Lee Hurst (born 16 October 1962) is an English comedian. Hurst was a regular panellist on the comedy sports quiz '' They Think It's All Over'' from 1995 to 1997.

Career

Hurst took up comedy after being employed in a number of jobs after leaving school, including working for a building society, the

Department of Health and Social Security The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. Hi ...

, and as a telephone engineer for BT. He made his first appearance on stage at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by M ...

and later said that, at the time, "I only had four jokes and they were really crap but I told the first one and got a huge laugh. I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'This is all right'". In February 2009 Hurst pleaded guilty to criminal damage after smashing an audience member's mobile phone at a comedy show in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

in September 2008. Hurst said that he did it out of anger, claiming that his shows regularly appear on websites such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Television work

''They Think It's All Over''

Hurst got a break when he became the

warm-up act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainer, entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the Headliner (performances), featured act, or "headliner". Rarel ...

for '' Have I Got News for You'' and producer

Harry Thompson Harry William Thompson (6 February 1960 – 7 November 2005) was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer. He was the creator of the dark humour television series '' Monkey Dust'', screened between 200 ...

gave him the opportunity to appear on the show as a guest. Hurst first became known to television viewers as a regular team member on the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

comedy sports quiz '' They Think It's All Over''. Hurst was one of the show’s original panellists despite openly admitting to knowing nothing about football or comedy. He appeared alongside

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 Te ...

in 42 episodes over the first six series, from the first episode on 14 September 1995 until 1997. He reduced his TV appearances to allow more time for running his comedy club, Lee Hurst's Backyard Comedy Club. He returned for two appearances as a guest on ''They Think It's All Over'' towards the end of its run for series 17 in 2004, and for the 2011

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

'' 24 Hour Panel People''.

Other television credits

Hurst's other TV credits include presenting ''Shark Tank'', '' Salvage Squad'' and ''The Warehouse'', and guest appearances on ''That's Showbusiness'', ''The Stand Up Show'' and '' Have I Got News for You''. He has also appeared as a regular panellist on ''Don't Give Up Your Day Job''. He also fronted ITV's short-lived revival of the entertainment show '' Saturday Live''. *'' Have I Got News for You:'' two appearances in 1994 and 1995 *1996 '' Saturday Live:'' 6 episodes *2002 '' Salvage Squad:'' series 1 *''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Bri ...

:'' three runs, in March 2012, November 2014 and February 2015

Writing

Hurst was the creator of '' Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment'', which ran for five series on Five between 1997 and 2000.

Personal life

Hurst has a severe form of

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In some ...

called

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hi ...

, a condition which causes acute back and joint pain. Hurst lives in

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separ ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Politics

Hurst refuses to be interviewed by newspapers owned by

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

, was a critic of the Blair government, and in one interview, stated that he stopped attending a back support group which helped him with his ankylosing spondylitis after he found out that it was run as a charity, explaining that "I believe it should be provided by the State through taxation. I'd be very hypocritical if I used their facilities when I won't do medical charity benefits". In 2003, he considered standing as a candidate in the 2004 London mayoral election. One of the factors behind his decision was a proposed redevelopment, which would have seen his comedy club demolished. In March 2021, Hurst tweeted a sexual joke about climate activist

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...

, saying, "As soon as Greta discovers cock, she'll stop complaining about the single use plastic it's wrapped in". Thunberg was 18 years old at the time, and Hurst was 58. The tweet gained widespread criticism with fellow comedian

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has als ...

among those criticising the joke. Hurst responded by describing his critics as "the usual suspects". The tweet was reported, leading to Hurst getting suspended from

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, which he stated he had appealed. Twitter later reversed Hurst's suspension. He was again suspended from Twitter in June 2021 for inciting violence; in the week that a video of

Chris Whitty Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty (born 21 April 1966) is a British epidemiologist serving as Chief Medical Officer for England (CMO) and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019. He has also been Gresham Professor of Physic sin ...

being manhandled went viral, he tweeted that "whatever happened to imis not enough". Hurst opposes COVID vaccinations, lockdowns and mask wearing.

Stand-up videos

*''Live'' (3 November 1997) *''Live at the Backyard Comedy Club'' (16 November 1998)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Lee 1962 births Living people People from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians British Telecom people Male critics of feminism Critics of the United Nations