Rufus Hound

 ( 1979 Births ) 

In early 2008, Hound appeared twice on ITV Network's Thank God You're Here in the UK, after initially working as the warm-up act. In late summer 2008, Hound joined the panel show Argumental as the Blue Team Captain. Hound was the narrator for the gaming series Playr and presents What Do Kids Know? on UKTV-owned channel Watch. Hound took part in Let's Dance for Sport Relief, dancing to Cheryl Cole's "Fight for This Love" and won the final of the series on 13 March 2010. Partnered with Flavia Cacace, Hound won the 2013 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.

Hound hosted the year 2000 edition of My Funniest Year, a look at a past year of British television, which was broadcast on Channel 4 in September 2010. He has been a regular panelist on Celebrity Juice, hosted by Keith Lemon, and has appeared at Bright Club a number of times. In January 2011, Hound participated in the former Channel 4 reality series Famous and Fearless. He came third for the boys' team, and was referred to as "The Ruthless Hound". In 2012, Hound was a team captain for Mad Mad World.

Since 2012, he has presented a programme on BBC Radio Four called My Teenage Diary, in which celebrities talk about the diary that they kept in their teenage years. On 22 February 2016, Hound made his debut as a panellist on BBC Radio 4's Just A Minute alongside regular Paul Merton and semi-regulars Pam Ayres and Graham Norton.

Hound plays a fictionalised version of himself in the CBBC television series Hounded as the protagonist, a normal television presenter who must constantly foil the plans of Dr Muhahaha, who plans on taking over the world. In 2015, Hound played Sam Swift in an episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who, titled "The Woman Who Lived", and appeared in the Channel 4 drama series Cucumber as an eccentric character called Rupert.

Hound contributed his vocals to the track "Tazer Beam" by The Skints from their album FM, released in March 2015.

In 2016, Hound played the part of Duncan in the sixth series of the Sky 1 sitcom Trollied.

In November 2017, Hound temporarily took over hosting responsibilities of Iain Lee's Talkradio show, named The Late Night Alternative as Iain Lee joined the cast of the 2017 series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Since 2018 he has provided the voice of Waffle on the CBeebies show Waffle the Wonder Dog.

In 2021, Hound participated in the thirteenth series of Dancing on Ice opposite professional partner Robin Johnstone. They were forced to withdraw from the competition in week 4 after Hound tested positive for COVID-19. From October to November 2021, Hound appeared in four episodes of the BBC soap opera Doctors as Keith "Starbuck" Dursley.

In 2014, Hound played the role of Freddie in the West End production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre after out-of-town tryouts in Manchester and Aylesbury.

In early 2016 he played the role of Sancho Panza in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Don Quixote, adapted by James Fenton. The production transferred to the Garrick Theatre in London's West End for a limited season from October 2018 to February 2019.

On 23 April 2016, Hound appeared in Shakespeare Live! From The RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon (which was also broadcast live on BBC Two) celebrating the birthday and 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare. He appeared as the Second Gangster opposite Henry Goodman performing 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare' from the musical Kiss Me, Kate.

In late 2016, he played Toad in the world premiere of the new musical, The Wind in the Willows in Plymouth, The Lowry and Southampton. In June 2017 he reprised the role for a West End transfer at the London Palladium, after playing Dr Prentice in a revival of What The Butler Saw by Joe Orton at the Curve Theatre, Leicester and Theatre Royal Bath in March 2017.

In April 2018, he returned to Chichester Festival Theatre to play Garry Essendine in a revival of Present Laughter by Noël Coward. From June 2018 he played Vic Billings / Ray in Dusty - The Dusty Springfield Musical on a UK tour.

He has played the role of Constant in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Provoked Wife by John Vanbrugh and returned to the RSC for winter 2019 to play Dennis's Dad in the new musical The Boy in the Dress, based on the book by David Walliams.

In March 2020, he was due to play the role of Hugo/Loco Chanelle in the West End production of Everybody's Talking About Jamie, prior to the suspension of performances due to COVID-19. During November and December 2020 he portrayed Buttons in the adult pantomime Cinderella: A Socially Distanced Ball at the Turbine Theatre (at the Battersea Power Station), written by Jodie Prenger and Neil Hurst.

In 2021, he played Tom Good in the UK tour of The Good Life based on the BBC sitcom. He appeared as Abanazar in Aladdin at the New Theatre Peterborough during Christmas of 2021.

In late 2023, Hound played Pseudolus in Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Billetterie Lido 2 in Paris.

In late 2024, Hound played Jacob Marley in Mark Gatiss' adaptation of by Charles Dickens at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Hound has made critical statements against Conservative Party figures David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt.

In August 2015, Hound endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election. He Twitter: "Understand your thinking, but Corbyn=alternative. The others =Tory policies inflicted with mea culpa eyes". In July 2016, he also supported Corbyn after mass resignations from his cabinet and a leadership challenge. He performed stand-up at "Keep Corbyn event" in Kentish Town