An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of property/properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate Agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents. In Scotland, however, many solicitors also act as estate agents, a practice that is rare in England and Wales.

It is customary in the United Kingdom and in Ireland to refer to ''real estate'' or ''real property'' simply as ''property''.

The Estate Agent remains the current title for the person responsible for the management of one group of privately owned, all or mostly tenanted, properties under one ownership. Alternative titles are Factor, Steward or Bailiff depending on the era, the region and the extent of the property concerned.

Origin

The term originally referred to a person responsible for managing a landed estate, while those engaged in the buying and selling of homes were "House Agents", and those selling land were "Land Agents". However, in the 20th century, "Estate Agent" started to be used as a generic term, perhaps because it was thought to sound more impressive. Estate Agent is roughly synonymous in the United States with the term real estate broker.

The job of the agent is to know his or her community and local factors that can increase or decrease property prices. e.g. if a new road or airport is to be built this can blight houses nearby. Equally, the closing of a quarry or improvement of an area can enhance prices. It is the job of the agent to value based on what has, or has not sold in comparison and to achieve the best price for their client.

Regulation

The full legal term and definition of an estate agent within the UK can be found on the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) website. Enforcement of these regulations is also the responsibility of the OFT.

In the United Kingdom, residential Estate Agents are regulated by the Estate Agents Act 1979 and the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, as well as, the more recently enacted Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007.

For residential property, there is a trade association for estate agents, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). NAEA members can be disciplined for breaches of their code of conduct. Their disciplinary process includes everything from cautions and warnings right through to more severe penalties of up to £5000 for each rule breached.

Some Estate Agents are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the principal body for UK property professionals, dealing with both residential, commercial and agricultural property. Members, known as "Chartered Surveyors", are elected based on examination and are required to adhere to a code of conduct, which includes regulations about looking after their clients' money and professional indemnity insurance in case of error or negligence.

The ''Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme'', which obtained OFT approval for the ''Code of Practice for Residential Sales'' in 2005 and, as of November 2006, claims to have 2532 member agencies.

There is a legal requirement to belong to either organisation to trade as an Estate Agent. Agents can be fined if they are not a member of a redress scheme. The redress scheme was brought in alongside and to govern agents in reference to the HIP (Home Information Pack).

Industrial structure

A handful of national residential Estate Agents chains exist, such as Connells, with the majority being locally or regionally specialised companies.

Several multi-national commercial agencies exist, typically being Anglo-American, pan-European or global. These firms all seek to provide the full range of property advisory services, not just agency.

Only a handful of large firms trade in both commercial and residential property.

Fees

Lettings

Estate agents who handle lettings of commercial property normally charge between 7–10% of the first years rent as fees, in addition to taking the first month's rent in its entirety. If two agents are charging 10%, they will split the fee between them. Estate agents selling commercial property (known as investment agents) typical charge 1% of the sale price.

The fees charged by residential Letting Agents vary, depending on whether the agent manages the property or simply arranges for new tenants. Charges to prospective tenants can vary from zero to £300 in non-refundable fees usually described as "Application", "Administration" or "Processing" fees (or all three). There are no guidelines for Letting Agents on charges, except that they are forbidden by law to charge a fee for a list of properties. Otherwise, they are free to charge as they please.

The first month's rent in advance plus a refundable bond (usually equal to one month's rent) is also generally required. Most residential lettings in the UK are governed by "Assured Shorthold Tenancy" contracts. Assured Shorthold Tenancies (generally referred to simply as "Shorthold") give less statutory protection than earlier, mostly obsolete, types of residential lettings. Shorthold Tenancy Agreements are standard contracts generally available from legal stationers and the internet for around £1, although most Lettings Agent will charge £30 to provide one.

It is important that tenant referencing checks are in place prior to a tenant moving into a property. The credit check can be run using credit history data from Equifax, Experian or Call Credit (the three main UK providers) using an in-house website system or a managed referencing service. A reputable agent will also ask for an employment reference and a previous landlord reference to verify that the tenant can afford the rental on the property and that there were no serious problems with the previous agent. It is also essential that proof of ID and proof of residency are also collected and filed.

Selling

Estate agents selling residential property generally charge between 2% to 3% of the sales price plus VAT (Value Added Tax) Additional marketing charges are also applied for advertising, in media such as newspapers and websites.

Other approaches

Since around 2000, ''Online Estate Agents'' have provided an alternative to the traditional fee structure, claiming cheaper, fixed fee selling packages. These online Estate Agents claim to give private property sellers the ability to market their property via the major property portals (the preferred medium used by traditional high street Estate Agents) for a fraction of the cost of the traditional estate agency. New models have been introduced, which uses digital media screens in place of the agents traditional High Street window. These screens allow agents to take their listings into remote locations where an office may otherwise not be available.

A report in 2010 showed that Online Estate agents typically charge a fixed fee between £400 - £1000 with some charging a further commission on sale and many charging additional fees for extra services such as the supply of a For Sale sign, professionally taken photographs and accompanied viewings.

In February 2010 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced that a change in the legislation for estate agents has led to a shake up in the way homes are sold, allowing cheaper online agents to become more established than they could before.

New types of property portals based in the United Kingdom have started to encourage UK and worldwide estate agents to collaborate by showing all their properties, thus allowing site visitors to see a vast array of UK and overseas properties all on one website.

