is co-writer of the 2007 Radio 4 series His Master's Voice . He also, with the help of Hugh Dennis, Jon Holmes, Marcus Brigstocke and Mitch Benn wrote The Now Show Book of World Records, a follow-up book for The Now Show.

Punt is a "programme associate" for the satirical programme Mock The Week , in which Dennis is a regular team member. He has also written and provided additional material for Would I Lie to You? .

In 2008 Punt wrote the script for and performed in Rockford's Rock Opera , a critically acclaimed ecological musical story created with school friend, Matthew Sweetapple, which has been published as an audiobook. [4] [5]

2008 also saw the first episode of Punt PI , a fact-based comedy radio series on BBC Radio 4 in which Punt investigates mysteries in Britain. The show continued occasionally until 2017, racking up 10 series.

In 2011, Punt became the presenter of Radio 4 quiz show The 3rd Degree . Punt played Eric Idle in the BBC adaptation Holy Flying Circus , covering the controversy surrounding the release of Monty Python's Life of Brian . [6]

Unlike his comedy partner Dennis, Punt has mostly done screenwriting and script editing for various BBC shows, television programmes and documentaries. His credits include The Rory Bremner Show, The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything , various episodes of Spitting Image and its retrospective documentary Best Ever Spitting Image, Baddiel's Syndrome and Horrible Histories .

On 3 January 2013 Punt appeared on Celebrity Mastermind . His specialist subject was Tony Hancock and his chosen supported charity was The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (Sands). Punt won the contest. [7]

During 2016 Punt toured with the production of The Rocky Horror Show in the role of the narrator. [8]

Since 2018, Punt has been one of the 'comedy experts' paying tribute to a number of comedians in the Sky Arts television series Comedy Legends with Barry Cryer , with Punt discussing the careers of comedians like Tina Fey and Tim Allen. [9] [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

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

David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of the Goodies and a regular panellist on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Brooke-Taylor</span> English actor and comedian (1940–2020)

Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Cryer</span> British writer, comedian and actor (1935–2022)

Barry Charles Cryer was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Ronnie Corbett, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie Howerd, Richard Pryor, Spike Milligan, Mike Yarwood, The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Bremner</span> Scottish comedian

Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner, is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political satire and impressions of British public figures. He is best known for co-starring with John Bird and John Fortune in the comedy sketch shows Rory Bremner...Who Else? and Bremner, Bird and Fortune, as well as being a team captain on the first two series of comedy panel show Mock the Week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Hancock</span> British actor and television presenter

Nicholas John Hancock is an English actor and television presenter. He hosted the sports quiz They Think It's All Over for 10 years. He also formerly presented Room 101 (1994–1999) on TV, as well as its earlier radio version (1992–1994).

The Mary Whitehouse Experience is a British topical sketch comedy show that the BBC produced in association with Spitting Image Productions. It starred two comedy double acts, one being David Baddiel and Rob Newman, the other Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. All four comedians had graduated from Cambridge University. It was broadcast on both radio and television in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Dennis</span> British comedian and actor (born 1962)

Peter Hugh Dennis is an English comedian, presenter, actor, impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show Mock the Week (2005–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Ravens</span> British comedian

Janet Ravens is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on Spitting Image and Dead Ringers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Baddiel</span> English comedian and writer (born 1964)

David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in The Mary Whitehouse Experience and later for his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punt and Dennis</span>

Punt and Dennis are a comedy double act consisting of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The duo first met at the Footlights while studying at Cambridge University in the early 1980s. Initially they were an amateur double act performing at various venues in London on the weekends due to Dennis' weekday job commitments. They have branched into acting and screenwriting.

Robert Russell Davies is a British journalist and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasper Carrott</span> British comedian (born 1945)

Robert Norman Davis, best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. He starred in the sitcoms The Detectives and All About Me, and presented the game show Golden Balls.

<i>The Now Show</i> British radio comedy show

The Now Show is a British radio comedy programme on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the weekly news from 1998 to 2024. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. It features regular appearances by Jon Holmes, Laura Shavin, a monologue by Marcus Brigstocke, and music by Mitch Benn, Pippa Evans or Adam Kay. Later series feature a wider range of contributors.

James Thomas Mulville is an English comedian, comedy writer, producer and television presenter. He is best known for co-founding the British independent television production company Hat Trick Productions with Denise O'Donoghue and Rory McGrath. In 2003, Mulville and O'Donoghue, as co-founders of Hat Trick, were listed in The Observer as two of the 50 funniest people in Britain.

Tamsin Morwenna Banks is a British actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show Absolutely, and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film The Announcement. She voices Mummy Pig, Madame Gazelle and Dr Hamster in the children's series Peppa Pig. She adapted Nick Hornby's novel Funny Girl for Sky Max and is a writer on Slow Horses for Apple TV+.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Newman (comedian)</span> British comedian, born 1964

Robert Newman is an English comedian, author and political activist. Newman found mainstream fame with The Mary Whitehouse Experience before forming a successful partnership with one of the programme's other comedians, David Baddiel, in the early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Haynes</span> English writer, broadcaster, classicist, and comedian

Natalie Louise Haynes is an English writer, broadcaster, classicist, and comedian.

Neil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian.

Jon Canter is an English television comedy writer for Lenny Henry and other leading comedians. Canter was born and brought up in the Jewish community of Golders Green, North London and studied law at the University of Cambridge, where he became President of Footlights.

Jason Forbes is an English actor, writer, comedian, impressionist, and TV presenter. He is best known for the CITV series Horrible Science; The Mash Report on BBC Two; as PC Peasey in the Professor Branestawm television films on BBC One; and as a member of the award-winning sketch trio 'Daphne'.

References

  1. 1 2 Mr Stephen Mark Punt company-director-check.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Whitgift's gifted wit". Bucks Free Press. 5 January 2005.
  3. ↑ "Cambridge Footlights Alumni 1980–1989". Cambridge Footlights Alumni Official Website. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Review of "Rockford's Rock Opera". The Guardian. 13 December 2008. Retrieved on 2011-12-05.
  5. ↑ "The Times": Review of "Rockford's Rock Opera". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk (1 December 2011). Retrieved on 2011-12-05.
  6. ↑ "BBC to dramatise Life of Brian controversy in new film". BBC. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "Steve Punt wins Mastermind". Sands - Stillbirth and neonatal death charity. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Steve Punt joins The Rocky Horror Show at Mayflower (From Daily Echo)
  9. ↑ "Comedy Legends".
  10. ↑ "Comedy Legends".
  11. ↑ "Comedy Legends".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.