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L'Oréal S.A.

Type	Société Anonyme
Traded as	Euronext: OR
Industry	Personal care
Founded	1909
Founder(s)	Eugène Schueller
Headquarters	Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jean-Paul Agon (Chairman and CEO), Liliane Bettencourt (Non-executive director and major shareholder) Natalia Streignard
Products	Cosmetics and beauty products
Revenue	€19.50 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income	€3.057 billion (2010)[1]
Profit	€2.240 billion (2010)[1]
Total assets	€24.04 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity	€14.87 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees	66,620 (end 2010)[1]
Subsidiaries	The Body Shop
Website	loreal.com

The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company.^[2] With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France,^[3] it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics. Concentrating on hair colour, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfumes and hair care, the company is active in the dermatological, tissue engineering and pharmaceutical fields and is the top nanotechnology patent-holder in the United States.^[4]

L'Oréal is a listed company, but the founder's daughter Liliane Bettencourt and the Swiss food company Nestlé each control over a quarter of the shares and voting rights.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

In 1907, Eugène Schueller, a young French chemist and future La Cagoule supporter, developed a hair dye formula called Auréale. Schueller formulated and manufactured his own products, which he then sold to Parisian hairdressers.

On July 30, 1909, Schueller registered his company, the Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux ("Safe Hair Dye Company of France" literally "French Society of Inoffensive Tinctures for Hair"), the original L’Oréal. The guiding principles of the company, which eventually became L’Oréal, were research and innovation in the field of beauty.

In 1920, the small company employed three chemists. By 1950, the research teams were 100 strong; that number reached 1,000 by 1984 and is nearly 2,000 today.

L’Oréal got its start in the hair-color business, but the company soon branched out into other cleansing and beauty products. L’Oréal currently markets over 500 brands and many thousands of individual products in all sectors of the beauty business: hair color, permanents, hair styling, body and skin care, cleansers, makeup and fragrances. The company's products are found in a wide variety of distribution channels, from hair salons and perfumeries to hyper - and supermarkets, health/beauty outlets, pharmacies and direct mail.

L’Oréal has five worldwide research and development centers: two in France: Aulnay and Chevilly; one in the U.S.: Clark, New Jersey; one in Japan: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture; and in 2005, one was established in Shanghai, China. A future facility in the US will be in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

From 1988 to 1989, L'Oréal controlled the film company Paravision, whose properties included the Filmation and De Laurentiis libraries. StudioCanal acquired the Paravision properties in 1994.

L’Oréal purchased Synthélabo in 1973 to pursue its ambitions in the pharmaceutical field. Synthélabo merged with Sanofi in 1999 to become Sanofi-Synthélabo. Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis in 2004 to become Sanofi-Aventis.

On 17 March 2006, L'Oréal purchased cosmetics company The Body Shop for £652 million.

The company has recently faced discrimination lawsuits in France related to the hiring of spokesmodels and institutional racism. In the UK, L'Oréal has faced widespread condemnation from OFCOM regarding truth in their advertising and marketing campaigns concerning the product performance of one of their mascara brands.

L'Oréal's famous advertising slogan is "Because I'm worth it". In the mid 2000s, this was replaced by "Because you're worth it". In late 2009, the slogan was changed again to "Because we're worth it" following motivation analysis and work into consumer psychology of Dr. Maxim Titorenko. The shift to "we" was made to create stronger consumer involvement in L'Oréal philosophy and lifestyle and provide more consumer satisfaction with L'Oréal products. L'Oréal also owns a Hair and Body products line for kids called L'Oréal Kids, the slogan for which is "Because we're worth it too".

Protest group Naturewatch states that L'Oréal continues to test new ingredients on animals.^[5] The company states that no animal testing for finished products has taken place since 1989 and that L'Oreal has invested significantly in alternative methods for chemical safety testing,^[6] though they implicitly acknowledge that they continue to perform animal testing of ingredients.^[7]

Following L'Oréal's purchase of The Body Shop, who continue to be against animal testing, The Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick was forced to defend herself against allegations of abandoning her principles over L'Oréal's track record on animal testing. Calls were made for shoppers to boycott The Body Shop.^[8]

L'Oreal has made quite a few statements on claims of animal testing.^[9] Since 1989 they have stopped all testing on animals.^[10] which also can be found at their Company website ^[11]

In 1987, L'Oréal and 3 Suisses founded Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté specializing in mail order sales of cosmetic products.

