His television and radio performing credits include; Not Tonight With John Sergeant, Glee Time (in which he hosted a series of six stand-up comedy shows), Large (a satirical sketch show for the BBC), Never Write Off The Germans (a panel game show for Radio 2) three series of What’s The Story (a panel game show for BBC Wales) and he was also a Presenter on Big Brother’s Little Brother. Bennett is also a trained actor and appeared in the film Dead Long Enough alongside Michael Sheen.

Bennett Arron has written for many comedy programmes, including The 11 O’Clock Show, Commercial Breakdown and the BAFTA winning V Graham Norton. He also wrote over 20 episodes and a feature film for Genie in The House, the highest-rated children’s sitcom on Nickelodeon as well as the BAFTA winning Slammer for the BBC.

Bennett Arron directed and presented the documentary How To Steal an Identity for Channel 4; which was “Pick of the Day” in The Guardian and The Telegraph, described as “Fascinating and Disturbing” by the TV Times and went on to be short-listed for a BAFTA. As a result of this, Bennett has become a much saught-after speaker on the subject of Identity Theft and has spoken at events throughout the UK as well as Italy, Poland and Australia.

Bennett Arron is a past winner of both the TAPS Comedy Writer of the Year Award and the BBC Wales New Writer’s Award. However, his proudest moment was coming third in an International Disco Dancing Championship in Tenerife

Quotes about Bennett Arron:

“Wonderful…note perfect” – Three Weeks

“Had the room creased up with laughter” – The Scotsman

“Genuinely original and funny” – The Times

“Hilarious… clever wit… razor sharp“ - The Standard

“One of the best gagsmiths on the circuit… a Welsh Seinfeld” – The Guardian

“A lugubrious Welshman with a knack of turning out juicy one-liners, Langford is a rising star.” - The Guardian

Mark grew up in Bristol before going to Cambridge University where he became a member of the Cambridge Footlights.

He started his professional comedy career in 2002 and that same year won the last ever Daily Telegraph Open Mic competition and presumably was allowed to keep the trophy.

He has been nominated for the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer and won the first ever Panel Prize at the if.commedies in 2006. That year he was also won the Time Out Critic’s Choice award.

On stage Mark Watson likes to tell little observations about his life. These are not wild stories of fantasy but just things he has noticed, delivered in an almost naïve style which makes Mark extremely charming.

However, whereas his observations may not be grand, his shows certainly have been. Over the past 6 years, Mark has undertaken marathon shows at the Edinburgh Festival lasting 24 hours or more.

In 2004 he did his first 24 hour show, at the end of which he proposed to his girlfriend.

In 2006 he performed a 36 hour show and also, with the help of the audience, tried to write a novel over the period of the festival, imaginatively titled Mark Watson, And His Audience, Write A Novel.

After all that, Mark can also muster the energy to appear on TV and radio. He has fronted his own quiz show, We Need Answers and also appeared on Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week and Never Mind The Buzzcocks, on which he has been a captain and presenter.

Mark has also had shows on Radio 4 and 5 Live. In addition to all this, Mark has had two novels published and his most recent book, Crap At The Environment, looked at his efforts to halve his own carbon footprint over a year.

Mark Watson may be one of the hardest working comedians around at the moment. His head is bursting with ideas to take stand up to a new level. Mark will be remembered for something great, but he may not have even thought of it yet.

“ONE OF THE VERY FINEST, MOST JOYFUL SHOWS ON THE FRINGE… WONDERFUL STUFF” – The Times

“ONE OF THE STRONGEST SHOWS ON THE FRINGE… THIS SHOULD PILOT HIM INTO BRITISH COMEDY’S PREMIER LEAGUE” – Evening Standard

“HE’S SIMPLY EXHILARATING” – Daily Telegraph

“HIS EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH-OCTANE SHOW IS A JOYFUL STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNEY…IT’S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF A COMIC WHOSE BRAIN WORKS SO FAST, YOU KNOW THEY’LL ALWAYS HAVE THE PERFECT COMEBACK. BUT IN FACT WATSON IS SUCH A LIKEABLE CHARACTER THAT NO ONE WANTS TO HECKLE – THEY’RE TOO INTERESTED IN WHAT’S COMING NEXT.” – Observer

