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'{{BLP sources|date=March 2012}} {{Infobox comedian | name = Chris Addison | image = Chris AddissonResofit1.jpg|thumb| | imagesize = | caption = Chris Addison performing at Resofit, a benefit concert for [[Resonance FM]], 2007 | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|11|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Cardiff]] | medium = | nationality = British | active = 1995 – present | genre = | subject = | influences = [[Armando Iannucci]] | influenced = | spouse = | notable_work = ''[[The Thick of It]]'', ''[[Lab Rats]]'', ''[[Mock the Week]]'', ''[[7 Day Sunday]]'' | signature = | website = http://www.chrisaddison.com/ | footnotes = }} '''Chris Addison''' (born 5 November 1971)<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/chris-addison-the-thinking-mans-comic-adjusts-to-fame-6261619.html "Chris Addison: The thinking man's comic adjusts to fame"] ''The Independent'' (13 November 2011). Retrieved 13 November 2011.</ref> is an [[England|English]] [[stand-up comedian]], [[writer]] and [[actor]] from [[Manchester]]. He is known for his lecture-style comedy shows, two of which he later adapted for [[BBC Radio 4]]. In addition to stand-up, in television he plays Ollie in the [[BBC Two]] television satire ''[[The Thick of It]]'' and Toby in its spin-off film ''[[In the Loop (film)|In the Loop]]'', and he co-created and starred in the BBC Two sitcom ''[[Lab Rats]]''. On radio, he previously hosted the weekly comedy news satire show ''[[7 Day Sunday]]'' on [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] from 2009 to 2010. ==Early life== Addison was born in Cardiff, Wales.<ref>Chain Reaction - Series 8 - 2. Rebecca Front talks to Chris Addison</ref> When he was four, the family moved to Manchester, where Addison was brought up, and as such, he considers himself to be a [[Mancunian]].<ref>Chain Reaction - Series 8 - 2. Rebecca Front talks to Chris Addison</ref> His father was a doctor.<ref>Chain Reaction - Series 8 - 2. Rebecca Front talks to Chris Addison</ref> He was educated at [[Manchester Grammar School]], an [[independent school]] for boys in [[Manchester]]. This was followed by the [[University of Birmingham]], where he studied English Literature with the original intent of becoming a theatre director.<ref name="Indy"> {{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/chris-addison-swapping-satire-for-sitcom-863788.html |title=Chris Addison: Swapping satire for sitcom |first=Julian |last=Hall |newspaper=The Independent |accessdate=April 14, 2009 | location=London | date=July 10, 2008 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100520023501/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/chris-addison-swapping-satire-for-sitcom-863788.html |archivedate=May 20, 2010}} </ref> After his directing plans didn't work out, he drifted into comedy as an alternative creative outlet.<ref>Chain Reaction - Series 8 - 2. Rebecca Front talks to Chris Addison</ref> He identifies himself as [[middle class]].<ref>Chain Reaction - Series 8 - 2. Rebecca Front talks to Chris Addison</ref> ==Career== ===Stand-up=== In 2005 he won the [[City Life Comedian of the Year]] Award, a stand-up competition in the [[North West of England]]. Addison's first solo show at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] was in [[2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2003]], for which he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the [[if.comedy awards|Perrier Awards]]. He continued to bring shows to the Fringe for several years, garnering two Perrier Award nominations — for his [[2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2004]] show ''Civilisation'' and [[2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2005]]'s ''Atomicity''.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://ifcomedy.com/past-winners.html |title=Perrier/if.comedy Award Past Winners |publisher=ifcomedy.com |accessdate=14 April 2009 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5gm7Q0N7B |archivedate = 2009-05-14| deadurl=no}} </ref> ====Edinburgh Festival Fringe==== <!