Many estate agents are using estate agency software to assist in the sale of houses. The latest technology enables home buyers to receive property details while outside a house, visit estate agents websites for the latest listings and display properties for sale in the local vicinity using location based applications on mobile phones. A lot of property advertising is now automated for the agents using estate agents software. The industry standard for agents digital windows is commonly called *[www.RemoteAgent.co.uk] which fully integrates with the INEA's UK free to agents MLS property sharing system, where main agents can collaborate on a main/sub agent basis. MLS is growing in the UK and is the .ain system used in @ountries such as the USA and New Zealand.

Research undertaken in 2007 said that the most effective way of selling property is via 'For Sale' signs, 28% of customers had seen the estate agent's For Sale signs before researching more in depth into the properties. Searching for houses via the internet came in a close second (21%), with newspapers third at (17%). The fourth most effective way, and the most traditional, was customers visiting an estate agent's office (15%). However now in 2010 80/90%% of properties are found via the internet and agents see less people walking into their offices. Boards are still very effective, but many agents are now cutting out paper advertising and moving just to digital such as eMags and just the web.

Other methods included auctions (11%), word of mouth (3%) and leaflets (2%).

See also

Real estate broker/agent

Buying agent

Price on application

Estate (house)

Guaranteed home sale

References

External links

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)

The Independent Network of Estate Agents

Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA)

Category:Economy of the United Kingdom Category:Housing in the United Kingdom Category:Real estate Category:Real estate in the United Kingdom Category:Sales occupations

da:Ejendomsmægler de:Immobilienmakler eu:Higiezinen agentzia fr:Agent immobilier nl:Makelaar fi:Laillistettu kiinteistönvälittäjä zh:地產代理

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Catherine Tate
birth name	Catherine Ford
birth date	May 12, 1968
birth place	Bloomsbury, London, England
years active	1990–present
occupation	Actress, writer, comedienne
domesticpartner	Twig Clark (until 2011)
children	Erin Clark (born 2003)
television	''The Office''''Big Train''''Wild West''''The Catherine Tate Show''''Doctor Who''
residence	Richmond upon Thames, London, England
nationality	British
ethnicity	White British
religion	}}

Catherine Tate (born 12 May 1968) is an English actress, writer and comedienne. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven BAFTA Awards. Following the success of ''The Catherine Tate Show'', Tate played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of ''Doctor Who'' and later reprised her role, becoming the Doctor's companion for the fourth series in 2008.

Early life and education

Tate was born as Catherine Ford in Bloomsbury, and brought up in the Brunswick Centre. Her mother, Josephine, was a florist, and Tate has said that the character of Margaret in ''The Catherine Tate Show'', who shrieks at the slightest of disturbances, is based largely on Josephine.

Tate never knew her father, as he left very early on in her life, and consequently, she was brought up in a female-dominated environment, being cared for by her mother, grandmother and her godparents. As a child, Tate suffered from an obsessive-compulsive disorder which centred on word association. For example, Tate was not able to leave a jumper on the floor or it might have brought misfortune to her mother whose name began with the letter "J" like jumper.

She attended St Joseph's, Macklin Street, Holborn, a local Roman Catholic primary school. She then attended Notre Dame High School, Southwark, a South London convent secondary school for girls that was run by nuns. By the time Tate was a teenager, she knew she wanted to follow a professional acting career, and was subsequently sent to a boys' Roman Catholic school, Salesian College in Battersea at the age of 16. The school had the necessary facilities for drama. Tate left school without sitting her A-Levels. She then tried for four years to get a place in the Central School of Speech and Drama, succeeding on her fourth attempt. She studied there for three years, and until the age of 26, she lived in Holborn and Bloomsbury. Prior to getting a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama, Tate went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, but left after a week; "Even at that age I realised I wasn't Bonnie Langford. It was very competitive", she stated.

Career

Beginnings

Tate began her television acting career with roles in serial dramas such as ''The Bill'', and London's Burning. Tate started stand-up comedy in 1996, and has appeared in comedy series such as ''The Harry Hill Show'', ''Barking'' and ''That Peter Kay Thing'' and a role in ''Men Behaving Badly''. She played the part of Kate in the unaired pilot episode of sitcom Not Going Out alongside Lee Mack and Tim Vine. In 1998 she wrote and starred in ''Barking'', a late night sketch show broadcast on Channel 4 and featuring a host of, back then, unknown stars such as David Walliams, Peter Kay and Mackenzie Crook.

Soon after, she became involved with Lee Mack's Perrier Comedy Award-nominated ''New Bits'' show at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2000. In 2001, she returned to the festival with her own sell-out one-woman show, which was followed by roles in ''Big Train'', ''Attention Scum'' and ''TVGoHome''. After being spotted at Edinburgh, she was given the role of Angela in the comedy, ''Wild West'', with Dawn French, who commented "Catherine Tate is far too talented and she must be destroyed."

Tate has also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and at the National Theatre. She acted the role of Smeraldina in a 2000 RSC production of ''A Servant to Two Masters'', and another role in ''The Way of the World'' at the National Theatre.

2004–05

Tate was approached at a post-show party at the Edinburgh Festival by then-BBC controller of comedy Geoffrey Perkins, who encouraged Tate to develop her character ideas, especially to push the boundaries with teenager Lauren Cooper. Undertaking Perkins' advice, after a live show Tate found the audience walking out of the show repeating the character's catchphrase ''Am I bovvered?''

Produced by Perkins at Tiger Aspect, Tate was given her own programme on BBC Two in 2004, which she co-wrote and starred in with Derren Litten, entitled ''The Catherine Tate Show'', which ran for three series. Two of the show's well-known characters are teenager Lauren Cooper and Joannie "Nan" Taylor, the cockney grandmother. Tate's inspiration for the cockney grandmother came from visits to old people's homes when she was at drama college. Tate won a British Comedy Award for Best Comedy Newcomer for her work on the first series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'', and with the first series becoming a success, in March 2005, Tate made a guest appearance during the BBC's Comic Relief as the character of Lauren from ''The Catherine Tate Show'', alongside boy-band McFly, which gained her further exposure.

