Biography
Harry Hill, celebrated for his surreal brand of comedy and his Saturday night prime-time ITV series TV Burp, added his name in 2010 to the roster of contemporary stand-ups—including Peter Kay, Matt Lucas, and Reeves & Mortimer—who had ventured into recorded song with the release of his first album, Funny Times. Born in Woking, Surrey, in 1964, he spent his childhood in Hong Kong and Kent, then trained in neurosurgery at the University of London. After resigning from his post as a physician at Doncaster Royal Infirmary to pursue stand-up full time, he secured his own Channel 4 series, The Harry Hill Show, in 1997; the program ran for three series. Nationwide recognition arrived in 2001, however, once he began hosting TV Burp, the ITV vehicle in which he satirized the preceding week’s broadcasts via humorous excerpts and original sketches. The BAFTA-winning performer issued his debut album, Funny Times, that same year, drawing on the musical traditions of Monty Python and Benny Hill; the record included the single “I Wanna Baby” and contributions from ABC’s Martin Fry, Coronation Street’s Bill Roache, and Bruce Forsyth. In addition, Hill has published several novels, contributes a regular comic strip to The Dandy, and supplies the narration for the home-video series You’ve Been Framed.