--*[[2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2003]] Appeared as part of ''The Comedy Zone'' showcase *[[2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2004]] Debut solo Edinburgh Fringe show, nominated for [[Edinburgh Comedy Awards|Perrier Comedy Award]] (Best Newcomer) *[[2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2005]] ''Gentleman, Scholar, Acrobat''[Dates incorrect, omitted until they are known]--> *[[2000 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2000]] ''Cakes and Ale'' *[[2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2001]] ''Port Out, Starboard Home'' *[[2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2002]] ''The Ape That Got Lucky'' ([[The Ape That Got Lucky|later adapted]] for [[BBC Radio 4]]) *[[2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2004]] ''Civilization'' (nominated for Perrier Comedy Award, later adapted for BBC Radio 4) *[[2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2005]] ''Atomicity'' (nominated for Perrier Comedy Award) ===Radio=== First airing in 2004, Chris Addison co-wrote and co-starred in the [[political satire]] ''[[The Department]]'', along with [[John Oliver (comedian)|John Oliver]] and [[Andy Zaltzman]]. This ran for fourteen episodes over three series on [[BBC Radio 4]], ending in 2006. In August 2005, Radio 4 aired ''[[The Ape That Got Lucky]]'', Addison's adaptation of his [[2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] show of the same name. This programme featured fellow comedians [[Geoffrey McGivern]], [[Jo Enright]] and [[Dan Tetsell]]. On 8 May 2006, ''The Ape That Got Lucky'' won the gold award in the comedy production category at the [[Sony Radio Academy Award]]s.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?awid=54&awname=The+Comedy+Award&year=2006 |title=Sony Radio Academy Awards 2006, The Comedy Award |publisher=Zafer Associates |accessdate=14 April 2009}} </ref> In 2006, Chris Addison recorded ''Chris Addison's Civilisation'', again for Radio 4, based on his [[Edinburgh Fringe]] show of [[2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe|2004]]; this again featured McGivern, Enright and Tetsell and was aired in four parts over the summer. He has been a panellist on three of Radio 4's comedy panel games: ''[[Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive]]'', first appearing in 2006, ''[[Just a Minute]]'', first appearing in 2007, and ''[[The Unbelievable Truth]]'', first appearing in 2009. Addison hosted a series of the Radio 4 comedy series ''[[4 Stands Up]]'', which showcases up-coming and established comedy talent. As host, Addison performs a short opening set and introduces the acts, in the style of a [[Master of Ceremonies|compère]] at a [[comedy club]]. The first episode aired on 2 April 2009. On 10 May 2009, Addison hosted the ''[[Sunday Night Show]]'' on [[Absolute Radio]] in place of fellow stand-up comedian [[Iain Lee]] who was away due to being on his honeymoon. Chris Addison hosted ''[[7 Day Sunday]]'', a satirical news show on [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] along with his co-hosts [[Sarah Millican]] and [[Andy Zaltzman]]. The first episode aired in January 2010. Addison presented the second series of the show until February 2011 when he was replaced by [[Al Murray]]. He is also good friends with [[Geoff Lloyd]] on [[Absolute Radio]] and has made a few appearances on [[Geoff Lloyds Hometime Show]]. ===Television=== ====''Dotcomedy''==== In 2000 Chris Addison co-hosted the short-lived [[Channel 4]] comedy series ''Dotcomedy'' with [[Gail Porter]]. This was a late-night, risque show featuring video clips and other humour derived from the internet. ====''The Thick of It''==== Since 2005, Addison has appeared in the [[BBC television]] satirical comedy series ''[[The Thick of It]]'' as Oliver "Ollie" Reeder, Junior Advisor (later Special Advisor) to the Secretary of State (Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship). He appeared in all episodes of the first series, as well as the two specials 'Rise of the Nutters' and 'Spinners and Losers'. Chris Addison reprised his role as Ollie when ''The Thick of It'' returned for a new series. Addison also featured in the film adaptation of ''The Thick of It'', entitled ''[[In the Loop (film)|In the Loop]]'', playing Toby, a character very similar to his part in the television original.<ref> {{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2009/jan/23/sundance-2009-in-the-loop |title=Sundance 2009: In the Loop puts rest of the fest in the shade |author=Jeremy Kay |work=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=[[Guardian Media Group]] |date=2009-01-23 |accessdate=2009-01-28 | location=London}}</ref> ====''Lab Rats''==== In July 2008, [[BBC Two]] aired ''[[Lab Rats]]'', a sitcom starring Addison and co-written with Carl Cooper. ''Lab Rats'' featured cast members [[Jo Enright]], [[Geoffrey McGivern]] and [[Dan Tetsell]], with whom Addison had worked previously on the radio adaptations of his one-man shows ''The Ape That Got Lucky'' and ''Civilisation''. ''Lab Rats'' was a return to the traditional, joke-heavy, studio based sitcom format that has fallen out of fashion in recent times in favour of the single-camera sitcom.