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James Andrew Innes " Jack" Dee (born 24 September 1961) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom Lead Balloon and hosts the panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
His UK television appearances include being a team captain on Shooting Stars and hosting , which was nominated for a BAFTA in 2006. He also presented The Jack Dee Show, Jack Dee's Saturday Night and Jack Dee's Happy Hour. He won Celebrity Big Brother 1 in 2001.
Dee was educated at both private and state schools. His first school, The Pilgrims' School, a preparatory school in Winchester, then attended Montgomery of Alamein School for his secondary education, and for a period he attended Frensham Heights School. He attended Peter Symonds' College, Winchester to obtain his A-level. Following this, he planned to attend drama college, but his plans were scuppered when his mother persuaded him to get a vocation; as such, he entered the catering industry and became a waiter.
In 2009, Dee received an honorary degree from the University of Winchester for recognition of his outstanding contribution to comedy, drama and the performing arts.
Since the 1990s, he has performed sell-out acts at many high-profile venues (including the London Palladium and the Hammersmith Apollo). After he won the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Newcomer in 1991, Dee was offered his own show; The Jack Dee Show first went out on Channel 4 in February 1992. His combination of stand-up routines on television continued with Jack Dee's Saturday Night on ITV, Jack Dee's Happy Hour in 1997 and later Jack Dee Live at the Apollo in 2004 on BBC One. Dee writes all his own material.
In 1996, he starred alongside Jeremy Hardy in Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives, a collection of mockumentaries similar to their previous collaboration, Jack and Jeremy's Police 4. Each episode focuses on the pair playing bizarre characters from a particular profession. Shot on film and featuring no laugh track, the show failed to catch on. Aside from his stand-up career, Dee has made appearances acting in television series. He played the part of Doug Digby in the Grimleys pilot (1997) before the role was recast for The Grimleys, and made guest appearances on such programmes as Silent Witness, Dalziel and Pascoe, and Jonathan Creek.
In 2001, he won Celebrity Big Brother, (then linked to fundraising for Comic Relief). He has subsequently said that he dislikes the treatment of the housemates by the show and its producers, and has refused all permission for any of the clips to be shown again.
In 2004, he played the role of Steven Sharples MP, the self-styled 'Deputy Home Secretary', alongside Warren Clarke and Dervla Kirwan in The Deputy. Dee's performance was praised, though the film itself received a lukewarm response. Later that year he starred in another one-off drama, Tunnel of Love. He was the celebrity advocate in Britain's Best Sitcom for Fawlty Towers and presented an hour-long documentary about the series.
In 2005, he co-hosted Comic Aid, a one-off gathering of comedians that aimed to raise money for the Asian Tsunami Appeal. In May of the same year he appeared on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of the BBC Two series Top Gear, achieving a lap time of 1:53.5 (52nd on the Suzuki Liana leader board). His series Lead Balloon, which he also co-wrote, began on BBC Four on 4 October 2006. Described as "Britain's answer to Curb Your Enthusiasm", Lead Balloon sees Dee play the semi-biographical role of Rick Spleen. A second series of eight episodes was commissioned and was broadcast on BBC Two in 2007, with a third series debuting on Thursday 13 November 2008. A fourth series finished on the BBC on 5 July 2011. He also starred as Harry in the 2005 film Short Order. In February 2009, it was announced that Dee would be one of a trio of hosts to replace the late Humphrey Lyttelton for the summer series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (the others being Stephen Fry and Rob Brydon). He subsequently became the permanent host from the 52nd series onwards. He is also a frequent guest on QI and Have I Got News for You, which he has guest-presented ten times; he also hosts segments of the BBC's biennial Comic Relief telethon. He starred in advertisements for John Smith's Bitter in the 1990s, becoming known as "the midget with the widget". He made his stage debut in 1998, playing Yvan in Yasmina Reza's Olivier award-winning Art. He later returned as Serge for a 13-week run at the request of the director.
In 2008, Dee took part in the 15th anniversary special of Shooting Stars where he replaced Will Self as captain of Team A. The show aired on 30 December 2008 on BBC2. Dee returned as team captain in series 6 of Shooting Stars on 26 August 2009, and again for the 7th series. Over Christmas 2009, Dee played the role of John Tweedledum in The News at Bedtime.
In 2010, Dee took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a Benefit concert held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March. In 2013, Dee joined Dara Ó Briain, Chelsee Healey, Greg James, Melanie C and Philips Idowu in Through Hell and High Water, a Comic Relief challenge which involved celebrities canoeing the most difficult rapids of the Zambezi River. They raised more than £1 million for the charity.
