Vernon Kay
Born	Vernon Charles Kay (1974-04-28) 28 April 1974 (age 38) Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK
Residence	Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Radio DJ television presenter
Years active	2000–present
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Television	Boys and Girls HeadJam Hit Me, Baby, One More Time The Whole 19 Yards Family Fortunes
Spouse	Tess Daly (2003–present)
Children	Phoebe Elizabeth Kay Amber Isabella Kay[citation needed]
Parents	Norman and Gladys Kay
Website
officialvernonkay.com

Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is a British television presenter, radio DJ and former model.^[1] He began his television career presenting the BBC children's programme FBi, a spin-off of Fully Booked. Since then he has presented various programmes, most notably T4, Beat the Star and All Star Family Fortunes alongside his weekend show on BBC Radio 1. In 2010 he was named the host of Skating with the Stars, which was broadcast in the United States. He is married to English television presenter Tess Daly

Early life[link]

Kay was born and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester, the elder son of Norman and Gladys; he has a younger brother, Stephen.^[2] He attended St Joseph's R.C. High School in Horwich, near Bolton,^[3] and then St John Rigby College in Orrell, near Wigan. He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with an HND in Environmental Science. He supports his hometown's football club Bolton Wanderers.^[4] He used to be a regular visitor to Manchester nightclub The Haçienda.^[2]

Career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Television[link]

2000[link]

Kay presented the Saturday morning children's programme FBi alongside Boyzone's Keith Duffy and BBC Children's presenter Kate Heavenor. The series was shown on the BBC from 22 April until 23 September 2000 and was filmed in Glasgow.

2005[link]

Kay is a former host of T4. He also presented Boys and Girls, HeadJam, Celebrities Under Pressure and California Dreaming. He presented Hit Me, Baby, One More Time which was broadcast on British television in 2005. The series was then picked up by NBC for broadcast in the USA, which Kay also hosted.

In 2005, Kay hosted the annual The Record of the Year competition. Also in 2005, Kay competed with other celebrities in a series titled Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, in which television personalities battled each other in a series of well-known game formats that had been featured on ITV over the past 50 years. The series was screened as part of ITV's 50th anniversary celebrations. Kay managed to reach the final of the competition, but ended up losing to Carol Vorderman and her family, in a special edition of Family Fortunes. Ironically, Kay would be the eventual choice to present Family Fortunes (which he's done since 2006), and presented the 2007 edition of Gameshow Marathon (which did not have Family Fortunes involved).

2006[link]

A revival of Family Fortunes began in 2006 with Kay as the host; the first episode was broadcast on 28 October 2006. The series is now titled All Star Family Fortunes as it features celebrities and their families as well as the contestants. Kay was also selected to host the second series of Gameshow Marathon in 2007.

In 2006, he presented alongside his wife Tess on the BBC One celebrity singing contest Just the Two of Us. In 2006, he hosted a segment on ITV's coverage of The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday Live and a special entitled Duet Impossible, featuring contemporary music stars performing with their deceased pop heroes via technical wizardry.

He presented The Paul O'Grady Show as a substitute host on two occasions (23 October 2006 and 9 May 2007).

2008[link]

In 2008 Kay hosted the English language adaption of the German television programme Schlag den Raab. The game — Beat the Star — broadcast on ITV1 in an eight part series, which ran from 20 April 2008 to 22 June 2008. In the final episode, Phillip Schofield surprised Kay by revealing that Kay himself was to be that night's star rather than the presenter. Kay then went on to beat the marine contestant through a series of the seven challenges.

2010[link]

In April 2010, Kay and Caroline Flack presented ITV1's Saturday night game show The Whole 19 Yards. Kay was also the host of the ABC reality competition show Skating with the Stars.^[5]

2011[link]

In 2011, Kay was appointed moderator of the Million Dollar Mind Game, an American version of the Russian intellectual show What? Where? When?, which premiered October 23, 2011 on ABC. Kay also presented a seven part Christmas show 'Home For The Holidays' for Channel 4 live.