<ref name="Indy"/> The series was not generally well received by critics and was not renewed for a second series. ====Guest appearances==== Addison made appearances as a guest panellist on ''[[Mock the Week]]'' eleven times during 2010 and 2011, before becoming a full-time panellist in September 2011. As well as appearing on ''[[Have I Got News For You]]'' six times, ''[[Would I Lie To You? (TV series)|Would I Lie To You]]'' once, and ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats]]'' twice, he appeared in Series 5, Episode 3, of ''[[Live at the Apollo (TV series)|Live at the Apollo]]''. Addison appeared on ''[[The Graham Norton Show]]'' on 16 April 2009 promoting ''[[In the Loop (film)|In the Loop]]''. On 18 April 2010 Addison appeared on ''[[The Andrew Marr Show]]'' to comment on the week's political issues, including the volcanic [[2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull|ash cloud from Iceland]] and [[United Kingdom general election debates, 2010|The First Election Debate]]. He has appeared twice on ''[[QI]]''. Addison has also made an appearance in children's television show Horrible Histories. ===Other work=== From 2003 to 2005 Addison wrote a fortnightly [[finance]] column for ''[[The Guardian]]'' entitled "Funny Money". On alternate weeks, when the column was not written by Addison, writing duties passed to fellow stand-up [[Dominic Holland]].<ref> {{cite news |url=http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search/Money?search=funny+money&search_target=%2Fsearch%2FMoney&fr=cb-guardian |title=guardian.co.uk search: funny money |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=14 April 2009 | location=London}} </ref> He can be seen in the audience for the television taping of ''Are You Dave Gorman'', from 2003. Addison has written two books, both published by [[Hodder and Stoughton]]: ''Cautionary Tales for Grown Ups'' in 2006, followed by ''It Wasn't Me: Why Everybody is to Blame and You're Not'' in 2008. He appears on ''[[Skins (TV series)|Skins]]'' as Professor David Blood, the college director of Roundview College and father of third Generation character Grace Violet. On 4 November 2010 Addison hosted the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Have I Got News For You]]'', having previously been a guest on the show. In 2011 and 2012 he appeared in a range of [[Direct Line]] adverts as a Direct Line representative alongside difficult customers, played by fellow comedic performers [[Alexander Armstrong (comedian)|Alexander Armstrong]], [[Amelia Bullmore]] and Lorna Watson.<ref>{{cite web|author=Alex Brownsell |url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1047687/Direct-Line-drops-red-phone-favour-comedy-ads/ |title=Direct Line drops red phone in favour of comedy ads - Marketing news |publisher=Marketing magazine |date=2011-01-04 |accessdate=2011-10-31}}</ref> On 9 April 2011 he was part of the Comedy Takeover on TV channel [[Dave (TV channel)|Dave]] where he presented and selected the shows. In 2011 he took part in three shows of the 16-date ''Uncaged Monkeys'' tour along with [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Professor Brian Cox]], [[Robin Ince]], [[Ben Goldacre]], [[Simon Singh]] and [[Dara Ó Briain]] . In the summer of 2011 Addison also began filming a new E4 chat show called "Show and Tell". ==Stand-Up DVDs== *''Live'' (14 November 2011) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.chrisaddison.com Official Web Site] *{{IMDb name|1128050}} *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/civilisation.shtml "Chris Addison's Civilisation" at BBC Radio 4] {{Authority control|VIAF=229527031}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Addison, Chris | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = British comedian | DATE OF BIRTH = c.1971 | PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Didsbury]], [[Manchester]], [[England]], [[UK]] | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, Chris}} [[Category:1971 births]] [[Category:Actors from Manchester]] [[Category:People from Didsbury]] [[Category:English male comedians]] [[Category:English television actors]] [[Category:English writers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People educated at Manchester Grammar School]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham]] [[fr:Chris Addison]]'