February 2011: L'Oreal will have the largest factory in the Jababeka Industrial Park, Cikarang, Indonesia with total investment of US$50 million and it will be ready in October 2011. The production will be absorbed 25 percent by domestic market and the rest will be exported. In 2010 significant growth occurred at Indonesia with 61 percent increase of unit sales or 28 percent of net sales.^[12]

Business[link]

L'Oréal Paris hair gel. Note the Ben Nicholson-esque design.

Corporate governance[link]

Board of directors[link]

Current members of the board of directors of L’Oréal^[13] are:

Management committee[link]

The management committee includes:

Stockholders[link]

As at year end 2010:^[1]

• Breakdown of share ownership: 30.9% by the Bettencourt family, 29.7% by Nestlé, 1.9% treasury shares, 0.7% company savings plan, and the remaining 36.8% is public.

Sales, profits, etc.[link]

In 2003, L’Oréal announced its 19th consecutive year of double-digit growth. Its consolidated sales was €14.029 bn and net profit was €1.653 bn. 96.7% of sales derived from cosmetic activities and 2.5% from dermatological activities. L’Oréal has operations in over 130 countries, employing 50,500 people, 24% of which work in France. 3.3% of consolidated sales is invested in research and development, which accounts for 2,900 of its employees. In 2003, it applied for 515 patents. It operates 42 manufacturing plants throughout the world, which employ 14,000 people.

• Cosmetics sales by division breakdown: 54.8% from consumer products at €7.506 bn, 25.1% from luxury products at €3.441 bn, 13.9% from professional products at €1.9 bn, and 5.5% from active cosmetics at €0.749 bn.

• Cosmetic sales by geographic zone breakdown: 52.7% from Western Europe at €7.221 bn, 27.6% from North America at €3.784 bn, 19.7% from rest of the world at €2.699 bn.

In 2007, L’Oréal was ranked 353 in the Fortune Global 500.^[14] The company had earned $2,585 million on sales of $19,811 million. There were 60,850 employees.^[14]

Joint ventures and minority interests[link]

L’Oréal holds 10.41% of the shares of Sanofi-Aventis, the world's number 3 and Europe's number 1 pharmaceutical company. The Laboratoires Innéov is a joint venture in nutritional cosmetics between L’Oréal and Nestlé; they draw on L’Oréal's knowledge in the fields of nutrition and food safety. Galderma is another joint venture in dermatology between L'Oréal and Nestlé.

Community involvement and awards[link]

In 2008, L'Oréal was named Europe's top business employer by The European Student Barometer,^[15] a survey conducted by Trendence that covers 20 European countries and incorporates the responses of over 91,000 students.

The L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science was established to improve the position of women in science by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress.

The awards are a result of a partnership between the French cosmetics company L'Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and carry a grant of $100,000 USD for each laureate. [1]

The same partnership awards the UNESCO-L'Oréal International Fellowships, providing up to $40,000 USD in funding over two years to fifteen young women scientists engaged in exemplary and promising research projects.^[16]

L'Oréal organizes every year the L'Oréal Brandstorm, an acknowledged business game for students in 43 countries. The game is related to marketing and has a first prize of $10,000, a second prize of $5,000 and a third prize of $2500.

L'Oréal is also involved in the "Look Good...Feel Better"- project which is a Beauty Industry Charity which was formed over 16 years ago to help woman combat the visible side effects of their cancer treatment of which L'Oréal is a founder member.

Claims of racial discrimination in advertising, and other litigation[link]

On August 11, 2005, the Supreme Court of California ruled that former L'Oréal sales manager Elyse Yanowitz had adequately pleaded a cause of action for retaliatory termination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and remanded the case for trial.^[17] The case arose out of a 1997 incident in which Jack Wiswall, then the general manager for designer fragrances, allegedly told Yanowitz to fire a dark-skinned sales associate despite the associate's good performance. When Yanowitz refused, Wiswall pointed to a "sexy" blonde-haired woman and said, "...get me one that looks like that." Wiswall retired as president of the luxury products division of L'Oréal USA at the end of 2006.

In May 2007, L'Oréal was one of several cosmetic manufacturers ordered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia to withdraw advertising regarding the wrinkle removal capabilities of their products.^[18]

In July 2007, the Garnier division and an external employment agency were fined €30,000 for recruitment practices that intentionally excluded non-white women from promoting its shampoo, "Fructis Style".^[19] L'Oréal is reported as saying the decision was "incomprehensible",^[20] and would challenge the measure in court.