In 2017, Dee co-wrote and starred in Bad Move, a sitcom about a middle-aged man and his wife (played by Kerry Godliman) who move from the city to a country cottage in search of the rural dream, which becomes more of a nightmare. A second series was broadcast in 2018.
In May 2024, Dee was announced as a contestant in the eighteenth series of Taskmaster, competing alongside Andy Zaltzman, Babatunde Aléshé, Emma Sidi, and Rosie Jones. He finished in second place to Zaltzman.
Dee is a director of Open Mike Productions, co-founded with Addison Cresswell, which produces shows for television and radio including Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow and .
Dee suffers from depression. He has claimed that his work is the best therapy for his condition, saying "if you have the impulse to be creative, you ignore it at your peril". The Sunshine boy: Jack Dee interview, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
In his twenties, Dee worked at the Ritz in Central London and started drinking heavily. He attended church and attempted to become a priest. After he realised that was not for him he gave it up, and never quit drinking, although he would later describe his condition as "alcohol abuse" rather than alcoholism, which was the diagnosis at the time. Since the 1990s, he has advertised John Smith's Bitter, becoming known as "the midget with the widget". Following his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, he had a relapse, though did not attend AA meetings because he did not want paparazzi photographing him leaving the meetings.
In February 2009, Dee and several other entertainers wrote an open letter to The Times supporting Baháʼí leaders, then on trial in Iran.
| 1992–1994 | The Jack Dee Show | Presenter | |
| 1993 | The South Bank Show | Himself | Guest |
| 1995 | Top of the Pops | Guest Presenter | 3 episodes |
| The Steal | Wilmot's Servant | Guest role | |
| 1996 | Jack & Jeremy's Real Lives | Various characters | |
| 1997 | Clive Anderson | Guest | |
| The Grimleys | Doug Digby | Main cast | |
| 1998 | The Ambassador (TV series) | Cornelius | Guest role |
| 1999 | Comic Relief | Presenter | |
| It's only TV, But I like It | Team captain | ||
| Silent Witness | Chris Caldwell | Guest role | |
| 2000 | Don't Panic: The Dad's Army Story | Himself | Guest |
| 2000–2001 | Jack Dee's Happy Hour | Himself | Regular |
| 2001 | Celebrity Big Brother | Contestant | Winner |
| Trust Me I'm a Celebrity | Presenter | ||
| 2002 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Dick Dee | Guest role |
| Jack Dee: Sent To Siberia | Himself | ||
| 2003 | Comic Relief | Himself | |
| Jonathan Creek | Dudley Houseman | Guest role | |
| 2004 | Spivs | Nigel | |
| Bob Monkhouse: A BAFTA Tribute | Himself | Guest | |
| Tunnel of Love | Roy | TV movie | |
| 2004–2005, 2007, 2013 | Live at the Apollo | Presenter and Guest Presenter | |
| 2005 | Comic Aid | Presenter | One-off edition |
| 2006 | Mark Lawson Talks To... | Himself | Guest |
| The Last Drop | Warren | ||
| 2006–2011 | Lead Balloon | Rick Spleen | Main cast |
| 2007 | Dawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy | Regular | |
| The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz | Contestant | ||
| Jack Dee Up Close | Presenter | ||
| 2008 | Happy Birthday Brucie | Himself | Guest |
| The Comedy Map of Britain | Himself | ||
| 2008–2011 | Shooting Stars | Team captain | |
| 2009 | Kingdom | Judge Jeremey Harding | Guest role |
| 2010 | Let's Dance for Sport Relief | Guest judge | |
| Channel 4's Comedy Gala | Performer | ||
| A Comedy Roast | Roaster | ||
| Fry & Laurie Reunited | Himself | Guest | |
| 2011 | 24 Hour Panel People | Himself | |
| Wall of Fame | Team captain | ||
| My Favourite Joke | Himself | 5 episodes | |
| 2014–2017 | Josh | Geoff | Main cast |
| 2015 | Alternative Election Night | Himself | Panellist |
| Presenter | Series 11 | ||
| 2015–2016 | Jack Dee's Helpdesk | Presenter | |
| 2016 | Power Monkeys | Oliver | Main cast |
| 2017–2018 | Bad Move | Steve | Main cast, 13 episodes |
| 2024 | Have I Got News for You | Guest panellist | 1 episode |
| 2024 | Taskmaster | Contestant | Series 18, 10 episodes |
| 1991 | British Comedy Award | Best Stage Newcomer | Won | |
| Perrier Comedy Award | Nominated | |||
| 1997 | British Advertising Award | John Smith's Bitter Commercials | Won | |
| British Comedy Award | Best Stand-up Comedian | Won | ||
| 2006 | British Academy Television Award | Best Entertainment Performance | Jack Dee Live at the Apollo | Nominated |
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