In November 2005, Tate appeared in another charity sketch as part of the BBC's annual ''Children in Need'' telethon. The segment was a crossover between ''EastEnders'' and ''The Catherine Tate Show'', featuring ''Eastenders'' characters Peggy Mitchell, Little Mo Mitchell and Stacey Slater, whilst Tate appeared as Lauren. Also at that time, she was a guest star at the 77th ''Royal Variety Performance'' and appeared again in the guise of Lauren Cooper. During the sketch, Tate looked up at the Royal Box and asked The Queen, "Is one bovvered? Is one's face bovvered?". She also commented during the sketch that Prince Philip had fallen asleep: "she is bling, but the old fella next to her is asleep!" He then reportedly complained to the show's executive producer, saying he had been insulted. Tate later won a British Comedy Award for Best British Comedy Actress for her work in the second series of ''The Catherine Tate Show''. At the end of 2005, she appeared in the BBC television adaptation of ''Bleak House''.

Tate returned to the stage for the first time since working with the RSC, to play a role in the 2005 West End revival of ''Some Girl(s)'', alongside Sara Powell, Lesley Manville, Saffron Burrows and ''Friends'' star David Schwimmer. In an interview, Tate commented that she could not look Schwimmer in the eye during her time with him, leading to speculation that the pair did not get on. Tate immediately denied the rumours, explaining that she was joking about her attempts to act "cool" around Schwimmer, whom she described as "a very funny, personable man, and easy to get along with".

2006–07

The third series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'' aired in 2006, going on to win the National Television Award for most popular comedy as voted for by the public, and Tate's catchphrase "bovvered", used by her character Lauren Cooper, became so influential in popular culture that it was named Word of the Year and was even poised to enter the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Tate also played the role of Donna Noble in ''Doctor Who'', a woman in a wedding dress who suddenly appears in the TARDIS at the end of the episode "Doomsday". The following episode, the Christmas special entitled "The Runaway Bride", saw Tate's character in a major role, where she was temporarily the Doctor's companion. On her appearance in the series, Tate commented "I'm honoured and delighted to be joining David Tennant aboard the TARDIS. I was holding out for a summer season at Wigan rep but as a summer job, this'll do."

Tate had roles in three films in 2006, these included, ''Starter for 10'', ''Sixty Six'', and ''Scenes of a Sexual Nature''. She later appeared in the films ''Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution'', in which she played the title character, and ''Love and Other Disasters''.

In the 2007 television adaptation of the novel, ''The Bad Mother's Handbook'', she played the lead role and co-starred with Anne Reid.

On 16 March 2007, Tate appeared for a second time on Comic Relief as some of her well-known characters from ''The Catherine Tate Show''. She acted in sketches with David Tennant, Daniel Craig, Lenny Henry and the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, who used the show's famous catchphrase, "Am I bovvered?" Tate also appeared as Joannie "Nan" Taylor in an episode of ''Deal or No Deal'', hosted by Noel Edmonds.

Tate became a Patron of the performing arts group Theatretrain.

Late 2007–present

Despite speculation that the third series of ''The Catherine Tate Show'' would be the last, Tate and the BBC have not ruled out further episodes. She later filmed a one-off special episode which aired on Christmas Day 2007. The episode was subject to criticism when 42 viewers complained about the amount of swearing, and accused Tate of bigotry over the depiction of a family from Northern Ireland as terrorists, whose Christmas presents included a balaclava and a pair of knuckle dusters, in reference to the Troubles. After the complaints were made, an Ofcom report later concluded that the show was not offensive and did not violate broadcasting regulations. An extract from the Ofcom report read "Overall this episode was typical of the Catherine Tate Show and would not have gone beyond the expectations of its usual audience. For those not familiar with the show, the information given at the start was adequate."

She has also been nominated for four BAFTA Awards for her work on ''The Catherine Tate Show'' to date, including Best Comedy Performance.

Tate returned to ''Doctor Who'' in 2008 to reprise the role of Donna Noble as the Doctor's companion throughout the fourth series, which was shown on BBC One starting on 5 April for a 13-week run. Producer Russell T Davies said, "We are delighted that one of Britain's greatest talents has agreed to join us for the fourth series." Tate added, "I am delighted to be returning to ''Doctor Who''. I had a blast last Christmas and look forward to travelling again through time and space with that nice man from Gallifrey." At the TV Quick Awards 2008, Tate was voted best actress for her role in ''Doctor Who''. She returned as Donna Noble in the two-part ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special "The End of Time" which was broadcast over Christmas 2009.

In 2008, she starred as Michelle, a 38-year-old promiscuous maths teacher, in David Eldridge's ''Under The Blue Sky'' at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, alongside Francesca Annis and Nigel Lindsay. Tate injured her ankle in rehearsal on 15 July. She tackled previews with the aid of a crutch.

On 11 April 2009, 26 December 2009 and 30 January 2010, Tate with David Tennant guest hosted Jonathan Ross' BBC Radio 2 show.

In 2009 she created a one off special spin off to her long running TV sketch show. Although this time the show only starred 'Nan'. In the show, Nan played Scrooge, and was visited by 3 ghosts, one of whom was played by David Tennant. The show was a one off Christmas special.

In 2010, Tate took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London on 30 March.