2012[link]

In Summer 2012, Kay presented three episodes of the new ITV sports entertainment show Let's Get Gold

Radio[link]

In January 2004, Kay joined BBC Radio 1 and presented an entertainment show every Sunday. In April 2004, he was given the 10 am – 1 pm weekend slot, which was previously hosted by Colin Murray and Edith Bowman and previously broadcast on both Saturdays and Sundays on the popular radio network. From October 2007 Dick and Dom took over Sunday mornings; Kay's show then ran between 10 am – 1 pm on Saturday. In 2008 he was one of a team of DJs who filled in for Edith Bowman while she was on maternity leave along with Fearne Cotton and Nihal.

On 11 February 2009 it was announced that Kay would fill in for Chris Moyles while he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, an act he repeated on 13 July 2009 when Moyles took a day off. He also filled-in for Pete Tong's Essential Selection on Radio 1 on 10 April 2008. That same year, Kay filled again in for Chris Moyles from 10 August until 15 August when he had two weeks holiday. The first week was covered by the regular cover presenter Scott Mills. From 30 November 2009 Kay, again, covered for Chris Moyles on breakfast for a whole week as Moyles, Aled Haydn Jones and Fearne Cotton were away in Uganda handing out malaria nets and seeing how the money raised from the Mount Kilimanjaro climb for Comic Relief was being spent.

On 12 February 2012 it was announced he would leave the station when his contract expires in September of that year.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Kay married Tess Daly on 12 September 2003, at St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Horwich, in Bolton.^[6] They have two daughters together: Phoebe Elizabeth Kay,^[7] who was born on 17 October 2004^[8] in Westminster, London,^[9] and Amber Isabella Kay, born on 30 May 2009^[10] in London.^[11] They live in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire.^[12] In February 2010, Kay admitted to exchanging racy text messages with Rhian Sugden, a glamour and Page 3 model, after they had met in a Bolton nightclub.^[13]

Kay received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton on 9 July 2009, for services to entertainment.^[14]

Kay is a passionate supporter of Bolton Wanderers F.C.. He is also a fan of American football, joining the Manchester Allstars at the age of 13 and reuniting the team in 2011 for a one-off match against the Birmingham Lions.^[15] In 2011, he signed for the London Warriors, for whom he plays in the BAFA Community Leagues Premiership as a defensive back.^[16][17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Vernon Kay at BBC Programmes
• Vernon Kay on Twitter
• Vernon Kay at the Internet Movie Database
• Sporting Achievements

Hurts
Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft performing at OpenAir St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, June 27, 2010.
Background information
Origin	Manchester, England
Genres	Synthpop, electropop, New Wave, soft rock
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Major Label (RCA)
Website	www.informationhurts.com
Members
Theo Hutchcraft Adam Anderson

Hurts are a British synthpop duo formed in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft (born 30 August 1986 in Richmond) and synthesist Adam Anderson (born 14 May 1984 in Manchester). Their debut album, Happiness, which was released in September 2010, has reached the Top 10 in 12 European countries and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. The band have also sold more than 1 million singles worldwide.^[1]

History[link]

Musical beginnings: Bureau and Daggers (2005–2008)[link]

Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson met outside the 42nd Street nightclub in Manchester in November 2005, whilst their friends got involved in a fight. Too drunk to join in, they got talking about music instead, and realising they had similar tastes, decided to start a hi-NRG electropop band. Over the next few months they exchanged music and lyrics via e-mail, before forming Bureau in March 2006 with Jamie Alsop and Flick Ward. They performed their first gig as a quintet in May at The Music Box in Manchester, and were shortly afterwards signed to independent record label High Voltage Sounds.^[2] They released their first double A-side single "After Midnight" / "Dollhouse" in November, which was made Single of the Week on Xfm.^[3]

In 2007, Bureau changed their name to Daggers, following Flick Ward being replaced by Sarah Beecroft. They signed to Label Fandango and in October released another double A-side single "Money" / "Magazine", which despite failing to chart, was nominated for the Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize.^[4]

Throughout 2008, Daggers continued to build a following, and began working with successful producers Biff Stannard and Richard X, but after a disastrous A&R showcase in London in September, Theo and Adam returned to Manchester to reflect on the band's future. They recorded a mournful ballad called "Unspoken" together, and they immediately realised that this was the sound that they wanted to develop as a duo.

