comedian
A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...
from New Zealand who now lives and works in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
Fred Award
The Fred Award is the highest honour at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, awarded to the best show written and performed by a New Zealand comedian.
The award is named in honour of New Zealand comedian John Clarke's most well-known ch ...
in 2013.
Early life
Christmas grew up in
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
. He attended an all-boys secondary school where he did not fit in because he was not into sport. In 1996, he went to Hagley Community College for fifth form (now called Year 11) and credits the school with turning his life around, saying "For the first time in my life I met people who were themselves. It really changed my life."
Christmas moved to Britain in 2003.
Career
Television and film
Christmas has appeared on radio, film, television and stage.
On television, he has appeared as a performer and guest panellist on shows such as
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
's ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...
'' and ''
Mock the Week
''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...
'',
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
's ''
Russell Howard's Good News
''Russell Howard's Good News'' is a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...
'',
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 ''
8 Out of 10 Cats
''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (stylised as ''8 out of 10 CATS'') is a British comedy panel show that aired from 3 June 2005 to 17 January 2021. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2005 to 2015, then More4 from 2016 to 2017, and finally E4 from ...
One Night Stand
A one-night stand is a single sexual encounter in which there is no expectation that there shall be any further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single night performanc ...
''. In 2008 he appeared in
Pot Noodle
Pot Noodle is a brand of instant noodle snack foods from the United Kingdom, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. This dehydrated food consists of noodles, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. It is prepared by adding ...
television advertisements.
In 2011, Christmas took part in ''
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...
''. He has also appeared on ''
Celebrity Mastermind
''Celebrity Mastermind'' is a celebrity version of ''Mastermind'', a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. ''Celebrity Mastermind'' began in 2002 as a one-off special hosted by Magnus Magnusson, the original host of the main ...
'' alongside fellow comedians
Imran Yusuf
Imran Yusuf (; born 26 November 1979) is a Kenyan-born British stand-up comedian of Indian Konkani Muslim descent, who has appeared on various British radio and TV comedy shows.
Early life and career
Yusuf was born in Mombasa, Kenya to ethnic I ...
Russell Kane
Russell Kane (born Russell David Anthony Grineau; 19 August 1975) is an English writer, comedian, and actor. He has four times been nominated at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, winning the Best Comedy Show award in 2010. Although known mainly for ...
.
Christmas appeared in two films in 2012: '' The Wedding Video'' alongside
Matt Berry
Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. Noted for his distinctive voice, he is best known for his television roles in comedy series such as ''The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ' ...
,
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...
and
Robert Webb
Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb.
Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show' ...
, and ''Is This a Joke?'' with
Russell Tovey
Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is a British actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of '' The History ...
. He contributed to the feature-length documentary ''
The People vs. George Lucas
''The People vs. George Lucas'' is a 2010 documentary comedy film directed by Swiss director Alexandre O. Philippe. It explores the issues of filmmaking and fanaticism pertaining to the ''Star Wars'' franchise and its creator, George Lucas. The fi ...
''.
He appeared in the
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 ...
comedy web series Dwarves Assemble, which also featured
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis ( ; born 3 February 1970) is an English actor and television presenter. Active within the industry since he was eleven, Davis is one of the highest grossing supporting actors of all time and has the highest average gross r ...
, Raymond Griffith, Peter Bonner and Simon Lane. He hosted the 2014 season of ''Monumental''. Since 2014 he has been the Joke Master in the CBBC show The Joke Machine.
Theatre and live performance
Christmas has been performing live since the late 1990s. He had his debut i the green room above the Honeypot Cafe in Christchurch's Lichfield Street aged 18, noting that he thinks that he "got one laugh in five minutes". He was also a member of The Court Jesters as an improviser. He has performed at several festivals including Reading/Leeds, Liverpool Comedy Festival, Glasgow Comedy Festival,
New Zealand International Comedy Festival
The New Zealand International Comedy Festival (NZICF; sometimes the NZ Intl Comedy Fest) is a comedy festival in both Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand. The festival is run by the New Zealand Comedy Trust, and is held across three weeks duri ...
and the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...
. In 2010 he toured the UK with his show ''Jarred Christmas Stands Up'' and in 2012 showcased his show ''Let's Go Mofo''.
He has supported such acts as
Ross Noble
Ross Markham Noble (born 6 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...
,
Tommy Tiernan
Tommy Tiernan (; born 16 June 1969) is an Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his stand-up career, hosting '' The Tommy Tiernan Show'' (2017–present) and playing Gerry in the sitcom '' Derry Girls'' (2018–2022).
Early l ...
,
Duncan Norvelle
Duncan A. Norvelle (2 April 1958 – 12 December 2024) was an English comedian in the variety tradition, who appeared on British television from the early 1980s. He was often referred to as Duncan "Chase me" Norvelle, stemming from his catchphra ...
,
Joe Dolce
Joseph Dolce (, originally ; born October 13, 1947) is an American-Australian singer, songwriter, poet and essayist.
Dolce achieved international recognition with his multi-million-selling novelty song, " Shaddap You Face", released worldwide un ...
,
Joe Pasquale
Joseph Ellis Pasquale (born 20 August 1961) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. He is well-known for his squeaky, high-pitched voice.
In 1987 he was the runner-up on the TV talent show New Faces, since then he has appeare ...
,
Jimmy Cricket
James Mulgrew (born 17 October 1945), known professionally as Jimmy Cricket, is a Northern Irish comedian. He first came to prominence as a comedian in the 1970s and has had his own shows on television and radio.
Early life and career
Cricket ...
,
Bobby Davro
Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian.
He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follo ...
,
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was an American three-piece rock band from New York City, formed in 1991. The group consisted of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spenc ...
,
El Vez
Robert Alan Lopez (born 1960),"El Vez", ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', Thomson Gale 2005–2006reproduced online at BookRags.comand accessed online 28 April 2007. better known by his stage name El Vez, is an American singer-songwri ...
,
The Grumbleweeds
The Grumbleweeds are an award winning British comedy act and band. They were mostly popular on radio and television in the 1980s, including '' The Grumbleweeds Radio Show'' which ran from 1979 to 1988 on BBC Radio 2,PC Reg Hollis Off Of TV's The Bill on his 2005 spoken word show 'Just An Honest Bobby'.
Later in 2013, Christmas appeared at the Cardiff Comedy Festival, which featured comedians such as
Alan Davies
Alan Roger Davies (; ; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only permanen ...
Green Man Festival
The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...
, in which the comedy was headlined by
Josh Widdicombe
Joshua Michael Widdicombe (; born 8 April 1983) is an English comedian, presenter and actor. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Last Leg'' (2012–present), '' Fighting Talk'' (2014–2016), '' Insert Name Here'' (2016–2019), ''Moc ...
Ménière's disease
Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected in ...
, after suffering from hearing difficulties, nausea and dizziness for some years. He uses a hearing aid, and has incorporated discussion of the condition into his act.