Harry Hill

Harry Hill
Hill in Putney with The Caterers in 2006
Birth name	Matthew Keith Hall
Born	1 October 1964 Woking, Surrey, England
Medium	Stand-up, Television, Film
Nationality	British
Years active	1992–present
Genres	Improvisational comedy, Surreal comedy, Musical comedy, Parody
Subject(s)	Humanity, pop culture, television, world history
Influences	Burt Kwouk, Eddie Izzard, Ken Dodd, Vic Reeves
Influenced	Paul Burling, Al Murray
Spouse	Magda Archer (m. 1996)
Children	3
Website	Official website

Harry Hill (born Matthew Keith Hall; 1 October 1964) is an English comedian, author and television presenter best known for narrating You've Been Framed! since 2004 and hosting Harry Hill's TV Burp for eleven years from 2001 to 2012.

A former physician, Hill began his career in comedy when he began hosting his popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner, but has worked on a number of projects including his 2013 film The Harry Hill Movie.

Personal life

Hill was born as Matthew Keith Hall in Woking, Surrey on 1 October 1964^[1] and grew up in Staplehurst, Kent where he attended the local primary school.^[2][3] At the age of 14, his family moved to Hong Kong for two years where he attended Island School.^[3][4] He was later educated at Angley School and then Cranbrook School in Kent and St George's Hospital Medical School before training in neurosurgery at the University of London. Hill worked as a house officer at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, before quitting the medical profession because he "didn't feel in control of what was happening".^[5] Hill married artist Magda Archer in 1996 in Wandsworth, London.^[4] They have three daughters, all born in Kensington and Chelsea, London: Kitty, Winnie and Frederica.^[6] He now resides in the seaside town of Whitstable, Kent. In February 2006, Hill was a victim of identity theft; a sum of £280,000 was stolen from his bank account.^[7] In September 2008, Hill worked with Fairtrade to release Harry's Nuts, a brand of fairtrade peanuts.^[8] He is known to have been a supporter of his namesake football club Harrow Hill F.C., also known as Harry Hill F.C. In 2008, he was presented with a Harrow Hill badge, which he subsequently wore regularly on episodes of his television series Harry Hill's TV Burp. Hill was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts by the University of Kent on 17 July 2014, in recognition of his contribution to television and the arts.

Career

Harry Hill's Fruit Corner (1993–1997)

Hill achieved his breakthrough in 1992, when he won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Shortly after, a radio show starring Hill was commissioned by BBC Radio 4 entitled Harry Hill's Fruit Corner. Hill hosted the show as himself, and each week, he was joined by various other guest performers, as well as regular character actors including Al Murray and Burt Kwouk. The show featured a variety of other celebrity guests during its run including Ronnie Corbett and Rolf Harris. Each programme was interspersed with Hill's stand-up routines.

Fruit Corner ran for four series on BBC Radio 4.

Fruit Fancies (1994)

Hill made his television breakthrough in 1994, when he starred in BBC Two black and white silent comedy series Harry Hill's Fruit Fancies. In a similar format to Fruit Corner, Hill would perform a series of sketches, with a number of celebrity guests making cameo appearances. The series also featured one of the characters from Fruit Corner, three-year-old Alan Hill Jr.^[9] The series ran for six episodes on BBC Two between October and December 1994. For Christmas that year, a VHS containing a 100-minute compilation of the best material from the series, as well as unseen sketches, was released by BBC Video. It has since become a rare item.^[10]

Harry Hill (1997–2000)

From 1997 onwards, Hill presented his own Channel 4 television sketch series, Harry Hill, which ran for three series between 1997 and 2000. The show was a television adaptation of Fruit Corner. Among the regular characters were Hill's big brother, Alan, played by comedian Al Murray, and his adopted son, Alan Jr., played by Dr Matt Bradstock. Burt Kwouk also appeared in many episodes of the programme, as Harry's "Chicken Catcher" – and each week, he would come up with an excuse as to why he has not yet captured a chicken, followed by a performance of the song Hey Little Hen. In later series, Hill and Kwouk appeared in sketches as Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace. Hill's screen wife Mai Sung also made several appearances on the show, mainly around the theme of trying to steal his Abbey National bank savings book. Another character that featured on the show was Stouffer the Cat, a glove puppet cat made from blue rubber. Stouffer would normally sit in a throne, supported by a rubber arm in the style of Rod Hull, and was employed to intimidate guests during Hill's standup routines. Some of Stouffer's famous catchphrases are "he got a big face" and "sorted – respect due".