After informing the rest of the band that it was finished, they went on a short break to Verona in Italy, where they claim they discovered the genre Disco Lento.^[5] In an interview with CityLife, Theo said: "A DJ asked us, 'What does your music sound like?' so I said that it sounds like Alphaville. Then he explained how in the wake of Italo-disco, all those artists started to make ballads and I was like, 'That's what we've just done'".^[6] Daggers announced on their Myspace page on 30 January 2009 that they had split up.^[7]

Birth of Hurts (2009)[link]

Now called Hurts, the duo recorded an amateur music video for a song called "Wonderful Life", with a female dancer who had responded to an advert in a shop window and was paid £20 for her time.^[8] After uploading the video to their YouTube channel on 21 April 2009, it quickly went viral, and in July, they were signed to RCA imprint Major Label, run by their old friend Biff Stannard.^[9] The video has since had over 21 million views on YouTube, putting it in the Top 200 Most Watched Videos in the history of the website.

Although Theo and Adam had decided to not to do any gigs until they had enough songs, they began to steadily build a fanbase throughout 2009 by uploading demos to their Myspace page, and on 27 July, they were named Band of the Day by The Guardian.^[10] This helped to grow a buzz around the new band, and on 7 December, it was announced that they had made the longlist of the Sound Of 2010, an annual poll of music critics and industry figures conducted by the BBC.^[11]

Following spot plays on BBC Radio 1 of "Wonderful Life", Hurts were invited to record at London's Maida Vale Studios on 9 December for Huw Stephens' radio show, where they performed "Illuminated" and "Silver Lining".^[12]

[edit] Release of Happiness (2010)

Hurts performing in Milan, October 24, 2010

2010 began with Hurts finishing fourth on the Sound of 2010 poll, behind Ellie Goulding, Marina and the Diamonds, and Delphic.^[13] On 7 January, Zane Lowe premiered new song "Blood, Tears & Gold" as his "Hottest Record in the World",^[14] and another self-made music video debuted online three days later.

Having released a limited edition 12" vinyl picture disc of the Arthur Baker remix of "Wonderful Life" on 18 January, Hurts performed their first ever gig as Hurts on 22 January at the Michalsky Stylenite in Berlin, followed by St Phillips Church in Salford on 22 February.^[15] This was quickly followed by gigs at Wiltons Music Hall, London, and in Berlin and Cologne in Germany.

In March, "Wonderful Life" was released to radio in various European territories; as manager Matt Vines explained to Music Week, the aim was to launch the band simultaneously across Europe and Asia. "It's an internationally focused campaign. We're looking at tours across Europe to back up the work we are doing in the UK." The single became a big radio hit in countries such as Denmark, Cyprus and Russia throughout the spring.

On 10 March, their first UK single "Better Than Love" was premiered on Huw Stephens' show on BBC Radio 1.^[16] After a nationwide tour with the NME Radar tour, the song was released on digital download, CD and vinyl formats on 24 May, and debuted at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.

Following massive success on Greek radio, Hurts were invited to perform at the MAD Video Music Awards ceremony in Athens in front of 11,000 people on 15 June.^[9] Also in June, it was announced that Kylie Minogue was recording with the band. She recorded a verse and backing vocals for the song "Devotion", which was to be included on the band's album. Hurts recorded a performance of Kylie's 1994 hit "Confide In Me" for newspaper The Sun's website,^[17] and has since been a regular inclusion on their gig setlists. Kylie later returned the compliment by recording a performance of "Wonderful Life" in Radio 1's Live Lounge.

Throughout the summer, Hurts performed at several music festivals including V Festival and T in the Park in the UK, Pukkelpop in Belgium, and SWR3 New Pop Festival in Germany. "Wonderful Life" was released in Germany on 6 August and it debuted at number two on the German Singles Chart. It was released in the UK on 23 August, where it debuted at number 21, becoming their first UK top 40 hit.

