Mark Dolan (born 17 March 1974) is an English comedian, writer, and presenter. He currently hosts ''Mark Dolan Tonight'' on

GB News GB News is a British free-to-air television and radio news channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station is available on DAB+ ...

. He was the host of '' Balls of Steel'' from 2005 until 2008 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

Early life

Dolan attended University College School and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he received an MA in politics. Whilst an undergraduate at Edinburgh, he performed in the improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Dolan started as a stand-up comedian in 2000, reaching the final of Channel 4's '' So You Think You're Funny'' competition in his first year of performing.. He has toured the world as a live comic and has performed 11 runs at the Edinburgh Fringe. He won an award at the 2018 Leicester Mercury Comedy Festival for best joke of the festival and later performed online during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Radio

Dolan's career in media began as a radio producer, working for the female-only Viva Radio, 963 Liberty and the original incarnation of talkRADIO and then talkSPORT. He was the producer of the Nick Ferrari and David Banks-fronted Big Boys' Breakfast, to which he also contributed comedy sketches. In 2017 Dolan returned to radio, presenting a breakfast show on Fubar Radio, an online radio station based in London. In 2019, Dolan joined talkRADIO, where he presented ''Drivetime'' from 4pm to 7 Monday to Friday, Saturday nights 10pm to 1am and Sundays 8pm to 10pm. He left the station in July 2021. In September 2020, at a time in the

when the wearing of face coverings was compulsory in shops and on public transport in the United Kingdom, Dolan cut up a face mask during a talkRADIO broadcast, calling the masks "wretched, godawful, damned, blinking, uncomfortable, scientifically empty, and useless". Dolan's fellow talkRADIO host

Jamie East Jamie Alexander East (born 27 March 1974) is an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and singer-songwriter. Career He was the lead singer of the band The Beekeepers, who signed to Beggars Banquet in the late 1990s. They reform ...

quit the station when Dolan went unpunished by station bosses. Presenter

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

and doctor

Hilary Jones Hilary Jones may refer to: * Hilary Jones (doctor) (born 1953), British general practitioner and media doctor * Hilary P. Jones (1863–1938), United States Navy officer * Hilary Bevan Jones (born 1952), British television producer See also * USS ...

criticised his actions on '' Good Morning Britain'' as behaviour that could "cost lives". The next month Dolan clarified that he followed all government rules on mask wearing, but considered the science around them to be "flaky".

Television

Dolan first came to the public's attention in 2002 after writing and performing in a '' Comedy Lab'' entitled 'The Richard Taylor Interviews'. Dolan was the host of

show '' Balls of Steel'', which he presented from 2005 to 2008 and for which he won Best Presenter at the NRTA Awards. He was also the presenter of the TV documentary series ''The World's ...And Me'', in which he met some of "the world's most extraordinary people", including the tallest woman in the world, the smallest man and the richest teenager. The show ran to three series and twelve one-hour films and led to the release of the book ''The World's Most Extraordinary People and Me'', published by Harper Collins. In 2006, Dolan helped launch

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

as the host of ''The Last Word'', a nightly topical discussion show. He has also fronted shows for E4, including its launch comedy series, ''Show Me The Funny'', and provides his voice as presenter of a new series for Five called ''Urban Legends''. For five years, Dolan was the presenter of Sky Movies' weekly movie-news show ''35mm'' and Channel 4's '' The Mad Bad Ad Show''. In February 2013, Dolan took part in the fifth series of '' Let's Dance for Comic Relief'' as a member of "Destiny's Dad" alongside fellow stand-up comedians Hal Cruttenden and Shaun Keaveny. In 2015, Dolan co-hosted '' If Katie Hopkins Ruled the World'' with British reality TV personality

Katie Hopkins Katie Olivia Hopkins (born 13 February 1975) is an English media personality, columnist, far-right political commentator, and former businesswoman. She was a contestant on the third series of ''The Apprentice'' in 2007; following further appe ...

. In 2016, he won the '' Celebrity Come Dine with Me'' Christmas Special, with a Dickensian themed meal of pea soup, three bird roast and plum duff as dessert. He also appeared in the fourth and final series of the Channel 4 wintersports entertainment show '' The Jump'', alongside

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to ...

, Robbie Fowler, and Jason Robinson. Dolan joined

on 23 July 2021.

References

External links

* *
Chortle Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Mark English male comedians English stand-up comedians Living people People from Camden Town 1974 births GB News newsreaders and journalists