In July 2007, the British Advertising Standards Authority attacked L'Oréal for a television advert on its “Telescopic” mascara, featuring Penélope Cruz, stating "it will make your eyelashes 60% longer." In fact, it only made the lashes look 60% bigger, by separating and thickening at the roots and by thickening the tips of the lashes. They also failed to state that the model was wearing false eyelashes.^[21]

In July 2011, the British Advertising Standards Authority took action against L'Oréal, banning two airbrushed Lancôme advertisements in the UK featuring actress Julia Roberts and supermodel Christy Turlington. The agency issued the ban after British politician Jo Swinson argued that the two ads misrepresented reality and added to the self-image problem amongst females in the UK. L'Oréal acknowledged that the photos had been airbrushed but argued that the two cosmetic products could actually produce the results depicted in the ads and that the results of the products had been scientifically proven.^[22]

WWII Controversy[link]

Eugène Schueller, the company's founder, was a Nazi sympathizer. ^[23] L'Oreal concedes that Schueller was an anti-Semitic fascist. ^[24] He was also a member of La Cagoule, which supported the Vichy regime, and was a violent, pro-fascist and anti-communist organization. Eugène bankrolled La Cagoule and some meetings of La Cagoule were held at L'Oreal headquarters. Some of the criminal activities perpetrated by La Cagoule include firearms transportation, assassinating a former minister, and firebombing six Synagogues. ^{[25] [26]}

Other controversy arose when Jean Frydman, a shareholder and board member of Paravision, a film subsidiary of L'Oreal, was fired. He claims that he was let go because L'Oreal wanted to avoid an Arab boycott of businesses associated with Jews. In turn, Frydman decided to expose the past of L'Oreal executives. André Bettencourt who married Schueller's daughter, Liliane Bettencourt, and became deputy chairman for L'Oreal, wrote 60 articles for La Terre Française. La Terre Française was a anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda sheet. André has admitted ownership of the propaganda but claimed he was poisoned by the Vichy regime and said, "I have repeatedly expressed my regrets concerning them in public and will always beg the Jewish community to forgive me for them."^[27] André Bettencourt also sheltered Schueller and several collaborators from the French Resistance after Liberation ^[28].It was also revealed that Eugene Schuller hired Jacques Correze, who as of 2001, was the honorary head of L'Oreal's U.S. affiliate, Cosmair, and was involved with La Cagoule.^[29]

Further controversy arose when it was revealed that L'Oreal had its German headquarters for over 30 years, before being sold in 1991, on land confiscated from Jews during WWII. The Jewish family has been battling for restitution from the company for three generations, the latest of which is Edith Rosenfelder, a Holocaust survivor. Fritz Rosenfelder, was forced to sell the house to a Nazi official, of which the family never received the proceeds of the sale. Instead, the family was deported. The allies passed Jewish restitution legislation which says that transactions, even if appearing to be with the owner's consent, can be considered invalid. As the land was sold to an offshoot of L'Oreal, which was later bought out in 1961 by L'Oreal, the company claims that it is not responsible for anything that happened before then. The basis for Rosenfelder's argument is that since the original sale was illegal, all subsequent sales are equally unlawful. There was restitution paid in 1951 to the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, but this was done without the family's consent and none of the money ever reached the family. A book by Monica Waitzfelder, daughter of Edith Rosenfelder, published in French as L'Oréal a pris ma maison and in English as L'Oréal stole my house!, details how L'Oréal, took over the Waitzfelder home in the German city of Karlsruhe (after the Nazis had engineered the removal of the family) to make it its German headquarters. ^[30] Monica Waitzfelder is quoted as saying, "All the other businesses which took Jewish property have since returned it, without any great debate. I don't understand why L'Oréal should be any different from the others." A case was brought before the Supreme Court in France, but the public prosecutor ruled that there could be no trial. As of 2007, she is bringing the case to the European Court of Human Rights. ^{[31] [32]}

Modern controversy[link]

Most recently, L'Oreal appeared on the list published by the US congress of companies that support the SOPA bill in 2011.^[33]

Additionally, L'Oreal, along with Mary Kay and Avon, is currently resuming animal testing on its products as it prepares for the market in China. ^[34]