The album Happiness, which had been recorded at Sunshine Dance Studios in Manchester and Pellerin in Gothenburg with producer Jonas Quant, was released on 6 September. It debuted at number four in the UK Albums Chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week on sale, which made it the fastest selling debut album by a band in 2010.^[18]

In October, Hurts embarked on their first full headline UK tour, performing in Brighton, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London. Their third UK single "Stay" was released in November, reaching number 50 in the chart.

Meanwhile in Germany, "Wonderful Life" was certified platinum for sales in excess of 500,000 copies, and they were awarded the BAMBI award for Best International Newcomer. They were also nominated at the MTV Europe Music Awards in the Best Push Artist category. Hurts ended 2010 by supporting Scissor Sisters on their UK arena tour in December, and released a Christmas single called "All I Want for Christmas Is New Year's Day" for free download on iTunes.

Continued European success (2011)[link]

Happiness climbed back into the UK Top 30 albums chart in February 2011 following a second nationwide headline tour, several TV appearances including on The Graham Norton Show, and winning Best New Band at the NME Awards on 23 February, where they also performed "Wonderful Life". A fourth single from the album, "Sunday", was released in the UK on 27 February and it debuted at number 57, whilst the second single in Germany, "Stay", reached number three.

In March, Hurts were awarded Best International Newcomer at the ECHO Awards in Germany. A fifth single, "Illuminated", was released in the UK on 9 May, entering the chart at number 159, though it had already reached number 68 in September 2010, following its use on trailers for television channel Sky1.

On 26 June, Theo and Adam performed on the John Peel stage at the Glastonbury Festival, and their full set was broadcast on a loop on the BBC Red Button channel. Readers of music magazine NME voted their performance as the best of the festival, putting them ahead of headliners U2, Coldplay, and Beyoncé.^[19] They were later voted "Band of the Summer" by the same magazine. On June 2011 they announced on their facebook the production of a remix for the track "Lonely Lisa" by french pop icon Mylène Farmer.

As of September 2011, Happiness has sold 150,000 copies in the United Kingdom, having spent an entire year on the UK Top 200 albums chart. A limited edition CD/DVD will be released on 31 October. It has sold 300,000 copies in Germany, earning it three gold discs.^[20] "Blood, Tears & Gold" was released as the third single in Germany on 7 October.

Hurts embarked on their first full European tour in October 2011, performing in Ukraine, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Macedonia and the UK.^[21] They have said in interviews that they plan to start writing and recording for their second album after they have completed the tour, but that they might find it more difficult than their first.^[22]

On 4 November 2011, Hurts played their last show on the Happiness tour at Brixton Academy where Kylie Minogue joined them on stage to perform Devotion and Confide in Me.^[23]

Discography[link]

• Happiness (2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hurts

• Official website
• Hurts on Myspace
• Hurts on Twitter
• Hurts on Facebook

Rick Edwards (born 20 May 1979)^{[citation needed]} is a British TV presenter who mainly works on Channel 4 and E4. Rick has presented T4 with co-hosts Georgie Okell, Miquita Oliver, Jameela Jamil and Alexa Chung from which he left on 3 July 2011. He also presents Freshly Squeezed, E4 Music and Relentless.^[1]

Early life and career[link]

Edwards attended the University of Cambridge, studying mathematics originally before changing to natural sciences after his first year. He also performed stand-up and sketch shows during his time at university.^[2] After graduating, he dabbled in modelling, something which he hated, feeling that after studying for years he should have been taken seriously, for more than his looks.^[3]

Rick hosted a Saturday evening radio show on XFM, entitled 'The Weekender.' His last show was on 10 January 2009.

He was part of the BBC presenting team for the 2007 Reading and Leeds Festival.

Rick is currently co-presenting a show on Channel 4 about Paralympic sports on the run up to the 2012 Olympics called, That Paralympic Show.

