Product Code Database
Daliso Chaponda (born 29 November 1979) is a -born stand-up comedian currently residing in the United Kingdom. In 2017, he became a finalist in the variety show Britain's Got Talent, finishing third overall. In 2018, he launched a BBC Radio 4 series Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere.
Daliso Chaponda attended Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa, and went on to further education at McGill University, followed by Concordia University in Canada, where he initially studied computer programming before switching to English literature.
In 2008, he appeared in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's "Best of the Fest". In 2009, he performed for the first time in Malawi. The same year, he also opened for Canadian comedian Sugar Sammy in Dubai and Jordan. In 2012, Chaponda made a joke about the Malawian flag during one of his "Laughrica" shows in Malawi. The government subsequently threatened to arrest him for insulting the flag. In 2014, he co-wrote a BBC Radio 4 drama-comedy series inspired by the incident, Sibusiso Mamba's When the Laughter Stops.
In 2017, Chaponda auditioned for the television talent series Britain's Got Talent. Judge Amanda Holden used her "golden buzzer" to help him advance to the semi-finals. Chaponda eventually came third in the competition.
As a result of his appearance on Britain's Got Talent, Chaponda signed with BBC Radio 4 to create a new series called Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere, begun in 2018, totalling by 2021 twelve half-hour episodes, rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2022. He began his first headlining world tour What the African Said... in February 2018.
Chaponda has appeared in six episodes of QI.
In November 2023, Chaponda appeared as a Dictionary Corner guest on the television game show Countdown.
In January 2025, he appeared on, and won, an episode of Celebrity Mastermind.
In April 2025, Chaponda appeared in the BBC Two series Pilgrimage, The Road through the Alps.
"Pilgrimage". BBC.
Influences
Chaponda has said in interviews that he admires many standup comedians, but has been most influenced by humorous authors such as George Bernard Shaw and Roald Dahl.
External links
|
|