Brands[link]

Brands are generally categorized by their targeted markets, such as the mass, professional, luxury, and active cosmetics markets. The Body Shop and Galderma are directly attached to the head office. L'Oréal also owns interests in various activities such as fine chemicals, health, finance, design, advertising, insurance. ^[35]

Professional products

• L'Oréal Professionnel, including ARTec and Innate
• Kérastase (created by L'Oreal in 1964)
• Kéraskin Esthetics, created by L'Oreal in 2007 and specializing in skin care professionals.
• Redken 5th Avenue NYC, founded by Paula Kent and Jheri Redding in 1960 and acquired by L'Oreal in 1993.
• Matrix Essentials, founded by Arnie Miller in 1980 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2000.
• Mizani, founded in 1991 and bought by L'Oreal in 2001.
• PureOlogy Research, founded in 2001 and acquired by L'Oreal in 2007.
• Shu Uemura Art of Hair

L'Oreal Luxe

• Lancôme
• Yves Saint Laurent
• Giorgio Armani
• Biotherm
• Cacharel
• Diesel
• Maison Martin Margiela
• Viktor & Rolf
• Ralph Lauren
• Kiehl's
• Shu Uemura
• Stella McCartney
• Clarisonic
• Paloma Picasso
• Drakkar noir

Consumer products

• L’Oréal Paris
• Ombrelle
• Garnier
• Maybelline
• SoftSheen-Carson
• Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté
• Essie

Active cosmetics

• Vichy
• La Roche Posay
• Inneov
• Skinceuticals
• Roger&Gallet
• Sanoflore

Head office[link]

L'Oréal Group has its head office in the Centre Eugène Schueller in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, near Paris.^[36] The building, constructed in the 1970s from brick and steel, replaced the former Monsavon factory, and employees moved into the facility in 1978. 1,400 employees work in the building.^[37] The building is often referred to as the "Beauty Factory" by the public. In 2005 Nils Klawitter of Der Spiegel said "the building, with its brown glazed façade of windows, is every bit as ugly as its neighborhood." Klawitter added that the facility "gives the impression of a high-security zone" due to the CCTV cameras and security equipment. The world's largest hair salon is located inside the head office building. As of 2005, 90 hairdressers served 300 women, including retirees, students, and unemployed people, per day; the customers are used as test subjects for new hair colours.^[38]

L'Oréal USA has its headquarters in New York City,^[39] its New Jersey headquarters is in Berkeley Heights.^[40]

See also[link]

	Paris portal
	Companies portal
	Fashion portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• History section, official website

L'Oréal navigational boxes v t e L'Oréal Group Cosmetics Professional Products L'Oréal Professionnel L'Oréal Technique Kérastase Redken Matrix Mizani Pureology Shu Uemura Art of Hair Consumer Products L'Oréal Paris Garnier Maybelline New York SoftSheen-Carson CCB Paris Luxury Products Lancôme Biotherm Kiehl's Helena Rubinstein Shu Uemura YSL Beauté Giorgio Armani Parfums and Cosmetics Cacharel cosmetics Ralph Lauren Fragrances Diesel Fragrances Paloma Picasso fragrances Victor & Rolf parfums Active Cosmetics Vichy Laboratoires La Roche-Posay SkinCeuticals Innéov Sanoflore Ombrelle The Body Shop The Body Shop Dermatology Galderma Laboratories Category Commons v t e CAC 40 companies of France Accor Air Liquide Alcatel-Lucent Alstom ArcelorMittal AXA BNP Paribas Bouygues Capgemini Carrefour Crédit Agricole EADS EDF Essilor France Télécom GDF Suez Groupe Danone L'Oréal Lafarge Legrand LVMH Michelin Pernod Ricard PSA Peugeot Citroën PPR Publicis Renault Safran Saint-Gobain Sanofi Schneider Electric Société Générale STMicroelectronics Technip Total Unibail-Rodamco Vallourec Veolia Environnement VINCI Vivendi v t e Contemporary Western cosmetics and plastic surgery Face Concealer Foundation Powder Rouge Primer Veil Cleanser Toner Moisturizer Anti-aging cream Botox Facial Bleaching Facial toning Permanent makeup Lips Gloss Liner Plumper Lipstick Eyes Liner Eye shadow Kohl Mascara Eyelash extensions Eyelid glue Hair Styling Shampoo Conditioner Styling products gel mousse pomade spray wax Removal waxing threading shaving chemical electric laser IPL Nails Nail polish Manicure Pedicure Buffing Artificial nails Body Body powder Cosmetic surgery Cold cream Peeling Related topics Cosmetics advertising Cosmetic ingredients Cosmetology History of cosmetics   Major cosmetic brands Ahava Almay Artistry Aveda Avon Bath & Body Works Benefit Biotherm Bobbi Brown The Body Shop Bonne Bell Bumble and bumble Burt's Bees Cargo Carol's Daughter Clarins Clinique Coty CoverGirl Creme 21 Daigaku Honyaku Center Dr. Hauschka Eden Allure Elizabeth Arden Estée Lauder Eyes Lips Face Fabergé Hard Candy Helena Rubinstein Kanebo Ltd. Kao Corporation Kevyn Aucoin Kiehl's La Mer Lancôme Laneige Laura Mercier Laura Mercier Cosmetics Lise Watier L'Oréal L'occitane Love Cosmetics Lush MAC Cosmetics Mary Kay Max Factor Maybelline ModelCo NARS Natura Natural Wonder Neal's Yard Remedies Neutrogena Nexxus Nivea O Boticário Oriflame Origins Paula Begoun Red Earth Revlon Richard Hudnut Rimmel Sephora Shiseido Shu Uemura SK-II SkinCeuticals Stila Ulta Ultima II Urban Decay Vichy Victoria's Secret Vie at Home Wella Yves Rocher Categories Companies People History