As of 10 January 2011, Edwards took on the role of hosting E4's "Tool Academy", a reality TV show about fed-up girlfriends who have enrolled their underperforming other halves in a school in which "Tools become Men."

Rick joined the Channel 4 coverage of the IAAF World Championships from Daegu, South Korea on 27 August. He initially presented Preview reports and the evening Summary programme, but on 30 August replaced Ortis Deley as the main presenter of the live coverage.

Personal life[link]

He is an avid Liverpool fan, this was revealed on Sky's Cesc Fàbregas Show.

He revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail that he has no sense of smell because when he was in school he sniffed pure ammonia.^[4]

He often refers to himself as a "man mountain", due to his height of 6'5". This became a feature of Freshly Squeezed, when musicians were measured up against a cardboard cut-out of Rick.

Rick is often seen wearing his trademark 'hipster slippers' on T4.

Rick takes a keen interest in the environment and supported green organisation Global Cool in 2010 as part of their Traincation campaign along with his friend George Lamb.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rick Edwards T4 profile
• Rick Edwards XFM profile
• Rick Edwards Interview

David Edward Walliams (born Williams; 20 August 1971) is a comedian, writer, children's author and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile. More recently he and Lucas wrote and starred in Come Fly with Me.

Walliams joined the judging panel for series 6 of Britain's Got Talent for 2012.

Early life[link]

Born in Merton, southwest London, on 20 August 1971 to Peter, a London Transport engineer, and Kathleen Williams, a lab technician, Williams was brought up in Banstead, Surrey.^{[citation needed]} His parents appeared on The Friday Night Project when he was the guest star on the show. He was educated at Collingwood Boys' School in Wallington, Surrey, (now Collingwood School) and the independent Reigate Grammar School (where he was a contemporary of Robert Shearman).^{[citation needed]} He was a member of the National Youth Theatre, where he met Matt Lucas.^{[citation needed]} Walliams studied drama at the University of Bristol from 1989 to 1992, one year below Simon Pegg.^{[citation needed]}

Williams changed his name to Walliams ( /ˈwæliəmz/) when he joined the actors' trade union Equity, as there was already a member named David Williams.^[1] This was spoofed in a mock interview on Rock Profile, when Robbie Williams was continuously referred to as 'Robbie Walliams'.

Television and film career[link]

After leaving university, his first job was writing for The Ant & Dec Show, a children's show that aired on CBBC from 1995 to 1997^[2], his first appearance onscreen was as "Lesley Luncheonmeat" on Sky1's show Games World in 1993. He appeared alongside Alex Verrey, who played Big Boy Barry, every Tuesday evening. He went on to be "The Lift" on the first series of the CBBC gameshow Incredible Games in 1994. In 1998 he 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 Catherine Tate, Peter Kay and Mackenzie Crook. He appeared with The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, who wrote and appeared in Doctor Who parodies The Pitch of Fear, The Web of Caves and The Kidnappers for BBC2's "Doctor Who Night" in 1999. He later performed in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio play Phantasmagoria, written by Gatiss. Walliams appeared with Matt Lucas in the video of the Fat Les song Vindaloo (the unofficial anthem for the England national football team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup) and had a cameo role in a 1999 episode of Simon Pegg's Spaced (1x3 "Art") as Vulva, an artist/collaborator from Brian's past and now a self-proclaimed artist of impressionism.

He played Jake Plaskow in the BBC's Attachments, set in an internet start-up company. In 2001 he was one of the leads in Cruise of the Gods. In 2003 he appeared in EastEnders and Marple.

From 2003 to 2005 Walliams co-wrote and co-starred in three series of the BBC TV character sketch show Little Britain with Matt Lucas. The programme first aired on BBC3 before moving to the more mainstream BBC1. A successful live stage show of the series, Little Britain Live, was produced in 2006. A number of seasonal and charity specials followed, up to 2009. A spin-off series produced in the USA by HBO, Little Britain USA, followed in 2008.