Tate took part in a series of short comedy films called 'Little Crackers'.

Tate appeared as Queen Isabelle of Lilliput in the 2010 film adaptation of ''Gulliver's Travels''.

On 18 March 2011, the video for Take That's new single "Happy Now" was debuted on Comic Relief. The video shows comedians Catherine Tate, Alan Carr, James Corden, John Bishop and David Walliams audition to become Take That's ultimate tribute band, Fake That. Filming took place at Ealing Studios on 17 February 2011.

Tate appeared alongside former co-star David Tennant in the Shakespeare comedy ''Much Ado About Nothing'' at London's Wyndham's Theatre from 16 May to September 2011. For her performance - as Beatrice - Catherine won the BroadwayWorld UK Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play.

In the seventh season finale of ''The Office'', which aired on 19 May 2011, Tate guest starred as Nellie Bertram, a potential replacement for the departing Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell). She is set to return to the show midway through the eighth season for a recurring role.

On Saturday 17 December 2011, Tate presented the second episode of Channel 4's ''Laughing at the...'' series - entitled "Catherine Tate: Laughing at the Noughties" - in which she met Alan Carr, David Walliams, Noel Fielding, Rob Brydon and (her ''Doctor Who'' co-star) David Tennant to discuss the comedy highlights of the noughties.

In January 2012, it was announced that Catherine Tate will be returning to ''The Office'' to reprise her role as Nellie, who will be hired as the "misguided special projects manager". It was noted that she will strike up a "far from professional" relationship with Robert California.

Personal life

Tate's former partner is stage manager Twig Clark. They have a daughter, Erin (born at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in January 2003), delivered following an emergency caesarean section. The family had a home in Richmond-upon-Thames, London. The family had both a cat and a dog, the latter of which was given to her by Jonathan Ross. Tate and Clark split before summer 2011.

Tate is the patron for the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust, supporting the charity since August 2006. In 2011 she took part in the charity's 2011 Charity Calendar

Tate suffered from postpartum depression, from which she only recovered after the filming of the second series of The Catherine Tate Show. She also suffers from occasional panic attacks. Regarding her personal outlook, Tate has said "I'm an incredibly negative person, so any form of success is only ever going to be a relief to me and set my default position back to neutral."

Awards and nominations

All for her work on ''The Catherine Tate Show'' unless otherwise stated:

Awards

2004: British Comedy Award — Best Comedy Newcomer

2006: RTS Television Award — Best Comedy Performance

2006: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

2007: National Television Awards — Most Popular Comedy Programme

2008: TV Quick Award — Best Actress in a Drama Series (for ''Doctor Who'')

Nominations

2004: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

2005: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

2005: British Comedy Award — People's Choice Award (polled most votes but award not received) 2005: International Emmy — Best Performance by an Actress

2005: BAFTA TV Award — Best New Writer

2005: BAFTA TV Award — Comedy Programme or Series Award

2006: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Performance

2007: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Programme

2008: Nickelodeon's UK Kids Choice Awards 2008 — Funniest Person

2008: Nickelodeon's UK Kids Choice Awards 2008 — Best TV Actress (for ''Doctor Who'')

2008: National Television Award — Outstanding Drama Performance (for ''Doctor Who'')

2011: BAFTA TV Award — Catherine Tate's Little Cracker

Filmography

Television and film

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1990 | ''Surgical Spirit'' | Son's girlfriend | |- | 1993/94 | ''The Bill'' | WDC Palmer/Karen Brogan | |- |1994 | ''Milner'' | Jesson's P.A. | |- |1994 | ''Men Behaving Badly'' | Young woman | |- | 1998–2002 | ''Big Train'' | various roles | |- | 2000 | ''That Peter Kay Thing'' | | |- | 2001 | ''Attention Scum'' | | |- | 2002–2004 | ''Wild West'' | Angela Phillips | |- | 2004–20072009 | ''The Catherine Tate Show'' | various characters | |- | 2005 | ''Bleak House'' | Mrs Chadband | |- |rowspan=4| 2006 | ''Love and Other Disasters'' | Talullah Wentworth | |- | ''Starter for 10'' | Julie Jackson | |- | ''Sixty Six'' | Aunt Lila | |- | ''Scenes of a Sexual Nature'' | Sara | |- | 2005 || ''Marple'' | Mitzi Kosinski | "A Murder is Announced" |- | 200620082010 | ''Doctor Who'' | Donna Noble | "The Runaway Bride"Series 4 (Full Series)The End of Time |- | 2007 | ''The Bad Mother's Handbook'' | Karen | |- | 2007 | ''Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution'' | Dorothy Ratcliffe | |- |rowspan=4| 2009 | ''The Sunday Night Project'' | Herself | Guest Host |- | ''The Justin Lee Collins Show'' | Herself | Guest |- | ''Genius'' | Herself | Guest |- | ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' | Herself | Guest |- | rowspan="2"|2010 | ''Little Crackers'' | Josephine | Short film, Tate's first directing role. |- | ''Gulliver's Travels'' | Queen of Lilliput | |- | rowspan="3"|2011 | ''Monte Carlo'' | Alicia | |- | ''The Itch of the Golden Nit'' || Stella || Voice only |- | ''A Quiet Word With ...'' | Herself | Guest, season 2, episode 3 |- | 2011– |''The Office'' | Nellie Bertram | "Search Committee", Season 8 (6 episodes) |- | 2011 | ''Laughing at the...'' | Herself | ''Catherine Tate: Laughing at the Noughties'' Presenter, season 1, episode 2 |}

Theatre

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- |2011 |Much Ado About Nothing |Beatrice |}