Rick Genest
Rick Genest in Nicola Formichetti's pop-up shop, Tribeca, September 17, 2011
Born	(1985-08-07) August 7, 1985 (age 26) Châteauguay, Quebec, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Field	body art, body modification fashion modelling, film acting
Website	rickgenest.com

Rick Genest (born August 7, 1985) is a Canadian artist and fashion model born in Montreal. He is also known as Zombie Boy for being tattooed like a corpse across the majority of his body.^[1]

Early life[link]

Genest grew up in Châteauguay, a suburb of Montreal. As a child, Rick developed a brain tumor which was surgically removed when he was 15 years old.^[2][3] According to his mother he waited, out of respect for her and his father, until the age of 16 to get his first tattoo.^[1] He then left home at 17 after graduating from high school, but it was not until the age of 21 that he would first come to Montreal tattoo artist Frank Lewis, since then responsible for inking the majority of the designs on his body, which they create together.^[1] This has taken over six years, Genest spending thousands of dollars on the artwork, conceived by him to be "about the human body as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver.", and "also a tribute to horror movies", a favourite genre of his.^[1]

Rise to fame[link]

He played a background role in Cirque du freak: the Vampires assistant as one of the freaks in 2009.

On March 5, 2010, a Facebook fan page was created about Genest's unusual choice of tattoos. This page reached 1,526,292 members (as of November 19, 2011) and ultimately led to his discovery by Lady Gaga's Fashion Director Nicola Formichetti.^[4]

On January 19, 2011, Rick was featured in the new MUGLER Autumn/Winter mens collection, headlining the collection on the brand's website, after his discovery by Creative Director Nicola Formichetti.^[5][6][7][8] It was Genest's discovery by Formichetti and then Gaga's urging which actually resulted in the menswear show, something not originally planned.^[9] His discovery also influenced Formichetti on the collection itself.^[9] The show was accompanied by a video featuring Genest shot by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco.^[6] He later featured alongside Lady Gaga in the fashion show for the women's 2011 Autumn/Winter line.^[10]

On February 27, 2011, Genest was featured in Lady Gaga's video for "Born This Way", with Lady Gaga wearing makeup to replicate Genest's tattoos.^[11]

Genest can be seen styled in MUGLER by Formichetti and shot by Mariano Vivanco in the sixth volume of Vogue Hommes Japan, the editorial being titled "Hard To Be Passive".^[12][13] In the Spring/Summer issue of GQ Style (UK), Formichetti and he are interviewed, with Genest shot in MUGLER by Karim Sadli for the editorial.^[14]

In late 2011, Genest became part of a campaign entitled "Go Beyond the Cover", promoting Dermablend professional makeup products, appearing in a video where a makeup team covered all the tattoos on his head, torso, arms, and part of his back in its concealer product, with the cover-up process video documentation played in reverse to show the concealer's effectiveness.^[15]

Genest also played in a music video of the Polish pop singer Honey. The video for her the song "Sabotage" was published on 19 Jan 2012.