In 2005 Walliams starred in the video for Charlotte Hatherley's single Bastardo along with Simon Pegg, Lucy Davis and Lauren Laverne. In 2006 he made an appearance in the film A Cock and Bull Story. Later in the year he presented a documentary on James Bond, entitled David Walliams: My Life with James Bond. In 2007 he returned to non-comedy television, garnering excellent reviews^{[citation needed]} for his portrayal of a suave and dangerous manipulator in Stephen Poliakoff's Capturing Mary as well as appearing in the film Virgin Territory. In September 2007, Walliams appeared in the comedy film Run, Fat Boy, Run. Walliams portrayed comedian Frankie Howerd in the BBC4 TV film Rather You Than Me. On 26 August 2008 he made his stage debut at the Gate Theatre in Dublin opposite Michael Gambon in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land, in front of an audience that included Pinter himself. The production transferred to London later in the year. In 2010, Walliams appeared alongside Paul Rudd and Steve Carell in the comedy Dinner for Schmucks.

Walliams appeared in Series 7, Episode 6 of the BBC 2 show Top Gear.^[3][4]

He also plays the mole-like alien, Gibbis, in the eleventh episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who entitled "The God Complex".

He is the narrator of Are You Having a Laugh? TV and Disability, which was shown on BBC 2 on 25 June 2010.

In early 2011 he hosted new panel show Wall of Fame on Sky 1.

He will star as Uncle Pumblechook in Great Expectations.

Walliams and Lucas[link]

In the late-1990s, playing minor roles in sketches such as The Club. Walliams and Lucas played grotesque caricatures of various rock musicians in the series Rock Profile and in the spoof documentary series Sir Bernard's Stately Homes. They were also stars of the Paramount Comedy Channel show Mash and Peas, and it was in this guise that they appeared in the Fat Les video (see above). They also had small roles in Plunkett and Maclaine as prisoners.

They have appeared together in a music video for the Pet Shop Boys single "I'm with Stupid", in which the two are apparently auditioning their version of the song's video for Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, who are tied up and appear to be hostages.

The pair are best known for Little Britain, which ran from 2003 to 2009 on the BBC in the UK and from 2008 onwards on HBO in the USA. Among the characters Walliams played were Emily Howard, a deluded "transvestite", Ray McCooney, an insane Scottish hotel owner, and Sebastian Love, an aide de camp to the Prime Minister (portrayed by Anthony Head) on whom Love has a huge crush.

The characters from Little Britain played by Walliams and Lucas appeared in a 2010 UK television advertising campaign for the Nationwide Building Society.

Their later series was Come Fly with Me, a six-part series airing on BBC One.^[5] The first episode was the third most watched programme of Christmas Day 2010, and the most watched comedy of the year.^[6]

Charity work[link]

Swimming the English Channel[link]

Walliams took up swimming as a youth as his preferred form of exercise, because he was overweight.^[7] On 4 July 2006 he swam the English Channel for the charity Sport Relief (part of Comic Relief).^[8][9] He took 10 hours and 34 minutes to swim the 22-mile (35 km) stretch of sea, equivalent to 700 lengths of an Olympic-size swimming pool. This was wrongly reported as one of the top 50 recorded times for an unaided Channel crossing; in reality Walliams placed 167th at the time of crossing in only the CSA listings, excluding the CSPF listings.^[10] He raised over £1 million in donations. Under the supervision of his trainer, he trained for nine months to prepare for the swim.^[7] The training had to coincide with Walliams and Lucas's Little Britain Live tour, so he daily had to train for several hours before performing on stage in the evening. He first swam from Lee-on-the-Solent near Portsmouth to the Isle Of Wight in around 2 hours and also completed an eight-hour swim off the coast of Croatia before embarking on the cross-channel attempt. He has insisted that prior to his challenge he had never seriously taken part in any sport.^[11] The Bluetones' lead singer Mark Morriss wrote a song, "Fade In/Fade Out", in honour of Walliams' achievement; it can be found on their self-titled album, released on 9 October 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Swimming the Strait of Gibraltar[link]