Radio and CD audio drama

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Broadcaster |- | 2008 | ''The Forever Trap'' | Narrator | BBC Audio |- | 2009 | ''The Nemonite Invasion'' | Narrator | BBC Audio |- | 2009-10 | ''Jonathan Ross'' | Presenter | BBC Radio 2 |}

References

External links

Catherine Tate at bbc.co.uk/comedy

''The Catherine Tate Show'' at bbc.co.uk/comedy

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:21st-century women writers Category:Actors from London Category:Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama Category:Audio book narrators Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English television writers Category:English women writers Category:People from Bloomsbury Category:People from Holborn Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Women comedians

cy:Catherine Tate de:Catherine Tate fr:Catherine Tate it:Catherine Tate pl:Catherine Tate pt:Catherine Tate ru:Тейт, Кэтрин sv:Catherine Tate zh:凯瑟琳·塔特

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
name	Stewart Lee
birth date	April 05, 1968
birth place	Wellington, Shropshire, England
nationality	British
known for	''Fist of Fun'' (1993–1995)''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'' (1998–1999)''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' (2001–2005)''90's Comedian'' (2005–2006)''41st Best Stand Up Ever!'' (2007–2008)''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' (2009–)
occupation	Stand-up comedian, Writer
spouse	Bridget Christie (?-present)
children	Son
website	}}

Stewart Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director known for being one half of the 1990s comedy duo Lee and Herring, and for co-writing and directing the critically acclaimed and controversial stage show ''Jerry Springer - The Opera''. In a review of the comedy of the previous decade, a 2009 article in ''The Times'' referred to Lee as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade".

His stand-up features frequent use of "repetition, call-backs, nonchalant delivery and deconstruction".

Background

Lee was born in Wellington, Shropshire. He was adopted as a child and grew up in Solihull in the West Midlands. He attended private school Solihull School, on a scholarship. He is married to fellow comic Bridget Christie, with whom he has two children. He is a supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Career

Early career: ''Lee and Herring'' and ''Fist of Fun''

While studying English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford in the 1980s, he wrote and performed comedy in a revue group called "The Seven Raymonds" with Richard Herring, Emma Kennedy, Michael Cosgrave, Richard Canning and Tim Richardson, but did not perform in the well-known Oxford Revue, though he did write for and direct the 1989 Revue. Having moved to London and begun performing stand up comedy after university, he rose to greater prominence in 1990, winning the prestigious Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition. With Richard Herring, Lee wrote material for BBC Radio 4's ''On the Hour'' (1991), which was anchored by Chris Morris and was notable for the first appearance of Steve Coogan's celebrated character, Alan Partridge, for which Lee and Herring wrote much early material. After a disagreement with the rest of the cast, Lee & Herring did not remain with the group when ''On The Hour'' moved to television as ''The Day Today'' and their material was excised from an official release of the radio show in the mid-'90s (though a 2008 CD release would see it re-instated). In 1992, Lee was briefly part of the team writing the first Robin Askwith "Confessions of..." movie for 15 years. However due to financial problems the movie was scrapped and his script has never seen light of day.

In 1992 and 1993, he and Herring wrote and performed ''Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World'' for BBC Radio 4, before moving to BBC Radio 1, for one series of ''Fist of Fun'' (1993). This was followed by three series entitled, simply, ''Lee and Herring''. These shows mixed sketches with live links and music, in a format that Radio 1 seemed to favour at the time. (Other classic examples of such include shows by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, and Simon Munnery in his guise as "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior".) ''Fist of Fun'' moved to television for two BBC Two series, and was followed in 1998 by ''This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', which featured material in a similar vein, but was notable for being broadcast live in a Sunday morning slot. A change in BBC management after the second series of the latter effectively brought his partnership with Herring to an end but the two comedians still share a similarity of humour.

Throughout the late nineties he continued performing solo stand-up (something that has always been a mainstay of his career – even whilst in the double act with Herring) and has collaborated with, amongst others, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding of ''The Mighty Boosh''. Indeed, though they had worked together in the past, the first seeds of the Boosh were sown whilst working as part of Lee's Edinburgh show ''King Dong vs Moby Dick'' in which Barratt and Fielding played a giant penis and a whale, respectively. Lee returned the favour by going on to direct their 1999 Edinburgh show, Arctic Boosh, which remains the template of all their live work.

Career 2000–04: Quitting stand-up

In 2001, Lee published his first novel, ''The Perfect Fool''. It was republished in 2008. In the same year he performed ''Pea Green Boat'', a stand-up show which revolved around the deconstruction of the Edward Lear poem ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' and a tale of his own broken toilet. This would later be condensed to focus mainly on the poem itself, and a 15 minute version aired on Radio 4. In 2007, Go Faster Stripe released a 25-minute edit on CD & 10" Vinyl.

During late 2000 and early 2001, Lee "gradually, incrementally and without any fanfare – or even much thought – gave up being a stand-up comedian". 2001 was the first year since 1987 that he did not perform at the Edinburgh Fringe. Whilst Lee found himself gradually performing less and less standup and moving away from the stage, he continued his directorial duties on television. Two pilots were made for Channel 4, ''Cluub Zarathrustra'' and ''Head Farm'', but neither was developed into a series. The former, however, would feature all the ingredients that would later appear in ''Attention Scum'', a BBC2 series fronted by Simon Munnery's ''League Against Tedium'' character, which also featured the likes of Kevin Eldon, Johnny Vegas and Roger Mann, as well as Richard Thomas and opera singer Lori Lixenberg, in their guise as "Kombat Opera".