References[link]

Notes

In the 2009 made for TV movie "Carny", starring Lou Diamond Philips as a small town sheriff, Rick was seen as a Tattooed Man in a Carnival. No credits were given to him for his appearance. Source: IMDB (since edited-3/2/12)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rick Genest

• Official Website

Cherry Healey (Cherry Kathleen Chadwyck-Healey, born 1980) is a British television presenter, frequently featuring in self-titled documentaries on the BBC, especially BBC Three.

Healey was born on 5 December 1980 and is descended from Chadwyck-Healey Baronets; her father Nicholas is a son of the 4th Baronet. She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College until 2000.^[1]. She has a Degree in Drama Education / Drama for Social Change from Central School of Speech and Drama.

Best known for her work with light-hearted documentaries on BBC Three, including studies on drinking, childbirth, body issues, dating, and money,^[2] she frequently relates documentaries to her own life both during the programmes and on her blog on the BBC website.^[3] She presented Britain's Favourite Supermarket Foods on BBC One on 15 February 2012.

Healey has a daughter Coco (born 2009), and married partner Rory Allen in summer 2010.^[4]

Filmography[link]

• Britain's Favourite Supermarket Foods (2012)
• Cherry Healey: Like A Virgin (2012)
• Cherry's Parenting Dilemmas (2011)
• Cherry's Body Dilemmas (2011)
• Cherry's Cash Dilemmas (2011)
• Cherry Healey: Magician's Assistant (2011)
• Is Breast Best? Cherry Healey Investigates (2011)
• Cherry Gets Married (2010)
• Cherry Goes Drinking (2010)
• Cherry Gets Pierced (2010)
• Cherry Goes Dating (2010)
• Cherry Has A Baby (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Personal website

This biographical article related to British television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Mitchell and Webb
Robert Webb and David Mitchell in 2007
Medium	Television, radio, film
Nationality	British
Years active	1995–present
Genres	Sketch comedy Character comedy
Influences	Morecambe and Wise, Monty Python, The Two Ronnies, Fry and Laurie[1]
Notable works and roles	That Mitchell and Webb Look Peep Show
Members	David Mitchell Robert Webb

Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, composed of David Mitchell (born 14 July 1974) and Robert Webb (born 29 September 1972). They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show and their award-winning sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look. The duo first met at the Footlights in 1993 and collaborated for the 1995 Revue whilst studying at Cambridge University.

Works[link]

Television and radio[link]

After graduating from university, the duo did two-man shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and some sketch writing, including a series of Big Train and also for Armstrong and Miller's eponymous show.^[2] Their big break came in 2000 when they joined the writing team for the BBC Two sketch show Bruiser. The following year, the short-lived Play UK channel invited them to write their own sketch show, The Mitchell and Webb Situation. Despite the low ratings of the channel, the show was reasonably well-received by viewers. After the success, they wrote and starred in the Radio 4 sketch show, That Mitchell and Webb Sound – which was later adapted for television on BBC Two as That Mitchell and Webb Look. The first series of That Mitchell and Webb Look won the BAFTA for "Best Comedy Programme" in 2007.

They often appear with Olivia Colman, James Bachman, Mark Evans and Paterson Joseph.

In 2008, the duo wrote a pilot script for their first original sitcom; in Playing Shop, the two star as Eric and Jamie, friends who set up a business together after they are made redundant from their old jobs. Hartswood Films recorded the pilot episode on 20 December, with a view to producing a full series for BBC Two.^[3] Although approved by BBC, plans for future episodes fell through as Mitchell and Webb decided not to proceed with it.

Mitchell and Webb collaborated with Armstrong and Miller again for the 2009 Red Nose Day fundraising event. They co-wrote and starred in two short sketches incorporating Armstrong and Miller's iconic World War II airmen characters from The Armstrong and Miller Show and their characters Sir Digby and Ginger from their radio show That Mitchell and Webb Sound.

Other[link]

Mitchell and Webb have also appeared in the short-lived U.K. regional versions of the 'Get a Mac' advertisements for Apple.

They also voiced a pair of peas on the Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway sponsorship adverts for Birds Eye.

Magicians, a film starring the pair was released on 18 May 2007.^[4]

They have also released the book This Mitchell and Webb Book.

References[link]

This biographical article related to British television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e