“WATSON MANAGES TO DO A STAND-UP ACT FUELLED BY RESENTMENT, RAGE AND RUDENESS, AND STILL COME ACROSS AS ENTHUSIASTIC, POLITE AND DECENT. JOYOUS STUFF.” – Independent on Sunday

“READING THE PHONE BOOK? PAH. WATSON COULD MAKE BINARY CODE A SHOW-STOPPER…HE CRAMS EVERY MOMENT WITH HIS DRY HUMOUR.” – Metro

“THE EXPERTLY-TOLD ROUTINES MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD, THE UNDERLYING ETHICS MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER. THANK GOD – OR NEAREST EQUIVALENT – THAT HE’S NEVER ACHIEVED THAT CHILDHOOD DREAM OF COMMENTATING ON SPORT, AND CHOSE TO COMMENTATE ON LIFE INSTEAD.” – Chortle

I have been treading the boards – some would say walking the plank – for twenty-five years. An experienced, very original, comedian from Swansea, Wales, who has played – and often headlined – most comedy clubs in the UK including Glee Clubs, Banana Cabaret, Hyena, The Stand, Up The Creek, Frog and Bucket, Baby Blue, and more.

As well as club gigs I’ve performed at major festivals, and gigs abroad in places like Dubai, Shanghai, Berlin, Cape Town and Canada.

 I’ve done sketch shows on BBC Radio Wales, and various TV comedy and acting roles in both English and Welsh.

 I am not a gratuitously rude comic. When I’m on stage I come alive and my goal is to literally cheer everyone up, if I can.

 My material is highly original, cerebral, with some wordplay; some people think it’s clever but at the same time it has a wide appeal. I can also perform in my mother tongue, the Welsh language.

Welsh comedy sensation Rhod Gilbert is one of the UK’s leading comedy talents.  A regular on our TV screens, he has performed twice on Live At The Apollo – most recently as a host, headlined Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, hosted Have I Got News For You and Never Mind The Buzzcocks and appeared on The Royal Variety Performance - as well as making regular guest appearances on panel shows 8 out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie To You? and most recently on Room 101.

In 2010 Rhod was invited to host his own series for BBC One: Ask Rhod Gilbert.   In this new panel show, Rhod set out to answer all manner of burning questions from the sublime to the ridiculous with the help of special guests and regulars Greg Davies and Lloyd Langford.  The series was a huge ratings success,  attracting over two million viewers each week.  A second series was commissioned, and Rhod returned to BBC One last autumn with another eight episodes of ASK.

Rhod has also written and recorded two series of Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience for BBC2, trying his hand at all manner of ordinary day jobs – from being a binman in Barry to Butler to a Lord and a Tattoo Artist.  The programmes have been met with great critical acclaim and series one was awarded a Welsh Bafta in the 2011 Award list, scooping Best Factual Series.  A third series has been filmed and is scheduled to transmit later this year.  Also on BBC 2, Rhod recently starred in World’s Most Dangerous Roads, embarking on a treacherous (and frequently hilarious) adventure through Nepal with fellow comedian and partner in crime Greg Davies.

Rhod’s eagerly-awaited debut live DVD – Rhod Gilbert & The Award-Winning Mince Pie – was released in 2009 and claimed the title for the year’s fastest selling debut stand-up DVD entering the stand-up chart at number 3.  His second live DVD Rhod Gilbert & The Cat That Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst was released in November 2010, quickly becoming a best-seller and charting as the sixth best-selling DVD in the stand-up charts.  Both titles are available alongside a boxset The Live Collection featuring both hit shows.  Rhod’s brand new live show: Rhod Gilbert: The Man With The Flaming Battenberg Tattoo is due for release in November 2012 and is available to pre-order online now.

A multi award-winning comedian with a reputation as a first class live act, Rhod has been a sell-out sensation at the Edinburgh festival every year since 2005 and has been invited to perform at every major international festival in the world. A former winner of Time Out’s Comic of The Year, Rhod is truly cemented as one of the foremost touring acts in the country, playing to sell-out audiences across the UK.  He has also performed on stellar line-ups at the Help For Heroes concert at Twickenham stadium in 2010 and at London’s O2 Arena last year on Ch4′s Comedy Gala in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.  He is back on the road with a brand new stand-up show in 2012; Rhod Gilbert: The Man With The Flaming Battenberg Tattoo tour commences on April 6th and takes in over 100 dates across the UK.