On 7 March 2008, Walliams, along with James Cracknell, swam the 12 miles (19 km) Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to Morocco, again for Sport Relief. He successfully completed the swim in just over 4½ hours.^[12]

Cycling[link]

In March 2010 Walliams and a group of celebrities cycled an end-to-end journey through the UK, raising over £1 million for Sport Relief. Walliams suffered a serious fall when tackling the Kirkstone Pass, a thousand-foot climb in the Lake District but was able to complete the ride.^[13]

24 Hour Panel People[link]

In March 2011, he undertook "24 Hour Panel People", in which he took part in back to back recordings of various panel show formats over the course of 24 hours to raise money for Comic Relief. The recordings were streamed live on the BBC website. The shows featured included Would I Lie To You?, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Just a Minute, It's Only TV...But I Like It, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Generation Game, Through the Keyhole, Blankety Blank, Mock the Week, Argumental, Celebrity Juice, QI, Mastermind, Have I Got News for You, Call My Bluff, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Swimming the Thames[link]

On 4 February 2011, Walliams announced that he would swim a 140-mile length of the River Thames in aid of Sport Relief. Starting on 5 September at Lechlade-on-Thames Walliams swam the 140-mile swimmable length of the 215-mile river, completing his challenge on 12 September 2011 reaching Westminster Bridge.^[14][15][16] On the first day of the swim, he experienced a symptom of hypothermia, possibly due to his not wearing a wetsuit. He later encountered severe stomach problems due to the bacteria in the Thames and suffered a torn disc. He swam up to twelve hours a day. During his swim, Walliams helped rescue a dog that had slipped loose from its owner and jumped in the water to join David. The Labrador dog got into difficulties on returning to the riverbank and was lifted out of the water by the owner, with a hand from Walliams. Animal rights group PETA declared they would award him an honour.^[17] Upon finishing his eight-day swim, he found out he made over £1 million for Sport Relief.

Books[link]

In early 2008 Walliams signed a contract with HarperCollins to publish two children's books.^[18] The debut novel, The Boy In The Dress, illustrated by Quentin Blake, was released worldwide on 1 November 2008. It explores several of the themes of Little Britain from Walliams' own life on an emotional level, such as the camp humour of cross-dressing and effeminacy.^[1] The story recounts a neglected 12-year-old boy's search for a female role model, his friendship with the popular girl in school, and the ways in which relationships develop along gender lines. The story has a strong resonance with Anne Fine's 1989 book Bill's New Frock.

In November 2009 came Mr Stink, again illustrated by Quentin Blake, about a 12-year-old girl who meets a tramp and helps look after him. She keeps him hidden from her family. The book consists of 26 illustrated chapters full of jokes. It is aimed at teenagers and children over 9. The book was awarded the Children's Award in the inaugural People's Book Prize in 2010.^[19]

On 28 October 2010 he published his third book Billionaire Boy, illustrated by Tony Ross.^{[citation needed]} It tells the story of Joe Spud, the richest 12-year-old in the world. Joe has everything he could ever want: his own Formula One racing car, a thousand pairs of trainers, 8 billion pounds, even an orang-utan for a butler, but there is just one thing he really needs: a friend.^{[citation needed]} The book included a 'billion pound note' that was used to enter a competition to win a day as a billionaire in London.^{[citation needed]}

His fourth book, 'Gangsta Granny' was released in October 2011 and again illustrated by Tony Ross. It tells the story of Ben who is bored every time he is made to stay at his grandma’s house as all she wants to do is to play board games and eat cabbage soup. But Ben finds out she was once an international jewel thief and all her life, she has been plotting to steal the crown jewels, and wants Ben to help.

Awards[link]

Walliams was given a special award in recognition of his sporting efforts for charity. Matt Lucas made a documentary of this, entitled Little Britain's Big Swim, which is on the DVD. On 6 November 2006 he won the Mirror's "Pride of Britain" Award for the Most Influential Public Figure as he raised more than £1 million swimming the channel for the charity Sport Relief. Although initially tipped as a contender for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year poll for 2006, he failed to make the final shortlist of 10 contenders. Walliams was given a special award during the ceremony for his achievement. In July 2006 he became Patron of 'Cardiac Risk in the Young.' In September 2011, David won the Lincolnshire Young People's Book Award in the 9-11 year old category with his book, Mr Stink. The award is voted for by the school children of Lincolnshire.