At the end of each episode, an event called "The Badger Parade" was supposed to take place. The parade featured a number puppet badgers that included Gareth Southgate badger and Tasmin Archer badger, among others – however, every week, there would be some kind of problem resulting in the badgers being unable to perform. In place of the badger parade, Hill would usually sing a song, with a guest that he had invited onto the show. A tie-in book relating to the series was released in October 1998, entitled Harry Hill's Fun Book.

The series was cancelled in late 1999, but was revived in 2003, as The All-New Harry Hill Show, this time by ITV, who broadcast it along with episodes of TV Burp. Regular features on the ITV version included the Hamilton Challenge, featuring Neil and Christine Hamilton, and a butterfly in blue jeans. The Channel 4 series was revisited in 2012 for a humorous retrospective documentary entitled Whatever Happened to Harry Hill?. As of 2013, neither the Channel 4 nor ITV series have been released on DVD.

Harry Hill's TV Burp (2001–2012)

In 2001, Hill moved to ITV in a lucrative deal, in which he was given an all-new show, Harry Hill's TV Burp, where he would take a look at the week's television, showing clips from various British television programmes, and framing them with commentary or intercutting additional footage. The series would feature a regular stable of all new characters, including the Knitted Character, a small, knitted rabbit, Wagbo, a demon love child whose parents are reportedly Wagner Carillho and Mary Byrne of X Factor fame, an interpretation of Heather Trott from EastEnders, played by Steve Bernham, as well as a doll of Apprentice star Alan Sugar, who would regularly rap before clips of The Apprentice were introduced. The show was piloted in 2001, before running for eleven full series between 2002 and 2012, before being cancelled to allow Hill to work on other projects. The show won a number of BAFTA awards, and spawned five Best of TV Burp DVD compilations, and a book based on the series, which was released for Christmas 2009.

You've Been Framed (2004–present)

Since 2004, Hill has narrated the comical clips show You've Been Framed!, often shortened to YBF! replacing Jonathan Wilkes on the show. Hill has narrated 13 series to date. New episodes of You've Been Framed! are still being recorded and air on early Saturday evenings on ITV.

Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard (2005)

In 2005, Hill moved into new territory with Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard, a thirteen-part show broadcast in the CITV children's television slot on ITV. While many of his well-known characters, such as Stouffer and Garry Hill, his fictional layabout son from his first marriage, remained, it also showcased several new characters including Speed Camera Boy, an outsider who is half boy and half speed camera, and Evelynne Hussey, a one-woman band who played a number of different instruments. While the show featured a game show element, Help the Aged, it was very similar in structure to Harry Hill. In the show, Hill wore a pale yellow, custard-coloured shirt, with a giant collar, instead of his usual white collar. The series was never released on DVD; however, it did spawn Harry Hill's Whopping Great Joke Book, a book of children's jokes, released in 2006. The book was also made available as an iPhone application.^[11] A second book, Harry Hill's Bumper Book of Bloopers, was released for Christmas 2011.^[12]

The Harry Hill Movie (2013)

The Harry Hill Movie premiered in the United Kingdom on 20 December 2013. The film also stars Matt Lucas, Julie Walters, Johnny Vegas, Sheridan Smith, Simon Bird, Marc Wootton, Jim Broadbent and band The Magic Numbers.^[13][14][15] The film sees Hill embark on a road trip to Blackpool with his Nan (Julie Walters) when he discovers that his hamster only has one week to live.

The 88 minute film was directed by Steve Bendelack. To date, it has made $3,647,870 at the box office.^[16] and was released on DVD on 14 April 2014

Stars in Their Eyes (2015)

Hill presented a revived version of the ITV talent show Stars in their Eyes.^[17] The series aired for six episodes from 10 January until 14 February 2015. The revival has proved divisive. Fans of the original format were critical of it, saying that Hill had made the show about himself rather than the contestants.

