Dave Benson Phillips (born 3 February 1965) is a British entertainer, comic, children's

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

and wrestler. He has presented '' Playhouse Disney'' (1998–2006), '' Fun Song Factory'' (1994–1999), and the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

game show '' Get Your Own Back''.

Career

Benson Phillips became interested in showbusiness while working as an usher at the Polka Children's Theatre in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a suburb of southwest London, England, southwest of Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,189 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Wimb ...

, and began his career as an entertainer by busking and performing at children's parties. He subsequently went on to work for

Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It was acquired by Britannia Hotels in 2011. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment at reso ...

as a Bluecoat, and a Children's Uncle for Haven Holidays. While working at Haven, a talent scout saw him perform, and he was invited by BBC Manchester to audition for ''Play School''. His audition was successful, but the show was pulled out of production shortly after he signed the contract; however, it was recommissioned as ''Playbus'' (later renamed to '' Playdays''), which ran for nine years. In 1991, he began presenting, ''Get Your Own Back'', which was shown on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

(and later CBBC) between 1991 and 2003, and was a game show consisting of one child contestant and an adult (such as a relative or teacher) who, in the child's eyes, had done something unreasonable, and for which the child wanted revenge. In 1999, the show was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

. From 1996 to 1998, he presented '' Wake Up in the Wild Room'' on ITV. Since May 2012, he has co-hosts Let's Rock The Moor! annually alongside fellow broadcaster Pat Sharp. During the summer, he appeared as a panelist on ''

Big Brother's Bit on the Side This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother (British TV series), Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition originally ran from 2000 to 2018, and again since 2023. The celebrity editio ...

'' on Channel 5.''Big Brother's Bit on the Side'' Series 4, Endemol UK, Channel 5. In 2013, Benson Phillips made a guest appearance in ''

Sooty Sooty is a British children's television media franchise created by Harry Corbett incorporating primarily television and stage shows. The franchise originated with his fictional glove puppet character introduced to television in '' The Sooty ...

''. He plays himself in a mockumentary webseries called ''Getting Back with Dave Benson Phillips'', which began in 2017. The series was invited to showcase at

MCM Comic Con London The MCM Comic Con London (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo, London MCM Expo, and MCM London Comic Con) is a speculative fiction fan convention held at ExCel London twice yearly since 2002, usually on the last weeken ...

and the cast includes Pat Sharp and

Ewen MacIntosh Ewen Douglas MacIntosh (25 December 1973 – 19 February 2024) was a Welsh actor known for his role as Keith Bishop in '' The Office'' (2001–2003). Early life MacIntosh was born in Merionethshire, Wales on 25 December 1973. He was educated ...

. The series and spin off ''In Production'' are available to watch on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. He has most recently been seen working as a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, after having also done so whilst working as a blue coat at Pontins.

Death hoax and other online attacks

In 2009, Benson Phillips was the victim of a hoax which claimed that he had died in a car crash. There were other false rumours that he was presenting on a

soft porn Softcore pornography or softcore porn is commercial still photography, film, imagery, or even audio that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic or intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of sexual p ...

TV sex line, and that he was no longer being hired because he had suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. In 2017, he spoke with the Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on an inquiry into fake news.

Personal life

On 11 July 2024, Benson Phillips announced that he had

Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent ...

Filmography

*''A CBeebies Christmas Carol'' *''

'' *''Bitesize'' (Himself) *''Bad Robots'' *''Cats' Eyes'' *''CBBC's Proms in the Park'' *''

Celebrity Juice ''Celebrity Juice'' is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on ITV2 between 24 September 2008 and 15 December 2022. The show was written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon. The format for th ...

'' * ''

Come Dine with Me ''Come Dine with Me'' is a British reality series that has aired on Channel 4 since 10 January 2005 and is narrated by Dave Lamb. Format The original format features five amateur chefs who live in the same town or area, who each host a three-c ...

'' (Himself) * ''Da Bungalow Clips' 2021 Christmas Day Video Message'' *''

Dream Street Dream Street is an American pop music, pop boy band that was formed in 1999 by Louis Baldonieri and Brian Lukow. The band disbanded in 2002 following a legal dispute between parents of the band members and the band's managers. In 2023, the b ...

'' *'' Fun Song Factory'' *'' Get Your Own Back'' *''Getting Back with Dave Benson Phillips'' *''Go For It!'' *''Is That A Fact?'' *''Jack in the Box'' *''The Last Leg'' *''The Legend of Nic and Joe'' *''

Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (sometimes disambiguated as Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon or Nick Jr. on Nick, and sometimes referred to as Nick, Jr.) is an American morning programming block that airs on Nickelodeon every weekday. It was launched on January 4, 1988. Nick ...

'' *'' Petswap'' *''Planet Cook'' *'' Playdays'' *''

Playhouse Disney UK Disney Junior, previously known as Playhouse Disney, was a British and Irish preschool pay television channel that ran from 29 September 2000 to 30 September 2020. Owned by the Walt Disney Company Limited with branding obtained from Disney Cha ...

'' (Presenter) *''Q & A'' *''Rat Kan II'' *''

'' *'' Wake Up in the Wild Room'' *'' Words & Pictures –

The Gruffalo ''The Gruffalo'' is a children's picture book by the English author Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It tells the story of a mouse strolling in a wood and encountering a series of predators culminating in the fictional 'Gruffal ...

Story''

VHS videos and DVDs

*''A Day Full of Surprises and Songs'' – Presenter *Bourne Leisure Health and Safety Film *''Dave and the Animals;;'' *''First Bible Stories'' *'' Fun Song Factory'' *'' Get Up and Go!'' *'' Get Your Own Back'' *

Makaton Makaton is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system which uses signs (hand gestures) and symbols (images) alongside speech & written words to support communication. Despite its use of signs, Makaton is not a sign language. Mak ...

Nursery Rhymes A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fro ...

* My Favourite Nursery Rhymes *''

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

–

The Enormous Crocodile ''The Enormous Crocodile'' (first published on 1 November 1978) is a British children's story, written by British author Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. A picture book written for younger readers than Dahl's other works, the story te ...

'' – Narrator *''The Magical World of Animals'' *''Wiz Waz's World of 123'' *''Wiz Waz's World of ABC'' *''Wiz Waz's World Nursery Rhymes'' *''Wiz Waz's World of Starting School'' *''Wow! That's What I Call Nursery Rhymes''

Video games

*'' Smarties: Meltdown'' (2006) – Voice of "Big Blue"

References

External links

Dave Benson Phillips' website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Dave Benson 1965 births Living people BBC television presenters Black British television personalities British children's entertainers British game show hosts Place of birth missing (living people)