At the 2012 National Television Awards, David won the Landmark Achievement Award, for his television career and achievements for Sport Relief.

Personal life[link]

In 2009 Walliams began dating Dutch model Lara Stone. On 20 January 2010, it became known that they were engaged. Walliams proposed to Stone in Los Angeles, after her parents gave their blessing to the relationship.^[20] On 16 May 2010 the couple were married at central London's Claridge's Hotel.^[21][22]

He has previously been romantically linked to Patsy Kensit, Abi Titmuss, Emily Scott and model Lauren Budd.^[23]

Walliams has been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder,^[24] and described his 2006 swim of the English Channel as "some sort of redemption".^[25] He admitted to going through periods of intense self-loathing and suffered a mental breakdown and had insomnia for nine months until he sought professional help.^{[citation needed]}

Partial credits[link]

• Games World – Leslie (1994)
• Mash and Peas – Gareth Peas (1996)
• Dennis Pennis R.I.P. – Anthony Cream Jr. (1997)
• Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round – Newsagent (1998)
• Sir Bernard's Stately Homes – Anthony Rogers (1998)
• Bang Bang it's Reeves & Mortimer – Various characters (1999)
• Plunkett & Macleane
• Rock Profile – Various characters (1999)
• Spaced – Vulva (1999)
• Doctor Who (spoof): The Web of Caves – Chief Alien (1999)
• Doctor Who (spoof): The Kidnappers – David (1999)
• Doctor Who (spoof): The Pitch of Fear – Sydney Newman (1999)
• Doctor Who: Phantasmagoria – Quincy Flowers (1999)
• Black Books – Customer (2000)
• Time Gentlemen Please: Entente Lime Cordial – Marcel (2002)
• Attachments (TV series) – Jake (2002)
• Cruise of the Gods – Jeff Monks (2002)
• EastEnders Christmas Special – Ray (2003)
• Little Britain – Various characters (2003–present)
• Monkey Trousers – Various characters (2004)
• Shaun of the Dead – voice of a news reporter (2004)
• Marple – George Bartlett (2004)
• A Cock and Bull Story – Parson (2005)
• Hustle – Shop Assistant (2005)
• Hotel Babylon – Adrian Tintagel (2007)
• Stardust – Sextus (2007)
• Waking the Dead – Bell (2007)
• Neighbours – guest starring as Lou Todd (Lou and Andy) from Little Britain (6 September 2007)
• Run Fat Boy Run – cake customer (2007)
• Capturing Mary – Greville White (2007)
• Rather You Than Me – Frankie Howerd (2008)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – voice of Bulgy Bear (2008)
• The Boy In The Dress – written by David Walliams, illustrated by Quentin Blake (2008)
• Mr Stink – written by David Walliams, illustrated by Quentin Blake
• Dinner for Schmucks – new client Mueller (2010)
• Marmaduke (film) – Anton Harrison (2010)
• Billionaire Boy – written by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross
• The Itch of the Golden Nit – The Golden Nit
• Doctor Who – Gibbis (2011)
• Britain's Got Talent – Judge (2012–present)
• The Royal Bodyguard – Sir Ambrose (2012)

Bibliography[link]

• Neil Simpson: Yeah but No But: The Biography of Matt Lucas and David Walliams: London: John Blake: 2006: ISBN 1-84454-258-0
• Boyd Hilton, Matt Lucas, David Walliams: Inside Little Britain: London: Ebury Press: 2006: ISBN 0-09-191231-8
• The Boy in the Dress: Children's Chatty Fiction (2008)
• Mr Stink: Children's Chatty Fiction (2009)
• Billionaire Boy: Children's Chatty Fiction (2010)
• Gangsta Granny: 2011: (Harper Collins)

References[link]