In April 2015, it was announced that the show had been axed by ITV, due to poor ratings.^[18]

Novels

In 2002, Hill published the first in a series of novels and books he had written, entitled Flight From Deathrow, based around the accounts of the unlikely antics of real-life celebrities and politicians, as seen through the eyes of the storyteller, as he drifts in and out of a coma. His second book, Tim the Tiny Horse, was published in October 2006, and featured the tale of small horse who had to wear glasses because he was visually impaired. Hill's third book, The Further Adventures of the Queen Mum, was published in October 2007, and was a comic take on the life and times of the Queen Mother. His fourth novel, Tim the Tiny Horse At Large, which is a sequel to the first book, was published in October 2009. In 2010, Hill released Livin' the Dreem, a fictional account of a year in his life, featuring references to pop culture. The book was reprinted in May 2011, with additional entries for events that occurred between January and April of that year. A Complete History of Tim (the Tiny Horse) was published in November 2012 which contains the first two Tim the Tiny Horse novels, with four new stories.^[19]

Other projects

Hill's instantly recognisable voice has led to work in many voice-over roles on television commercials. Advertisements that Hill has provided a voice over for include the holiday adverts for Boots in 2004, the "Bring on the Branston!" adverts for the Branston Pickle brand during 2006 and 2007,adverts for the Green Flag car breakdown service, and adverts for the new yogurt, Danio by Danone.

Hill has also appeared as a guest on the BBC Radio 4 series I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, in the ChuckleVision episode "Mind Your Manors", the first episode of the twentieth series, and as Joon Boolay in the Sky Atlantic sitcom This is Jinsy.^[20] In October 2006, Hill presented his own episode of long-running ITV series, An Audience With..., in which he revived several characters from Harry Hill. On 4 October 2004, he also appeared in an episode of Room 101.

In November 2010, Hill released his debut comic album, 'Funny Times'.^[21] The album was preceded by the singles 'I Wanna Baby', 'SuBo', and 'Ken!', which features William Roache, as his Coronation Street character, Ken Barlow, is the feature of the song.

Since October 2010, Hill has had his own comic strip in The Dandy, entitled Harry Hill's Real Life Adventures in TV Land, drawn by Nigel Parkinson. Hill was directly involved in its creation and is co-credited with Parkinson. Between October and December 2010, Hill starred in a weekly online comedy series on the ChannelFlip website, entitled Harry Hill's Little Internet Show. Ten episodes of the show were broadcast online.^[22]

Hill has also performed a number of stand up tours, touring up and down the country for months at a time. Thus far, all five of his tours have been released on DVD or VHS. His tours include Harry Hill Live (1995), Man Alive! (1997), First Class Scamp (1998), Birdstrike (2000) Hooves! Live (2005) and Sausage Time (2013) .

In July 2012, Hill executive produced You Cannot Be Serious, a sports-themed blooper quiz show, presented by Alistair McGowan, his first job for ITV after quitting TV Burp.^[23]

Hill developed I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical with Simon Cowell which opened on 26 March 2014 at the London Palladium.^[24]

In December 2014, Hill played the main character in the one-off comedy drama The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm on BBC One.^[25] He returned to this role for a second episode in 2015, entitled Harry Hill in Professor Branestawm Returns.

Awards

In 2003, Hill was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.^[26] In 2007, Hill was voted number five on Channel 4's hundred greatest stand-ups. On 13 December 2006, Hill won two Highland Spring British Comedy Awards, over the favourites Ant and Dec, which Hill made light of in his acceptance speeches.^[27] In 2008 he won two Baftas and another in 2009 for best Entertainment Performance. In 2009 he won two British Comedy Awards, making it his sixth award. He also won again in 2011, but was unable to be there and sent Wagbo to collect it on his behalf. He was also nominated for 3 other awards, including the People's Choice Award, which was won by Miranda Hart.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)
1994	Fruit Fancies	Himself, various
1997–2000, 2003	Harry Hill	Presenter	4 series
2001–2012	Harry Hill's TV Burp	Presenter	11 series
2004-present	You've Been Framed!	Narrator
2005	Harry Hill's Shark Infested Custard	Presenter
2014	The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm	Professor Branestawm	One-off special
2015	Stars in Their Eyes	Presenter	Revived ITV series
2015	Harry Hill in Professor Branestawm Returns	Professor Branestawm	One-off special
2016	Harry Hill's Look at Love	Narrator and writer	BBC iPlayer Exclusive
2016	Harry Hill's Tea-Time	Presenter	Upcoming Sky1 series

