Byron Vincent (born 26 February 1975) is a British writer, performer, broadcaster, DJ and social activist known predominantly for theatre, television and his work on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

. Byron has a diagnosis of

Autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

and is a campaigner for issues around mental health and poverty.

Life and career

Vincent was raised on council estates in the north-west of England and has described his early life as tumultuous. His teens were particularly unsettled, during which he left school prematurely, aged 15. Over the course of the next few years he experienced homelessness, drug addiction and violence the latter reportedly being partially responsible for his diagnosis of

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

. After leaving the notorious and now demolished Woodside estate in

Pitsmoor Pitsmoor is a former village, now a suburb of Sheffield, England. The name derives from ''Or-pits'' as, anciently, the main local industry was the mining of ore.J. Edward Vickers, ''The Ancient Suburbs of Sheffield'', p.17 (1971) The village f ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, Vincent got clean and began writing and performing as a hobby in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

's Spotlight club around the mid-1990s. Vincent started his early career as a spoken-word performer and quickly became a regular on the UK festival circuit performing at

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

, Latitude, Leeds, Reading, Secret Garden Party, Shambala, Port Eliot, Camden Calling and others. In 2009 Vincent had been chosen by

Patrick Neate Patrick Neate (born 1970) is a British novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and podcaster. Early life Born and raised as a Roman Catholic in South London, he was educated at St. Paul's School and Cambridge University. He spent a gap year i ...

as one of the BBC poetry season's new talent choices. He was compère and programmer for the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

's monthly spoken word night ''blah blah blah'' between 2010 and 2013. In 2014 Byron was part of the Kill Your Darlings collective, a monthly literary cabaret at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

's Cube Cinema, which he ran with Molly Naylor,

Nathan Filer Nathan Filer is a British writer best known for his debut novel, '' The Shock of the Fall''. This won several major literary awards, including the Costa Book of the Year and the Betty Trask Prize. It was a ''Sunday Times'' Bestseller, and has b ...

Nikesh Shukla Nikesh Shukla (born 8 July 1980) is a British people, British author and screenwriter. His writing focuses on race, racism, identity, and immigration. He is the editor of the 2016 collection of essays ''The Good Immigrant'', which features contr ...

, Chelsey Flood and Tom Clutterbuck. In 2013 Vincent was one of the writers on

The Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Strat ...

's Midsummer Night's dreaming and has been involved in a multitude of theatre projects as a writer, performer and director. Vincent has appeared on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's Random Acts,

's Wondermentalist and Bespoken Word and

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's The Verb. Vincent's debut solo show Talk About Something You Like received much critical acclaim for its poignant and personal exploration of the mental health system. He has written for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and Radio 4's ''Four Thought''. He is a popular keynote speaker and regularly gives talks on social issues to charities, police forces, government bodies and the private sector. Byron is an ambassador for mental health charity Rethink an organisation that tackles stigma around issues of mental health.

TV shows

* ''Skint — No Grasses, No Nonces'' (Writer)

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

* ''Random Acts — Newsrotic'' (Writer/presenter) C4

Radio shows and podcasts

* ''The Trouble With Social Mobility'' (Writer / Presenter;

) * ''Hell Is Other People: A Self-Help Guide to Social Anxiety'' (Writer / Presenter;

) * ''Four Thought - Nothing To Lose'' (Writer / Presenter;

) * ''Talk About Something You Like'' (TASYL) Podcast (Presenter / Producer) * ''How to Turn Your Life Around'' (Co-presenter;

) * ''The Glasgow Boys'' (Writer-Presenter;

) *''Bangers & Mash'' Podcast (Writer/Presenter/DJ/Producer) *''Justice Disrupted'' Podcast (Writer/Presenter)

Live shows

*Talk About Something You Like 2015 *Live Before You Die 2016 *Instagramming the Apocalypse 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Byron Living people 1975 births People with bipolar disorder Mass media people from Bolton Autistic writers British autistic people British writers