Rhod has recorded his own Radio 2 series which broadcast on Saturday nights last Autumn.  Rhod Gilbert’s Bulging Barrel of Laughs featured regular guests, stand-up comedians and live music from hit bands.  The show was nominated for a prestiguious Sony Radio Academy Award.  Also on Radio 2, Rhod’s stand-up world has been depicted in a one-off sitcom entitled Rhod Gilbert’s Leaving Llanbobl, based in the fictional Welsh village which has become legendary in his stand-up routines.   He continues to present his Saturday morning weekly radio show for BBC Wales and continues to fly the flag for Wales, fronting a TV campaign for the Welsh Tourist Board.

QUOTES:

“WITHOUT DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST COMEDIANS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW” – Time Out

“IN COMIC TERMS HE LOOKS INDOMITABLE” – Guardian

“COMEDY MANNA FROM HEAVEN” – Independent

“A JOY TO BEHOLD” – Times

“A VIRTUOSO PERFORMANCE… EXHILARATING, PASSIONATE AND SPARKLINGLY FUNNY” – Chortle

“GILBERT’S PERFORMANCE IS POWERHOUSE” – Metro

“EXHILARATING STAND-UP, MISGUIDED RAGE ELEVATED TO A SUBLIME DEGREE OF STORYTELLING… UNFLAGGINGLY BRILLIANT” – Scotsman

“BLISTERING TOUR-DE-FORCE” – Time Out

“TURBO-CHARGED… MAGNIFICENT” – Evening Standard

“A MASTER OF COMIC CONTROL” – Times

AWARDS

‘BEST FACTUAL SERIES’ – RHOD GILBERT’S WORK EXPERIENCE – BRITISH ACADEMY CYMRU AWARDS 2011

‘BEST COMEDY’ NOMINEE - SONY RADIO ACADEMY AWARDS 2011

‘FUNNIEST TV PERSONALITY’ – LOADED LAFTA AWARDS 2011

‘BEST PANEL SHOW’ - ASK RHOD GILBERT – LOADED LAFTA AWARDS 2011

‘BEST DVD’ – CHORTLE AWARDS 2010

‘COMICS’ COMIC’ – CHORTLE AWARDS 2009

‘BEST HEADLINER’ – CHORTLE AWARDS 2009

‘BREAKTHROUGH ACT’ NOMINEE – THE TIMES SOUTH BANK AWARD 2009

‘BEST FULL SHOW’ NOMINEE – CHORTLE AWARDS 2009

‘BEST COMEDY SHOW’ NOMINEE – IF.COMEDY AWARDS 2008

‘COMIC OF THE YEAR’ – TIME OUT AWARDS 2008

‘BREAKTHROUGH ACT’ – TIME OUT AWARDS 2008

‘BEST SHOW’ – TIME OUT AWARDS 2008

‘BEST HEADLINER’ NOMINEE – CHORTLE AWARDS 2008

‘BEST RADIO PERSONALITY’ NOMINEE – CELTIC MEDIA AWARDS 2008

‘TOP 50 COMEDIANS’ – THE TIMES 2006

‘TOP 50 ICONS: THE FACES OF COMEDY’ – ROUGH GUIDE TO BRITISH CULT COMEDY 2006

‘BEST NEWCOMER’ NOMINEE – PERRIER AWARDS 2005

‘THE LIST / WRITERS GUILD AWARD’ NOMINEE 2005

‘BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACT’ – CHORTLE AWARDS 2005

BBC NEW COMEDY AWARD 2003

He first came to the public’s attention in 2000 with the shows Marion and Geoff and Human Remains, winning British Comedy Awards for both. Since then his comedy credits have included A Small Summer Party, The Keith Barret Show, Directors Commentary, Supernova, Cruise Of The Gods, Black Books, I’m Alan Partridge, Little Britain, Live At The Apollo, Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive, QI, The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, Have I Got News For You, Gavin and Stacey, Rob Brydon’s Identity Crisis and Would I Lie To You?.

He has also appeared in the dramas Oliver Twist, Heroes and Villains: Napoleon, The Way We Live Now, Murder In Mind, Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore, Marple and the films 24 Hour Party People, MirrorMask and A Cock and Bull Story.