Musicals

Year	Title	Writer	Composer
2014	I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical	Harry Hill	Steve Brown

Film

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)
2013	The Harry Hill Movie	Himself, Lead role

Home releases

Stand-up shows

• Live (16 October 1995)
• Man Alive – Live (27 October 1997)
• First Class Scamp – Live (16 November 1998)
• Birdstrike! – Live (20 November 2000)
• In Hooves – Live (21 November 2005)
• Sausage Time - Live (7 February 2013 )

Musicals

• I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical (March 2014)

Television

• Fruit Fancies (11 December 1994)
• Harry Hill's TV Burp Gold (10 November 2008, 61 minutes, Rating: 12)
• Harry Hill's TV Burp Gold 2 (9 November 2009, 61 minutes, Rating: 12)
• Harry Hill's TV Burp Gold 3 (1 November 2010, 64 minutes, Rating: PG)
• Harry Hill's TV Burp: The Best Bits (14 November 2011, 60 minutes, Rating: 12)
• Harry Hill's Cream Of TV Burp (26 November 2012, 63 minutes, Rating: PG)

Film

• The Harry Hill Movie (14 April 2014, 88 minutes, Rating: PG)

Discography

Audiobooks

• Fruit Corner (2 October 1995)
• Hooves (20 March 2006)
• Man Alive (20 February 2007)
• Flight from Deathrow (2 April 2009)
• Livin' the Dream (4 November 2010)

Music

• Funny Times (29 November 2010)

Television advertisements

Year	Title	Role
2000	First Direct	Himself, voice only
	Digital Cellphones	Himself
2003	Branston	Himself, voice only
2004	TUC	Himself, voice only
	Boots	Christmas Doctor
	The Times	Himself
2007	Walkers	Himself
2009–10	WHSmith	Himself, voice only
2010	Green Flag	Ant, voice only
	Funny Times	Himself
2012	T-Mobile	Himself, voice only
2013	Danio Yogurt	Himself, voice only
	Innocent Drinks	Himself, voice only

References

1. "Woking Borough Council, Hall of Fame". Retrieved 20 April 2010.
2. "TV Star Comedian Harry Hill returns to Staplehurst School!!". Staplehurst Primary School. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
3. "Harry Hill: 'There's no such thing as healthy eating'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
4. "Marriages and Births England and Wales 1984–2006". Findmypast.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
5. "7 things you never knew about Harry Hill". Sunday Mercury. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
6. Smith, Aidan (16 January 2005). "Harry on Laughing – Scotland on Sunday". Scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
7. Leyden, John (9 February 2006). "Harry Hill ID Fraud". Theregister.co.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
8. "Harry nuts about fairtrade venture". The Press Association. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
9. "Harry Hill's Fruit Fancies - Punch". YouTube. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
10. "Harry Hill's Fruit Fancies". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
11. "Harry Hill's Whopping Great Joke Book – The app for iPhone and iPod Touch". Harryhillsjokebookapp.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
12. "Harry Hill's Bumper Book of Bloopers: Amazon.co.uk: Harry Hill: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
13. "'The Harry Hill Movie' premieres first trailer - watch video". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
14. pmedinacorreo (20 December 2013). "The Harry Hill Movie (2013)". IMDb. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
15. "The Harry Hill Movie gets 20 December UK release date". BBC News. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
16. "The Hobbit holds off Anchorman 2 at UK box office - top 10 in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
18. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a642410/harry-hills-stars-in-their-eyes-has-it-been-axed-by-itv.html
19. "A Complete History of Tim (the Tiny Horse)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
20. "Daily TV round-up – Harry goes drag in new comedy". Yahoo! TV. 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
21. "Hard Times For Harry". The Sun. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
22. "Harry Hill's Little Internet Show". The Guardian. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
23. "Alistair McGowan's You Cannot Be Serious!, ITV1: preview". Telegraph.co.uk. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
24. "Harry Hill's 'X Factor' musical scheduled for autumn 2013". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
26. The Comedy Zone Humor Network. "Harry Hill : Comedian Profile". Comedy-zone.net. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
27. "Television – News – British Comedy Awards 2006: The Winners". Digital Spy. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2011.

External links

• Official Site – Official Website
• Chortle Harry Hill on Chortle
• Harry Hill at the Internet Movie Database