At the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Lee directed Johnny Vegas's first DVD, ''Who's Ready For Ice Cream?'', a move away from the traditional "stand-up comic releases a DVD" format, involving a plot in which Vegas loses his comedy "mojo" and has to track it down via a journey of personal discovery. The DVD also features footage of Vegas' actual standup set as additional extras.

In 2004, Lee returned to stand-up comedy with the show ''Standup Comedian'', which earned him a "Tap Water Award" in Edinburgh and was released on DVD in October 2005. This features extra footage of performances from his earlier career on Five's "Comedy Network". This show was toured extensively throughout the UK, Australia and USA. Reviewing the comedy of the decade, Dominic Maxwell in ''The Times'' wrote of Lee's 2004 return to stand-up that it was "one of the boldest, smartest, most technically assured hours of stand-up I've ever seen".

2005: ''Jerry Springer The Opera'' and ''90s Comedian''

In January 2005, ''Jerry Springer - The Opera'', a satirical musical/opera based upon ''The Jerry Springer Show'', was broadcast on BBC Two, following a highly successful West End run for several years, and as a prelude to the show's UK Tour. Christian Voice led a number of protest groups who claimed that the show was blasphemous and highly offensive. In particular, they were angered by the portrayal of Jesus Christ. Disputes arose, with supporters claiming that most of the protesters had neither seen the show nor knew of its actual content. Others supported the right to freedom of speech. Several Christian groups protested at some of the venues used during the UK Tour. The show was broadcast with a record number of complaints prior to its transmission. In total, the BBC received 55,000 complaints. A private court case brought by Christian Voice against Lee and others involved with the production for blasphemy was rejected by a Magistrates' Court.

In 2005, Lee tackled the subject of the religious hatred he experienced after the broadcast of ''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' in his stand-up show, ''90s Comedian''. This show has earned him some of the best reviews of his career, largely due to the un-checked vitriol he unleashes in the latter half of the set, "taking no prisoners" in his attempt to display what he claimed was the lunacy of sacred cows.

A recording was made in Cardiff in March 2006. This was filmed by a group of amateur enthusiasts who were disappointed that there was no distribution deal in place because of the commercial failure of the ''Standup Comedian'' DVD and the controversial nature of the new show's material. These "enthusiastic amateurs" became GoFasterStripe and, having set themselves up in order to film the show, have gone on to film the works of many other "non-mainstream" comedians, including sets from Tony Law (Lee's support act on the 2009 ''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One'' tour), Simon Munnery (whose BBC television comedy series -''Attention Scum'' - was directed by Lee) and several by Lee's former partner Richard Herring.

''Jerry Springer – The Opera'' opened at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2008, starring Harvey Keitel as Springer. It has since been performed across the United States, Canada and Australia.

2006: ''What Would Judas Do?''

Many assumed Lee would bring a new hour of stand up to Edinburgh in 2006 to consolidate his "comeback" success, but he did not. Implying that it might have happened under different circumstances, he commented at the time on his website that, "I assumed I was going to be working out 6 half hours of stand-up for a TV project but it fell through". However, he did visit the festival in capacity of director with a production of the Eric Bogosian play ''Talk Radio'' with a cast which included Phil Nichol, Mike McShane, Will Adamsdale, Stephen K Amos and Tony Law.

In 2006, in addition to his directorial contribution to Talk Radio, he gigged regularly and appeared on television and radio, in – amongst others – Armando Iannucci's, ''Time Trumpet'', as a version of himself thirty years in the future looking back and commentating on the present day. The show ran on BBC2 between August & 6 September 2006. Also in August, Lee presented a programme in the Five series ''Don't Get Me Started''. The documentary discussed the issues of blasphemy, free speech, religious censorship and the rise in protests from religious groups over perceived attacks on their faith. This was of course of some interest to Lee, especially considering his experience in the ''Jerry Springer -The Opera'' controversy (see above). The programme was renamed from ''New Puritans'' to ''Stewart Lee Says What's So Bad About Blasphemy?'' without Lee's knowledge.

He separated from his long standing management company, Avalon, after a promised BBC series fell through (and because of a loss of trust resulting in part from incidents such as the retitling of the blasphemy documentary), and appeared on the BBC Radio 4 quiz ''Quote Unquote'', ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and on ''Have I Got News for You'', purportedly to pay for his wedding.

In October, he presented a forty year tribute to ''Star Trek'' on BBC Radio 2, and in November, presented ''White Face, Dark Heart'', two programmes on Radio 4 about clowns, during which he fulfilled a ten-year desire to witness the rituals of New Mexico's sacred clowns. These shows are available to download on his official website.

He curated a CD for the Sonic Arts Network called ''The Topography of Chance''. Lee explored different artists, writers and musician’s experiments with randomness and chance and brought together an eclectic mix of artists including tracks by; Simon Munnery, Arthur Smith, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Jem Finer, Kombat Opera, Jon Rose and more.

2007: ''Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!''

January saw Lee open his show ''What Would Judas Do'' in double bill with Mark Ravenhill's ''Product: World Remix'' at London's Bush Theatre. He announced at the time that he was also writing – with Tony Law a sitcom pilot about the god Thor, for BBC Two, and script-editing another pilot, a sitcom about the Brontë sisters. In February, he organised a tribute to cult comedian Ted Chippington entitled "Tedstock" at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. This was designed, in part, to raise money to fund a CD release of Chippington's work – which was available to buy on the night, "Walking Down The Road". The show included a one-off performance from Lee and Herring, along with fellow Ted fans Simon Munnery, The Nightingales, Phill Jupitus, Josie Long and Stephen Carlin.