Rob has appeared as a guest on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, Parkinson, Richard and Judy, The ONE Show, The F Word, This Morning, Top Gear and The Paul O’Grady Show.

His many radio guest appearances include, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, Just A Minute, Loose Ends, Steve Wright In The Afternoon, Jonathan Ross, Chris Evans, and Ken Bruce also guest hosting the Ken Bruce and Steve Wright shows for BBC Radio 2. As narrator, The Flight Of The Conchords, Make ‘Em Laugh, The Colonel Parker Story and Tom Jones, From The Valleys To Vegas.

Rob is also known for his versatile voice. He has narrated Little Britain Down Under, Valley Of Song, Becoming Bond,Holmfirth Hollywood and 100 Greatest Comedy Moments. He has also performed character voices for the animations The Gruffalo, Body Beautiful, The Legends of Treasure Island, The Baskervilles and Robbie The Reindeer: The Legend Of The Lost Tribe.

In 2009 alongside Ruth Jones, Robin Gibb and Sir Tom Jones, Rob reached number one in the charts with the single Islands In The Stream, in aid of Comic Relief. He also embarked on an eighty seven date tour of the UK with his stand up show, Rob Brydon Live, this included a three week run in London’s West End.

“Pants-wettingly funny” - Guardian

Little things amuse and excite him and he’ll tell you all about them with the enthusiasm of a small child.

Soon after he started, Steve was nominated for the Chortle Award for Best Open Mic in 2002. After that Steve played comedy clubs up and down the country and in 2005 was the main support for Danny Bhoy on his national tour.

Another high profile support followed in 2006 when Steve toured with Lee Mack on his nationwide tour. After that Steve was away, taking his solo shows to Edinburgh every year.

By way of the names of his shows, Steve Williams would describe himself as excitable and a worrier, and would say he thinks far too much about things. This is no bad thing as Steve’s thoughts provide him with some excellent material.

A Welshman through and through, his home country is a good starting point for his material, and he can somehow make the Welsh accent funnier than it already is, whether it be the story behind a friend’s solitary flip flop or another’s gruesome accident.

Just hear his pronunciation of the word ratatouille to find out how good the Welsh accent can be, and that’s a dolphin saying it.

Steve has not only performed on television, on the likes of Edinburgh and Beyond and The Comedy Store, but he is also a seasoned writer having contributed to BBC Radio 1′s The Milk Run, Channel 4′s Distraction and Russell Howard’s Good News, in which he also performed.

Steve has also been on Richard And Judy no less as their comedic pundit, so he should know what he’s talking about.

Steve Williams’ charm lies in his delivery and enthusiasm. A small time in his company will leave you wanting more, the sign of a good comedian.

“Endlessly Inventive and Brilliantly Funny” The Scotsman
“Assured and Hugely Likeable” The Guardian

As a stand-up Tom was a finalist in the Daily Telegraph Open Mic award, The Paramount Comedy New Act Award, and ITV’s Take The Mic. He gigs regularly around the UK comedy circuit. Live dates available here.

Tom’s presenting CV includes MTV’s Senseless, Destination Three and also the era defining World Series of Dating with Rob Riggle on BBC 3. He is currently in charge of The Leak With Tom Price which is a weekly chat satire show (chatire) on BBC Radio Wales every Friday at 6:30pm, returning in November.

Tom has been in many tv shows too as an actor – Torchwood, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Episodes, My Family, Count Arthur Strong and Holy Flying Circus to name but a few. He was also 100% edited out of both Richard Curtis’ The Boat That Rocked and Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter.

In the last few months he’s been in Sky One’s thrilling The Five, ITV 1’s huge new drama Victoria and he’s just finished filming a brand new Midsomer Murders which will be out sometime next year. And no, before you ask, he can’t tell you if he played the murderer, the murdered or just a bumbling idiot standing on the sidelines.

He often works as a voiceover, where he has recently been selling Iceland curries, Renault Insurance, Nescafe, and Red Bull. He also just narrated the story of some people who had Quadruplets, on ITV1. He is also the spare voice for the PG Tips Monkey when Ben Miller pulls a sickie. Which is not often enough, frankly.