Lee's first new stand up show since "90s Comedian" was developed over the first half of 2007, originally to be named ''March Of The Mallards'' (a title parodying that of the film, ''March of the Penguins''), it would be renamed before its full debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival of that year, and subsequent Autumn tour. This was because, in March 2007, Lee was named 41st best stand-up of all time in a Channel 4 survey listing the "100 best standups". In this poll, he beat Dave Allen, George Carlin, Steve Martin, Robin Williams and Tommy Cooper. Channel 4 did not reveal exactly how the voting was conducted, but 150,000 members of the public were polled, as were an undisclosed number of experts.

In the light of this result Lee renamed his Summer 2007 stand-up show 'Stewart Lee – 41st Best Stand Up Ever!' as he felt it was "both arrogant and humble". During the show he joked that since Bernard Manning (who had been placed above him in the poll) had died since the Channel 4 poll had first aired, he felt he should be moved up to Number 40. Another project, "Johnson & Boswell, Late But Live", written by Lee & performed by comics Simon Munnery and Miles Jupp played throughout the festival at the Traverse Theatre before embarking upon a tour of Scotland.

July 2007, Lee appeared on the Channel 4 panel game, ''8 out of 10 Cats'', which he has since described as "the worst professional experience of my life". July 2007 also saw the premiere of ''Interiors'', a site-specific theatre piece co-written with Johnny Vegas, at the Manchester International Festival.

2008

2008 began, as 2007 had ended, with the continuing tour of "41st Best Standup". It became Lee's longest tour to date, and was filmed at the Glasgow Stand for DVD release by Real Talent in April (the DVD hit stores in July).

Lee also co wrote 'Poets' Tree' with close friend & collaborator, the actor Kevin Eldon. This was a BBC Radio 4 series that was aired in April 2008, based on Paul Hamilton, Eldon's arrogant poet alter-ego.

At the Edinburgh Festival in 2008 Lee performed potential material for his recently announced BBC2 series, ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', in a work in progress show at The Stand, billed as ''Scrambled Egg''. Over the three weeks of the festival, Lee worked on a large quantity of new material, and updated old favourites for possible inclusion in the show, which began filming the following November. A follow up to Johnson & Boswell also aired, again featuring Munnery & Jupp. ''Elizabeth & Raleigh, Late But Live'' was featured at the festival before touring the country in the autumn. In November, Lee began filming for his 2009 TV show, and on the 16th November, reunited with Herring another one off performance of their old double act at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith during one of the gigs Richard Herring curated there. They were joined by Paul Putner in character as the Curious Orange. With initial filming out of the way, ''Scrambled Egg'' was reprised at London's Hen & Chickens Theatre in December to fully polish the stand up sections of the forthcoming TV project ahead of filming in January 2009.

2009: ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' and ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One''

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'', a new six part comedy series featuring standup and sketches, began a six episode run on 16 March 2009. The executive producer was Armando Iannucci and the script editor was Chris Morris. The first episode received positive reviews from The Independent and The ''Daily Mirror''. The show received a negative review in ''Time Out'', written by Lee himself, in which he described himself as "fat" and his performance as "positively Neanderthal, suggesting a jungle-dwelling pygmy, struggling to coax notes out of a clarinet that has fallen from a passing aircraft". ''The Guardian'' named ''Comedy Vehicle'' as one of its top ten television highlights of 2009, commenting that it "was the kind of TV that makes you feel like you're not the only one wondering how we came to be surrounded by so much unquestioned mediocrity". One of the show's few negative reviews came in the ''Sunday Mercury'', which stated: "His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension". Lee subsequently used this line to advertise his next stand-up tour. Lee frequently uses negative reviews on his posters in order to put off potential audience members who are unlikely to be fans of his comedy style.

The first episode was watched by approximately 1 million viewers, though the figure rose by 25% when BBC iPlayer viewings were factored in and, uncharacteristically, viewing figures rose over the series. The series was the BBC's second most downloaded broadcast during its run. In May 2010, the series was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for best comedy programme.

Lee also had a show at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, named ''Stewart Lee: If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One'' in which he performed his own version of the song "Galway Girl". In the Galway stage of this show Sharon Shannon performed the song with Lee. In December 2009 Lee was beaten to the title of Best Live Stand-Up by the comedian Michael McIntyre at the British Comedy Awards ceremony.

Lee caused controversy on his ''If You Prefer a Milder Comedian'' tour with a joke about ''Top Gear'' presenter Richard Hammond. Referring to Hammond's accident while filming in 2006, in which he was almost killed, Lee joked, "I wish he had been decapitated and that his head had rolled off in front of his wife". and, having been doorstepped by a ''Mail'' journalist, Lee replied "It's a joke, just like on Top Gear when they do their jokes". Lee subsequently explained the joke:

In an ''Observer'' interview, Sean O'Hagan says of the Hammond joke that Lee "operates out in that dangerous hinterland between moral provocation and outright offence, often adopting, as in this instance, the tactics of those he targets in order to highlight their hypocrisy". in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. On the 9th of February, Armando Iannucci, the executive producer of the first series of ''Comedy Vehicle'', announced that there would be a second series of the show. On 10 April an updated version of ''The 100 Greatest Stand-Ups'' was broadcast on Channel 4, in which Lee was declared the 12th best stand-up comedian. The May Day weekend saw Lee curating a programme of free jazz at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, at the invitation of festival director Tony Dudley-Evans.

Lee's second book, ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'', was published by Faber and Faber on 5 August 2010. The book features annotated transcripts of Lee's ''Stand-Up Comedian'', '''90s Comedian'' and ''41st Best Stand-Up Ever'' shows and has received positive reviews. It is dedicated to Ted Chippington.

Lee's 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show is entitled ''Vegetable Stew''. Prior to the start of the festival, Lee wrote an e-mail to the publicist of the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, copying in other comedians, in response to the announcement of a poll to find the public's favourite act from 30 years of the award, which was previously known as the Perrier Award. Lee wrote:

Think about the logic of it for a moment. Who among those you are asking to vote has even heard of Frank Chickens, who for all anyone under 30 knows may be the best act on the list? It is not possible for the outcome of this vote to have any credibility.

As result of his e-mail going viral with the encouragement of Richard Herring and Robin Ince, Frank Chickens took the lead in the poll. During the polling, Lee wrote that: "In my e-mail I chose at random Frank Chicken, the Japanese female performance art duo, as an example of possibly worthy winners who would not get a look-in under this illogical and unfair voting system, and the Twitter world has adopted them as a cause". He stated that it was never his intention to influence the vote, "but they are now leading the field, and it appears we should embrace them. If Frank Chickens become Comedy Gods then Foster's will have been helped to actually sponsor some actual art, and fans of Foster's all over the whole world will be made aware of that wonderful, indefinable, mischievous, playful thing we call the Spirit Of The Fringe!". Frank Chickens went on to win the public vote.

As a result of the Frank Chickens incident, Lee was awarded the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award for best publicity stunt at the Fringe. The award's organisers stated: "The fact that Stewart did not intend to unleash publicity does not negate his success".

In addition to his main Edinburgh show, on 18 August Lee headlined a one-night variety show, ''Silver Stewbilee'', to launch ''How I Escaped My Certain Fate''. The show included performances by Simon Munnery as Alan Parker: Urban Warrior, Bridget Christie, Kevin Eldon, Paul Putner, Frank Chickens and Franz Ferdinand.

On 15 September 2010, Lee, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''The Guardian'', stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.

Music journalism

Lee has written music reviews for a number of outlets including, since 1995, the ''Sunday Times''. Through the early 2000s, he became a regular presenter on, and patron of, Resonance FM 104.4.

He is noted for his diverse musical taste. Asked in 2003 what his current music favourites were, he stated "Most of my favourites are still going like The Fall, Giant Sand and Calexico. I listen to a lot of jazz, 60s and folk music but I really like Ms. Dynamite, and The Streets". He once said that the only band he liked that anyone else has heard of was R.E.M.. His debut novel, ''The Perfect Fool'', includes an 'audio bibliography' – a list of recommended listening. This mentions that it was his love of the band Giant Sand that first attracted him to visit the American South West.

Selected works

Books

''Fist of Fun'' (with Richard Herring; non-fiction) BBC Books, 1995. ISBN 0563371854; ISBN 978-0563371854

''The Perfect Fool'' (novel) Fourth Estate, 2001. ISBN 1841153656; ISBN 978-1841153650

''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN 0091889243; ISBN 978-0091889241

''More Trees to Climb'' by Ben Moor (foreword)

''Death To Trad Rock'' by John Robb (foreword) Cherry Red

''The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music'' (chapter on The Fall)

''How I Escaped My Certain Fate - The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian'' Faber & Faber 2010 ISBN 0571254802

DVDs

''Stand Up Comedian'' [2005] (2|entertain) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''90s Comedian'' [2006] (Go Faster Stripe) - Live at Cardiff's Chapter Arts Centre

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent) - Live at Glasgow's The Stand Comedy Club

''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' [2009] (2|entertain) - Live at London's Arts Depot

''If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One'' [2010] [Comedy Central] - Live at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre

CDs

''90s Comedian'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, digital-only release)

''Pea Green Boat'' [2007] (Go Faster Stripe, also 10" vinyl)

''41st Best Stand Up Ever'' [2008] (Real Talent)

''What Would Judas Do?'' [2009] (Go Faster Stripe, 3-CD box set)

'The Jazz Cellar Tape" [2011] (Go Faster Stripe, CD)

References

External links

Official website

Stewart Lee biography at Debi Allen Associates

Unofficial Lee and Herring website

Category:1968 births Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Category:British atheists Category:British humanists Category:British radio writers Category:English comedians Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English film directors Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:Old Silhillians Category:People from Wellington, Shropshire

Category:Comedians from Birmingham, West Midlands

Coordinates	40°26′30″N80°00′00″N
Name	Emma Jesson
Birth name	Emma Louise Jesson
Birth date
Birth place	St Annes, Lancashire, England
Occupation	TV & Weather presenter
Years active	1993–present
Partner	William Roache (2010–present)
Website	Official site }}

Emma Louise Jesson-Hargreaves (born October 19, 1968) is an English television and weather presenter who works for ITV Central in Birmingham, England and ITV Granada.

She worked alongside her colleague Charlie Neil presenting the weather for the three Central sub-regions, in addition to the weather for the HTV Wales and HTV West regions during weekends and holidays. Jesson worked for GMTV in 1993 and was their first weather presenter before GMTV moved their weather forecasts to their studios in London. She made a return to GMTV in 2010 as they changed their format and line-up.

Since the re-structuring of ITV in February 2009, Jesson now goes out as a weather reporter. She can also be seen guesting on Channel 4 racing as part of her Racing Weather service, and The Morning Line. Since February 2010 she has been dating -year-old William Roache who is 36 and a half years her senior.

'''==References==

External links

Emma Jesson on Twitter

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:British television presenters Category:ITV Weather Category:GMTV presenters and reporters