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Neil Simon Fitzmaurice (born 20 August 1969) is an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Jeff, the love rival of protagonist Mark Corrigan, in the
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 ...
sitcom ''
Peep Show A peep show, peepshow, or, a peep booth is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the devel ...
''. He has written for a number of other sitcoms, including ''
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights '' Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights'', sometimes shortened to ''Phoenix Nights'', is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Bolton, Greater Manchester. The show is a spin-off from the "In the Cl ...
'' and ''
Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...
''; both of which he has also starred in.


Career


Writing

Fitzmaurice's writing projects include ''
That Peter Kay Thing ''That Peter Kay Thing'' is a British mockumentary series which was first shown on Channel 4 in 2000. It was written by Peter Kay, Dave Spikey, Neil Fitzmaurice and Gareth Hughes, and was directed by Andrew Gillman. The series was narrated by ...
'', for which he received a British Comedy Award, and the critically acclaimed ''
Phoenix Nights '' Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights'', sometimes shortened to ''Phoenix Nights'', is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Bolton, Greater Manchester. The show is a spin-off from the "In th ...
'', in which he also appeared as "Ray Von". He has also written two feature films: ''Going Off Big Time'', in 1999, which was nominated for four BIFA awards and is part of Film Four's Best of British, and more recently ''Charlie Noades R.I.P''.


Acting

As an actor, Fitzmaurice has appeared in ''
Going Off Big Time ''Going Off Big Time'' is a British gangster film set in Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Merse ...
'' (which he also wrote), played Jeff in the
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 ...
comedy series ''
Peep Show A peep show, peepshow, or, a peep booth is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the devel ...
'', and starred in the prison drama series '' Buried''. He appeared on the first episode of ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' as the applicant whom
David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary ''The Office'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer, and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of t ...
interviews for the warehouse position. He plays the same character in the sixth episode, only this time Brent is giving him a redundancy notice. Fitzmaurice has also performed alongside
Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady (14 June 1955 – 28 March 2023) was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained ...
in the
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 ...
comedy ''
Eyes Down ''Eyes Down'' is a sitcom starring Paul O'Grady as Ray Temple, the manager of a Liverpool bingo hall called The Rio, although the series was filmed in Rayners Lane in London.The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
'' and on the ''
Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...
'' spin-off ''
Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...
''. In 2007, he played a lead role in the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...
drama '' Mobile'', as an ex-telecoms worker suffering from a terminal brain tumour. From 2000 he worked on the film ''Charlie Noades RIP'' with his brother Tony. The film was in
development hell Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...
due to funding not being available. Work finally began in 2007, despite the full budget not being in place. The film premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in 2009. Around the time of the premiere, Fitzmaurice returned to the stage for the first time in ten years, playing Shaun in ''On the Ledge'' at Liverpool's
Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
. Fitzmaurice played Les in an episode of the BBC One miniseries '' Moving On'', "Dress to Impress", as well as the film '' Fifteen Minutes That Shook the World'' as the
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
manager
Rafa Benitez Rafa is a masculine given name, mostly as a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Rafael. It may refer to: People * Rafael Nadal (born 1986), Spanish tennis player * Rafa (footballer, born 1985), Spanish footballer Rafael López Gómez * Rafael Ben ...
. He starred in the hit play "One Night in Istanbul" at the
Liverpool Empire The Liverpool Empire Theatre is a theatre on the corner of Lime Street in Liverpool, England. The playhouse, which opened in 1925, is the second one to be built on the site. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in the United Kingdom and can ...
and Dublin's
Grand Canal Theatre Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...
. On 16 February 2009, Fitzmaurice started presenting the Drivetime show on
Radio City 96.7 Hits Radio Liverpool, formerly Radio City, is an Independent Local Radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Radio, Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Merseyside, Cheshire and parts of north Wales. As of ...
in Liverpool. Due to film and television commitments, he left this position on 4 March 2011. In 2011, Fitzmaurice starred in British school drama '' Waterloo Road'' as Dave Dowling, a parent with xenophobic and racist views. In 2011 he also starred in the fourth series of ''
Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...
'' as Lucky Kev who lived in the same caravan campsite as Madge Harvey. He later appeared in the fifth episode of the series reprising the role of
Lucky Kev Lucky means having luck. It may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * '' People in Luck'', also titled ''The Lucky'' in English, a 1963 French comedy film * '' Lucky: No Time for Love'', a 2005 Hindi-language romance starring Salman Khan, S ...
who works at a bar in Benidorm which
Madge Harvey This is a list of cast members and characters from the British sitcom ''Benidorm'', which aired from 2007 to 2018. Main characters Recurring characters References {{reflist Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of ...
was interested in buying. In 2013, he appeared in one episode of ''
Truckers A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
''. In 2014 he starred as Dad in the BBC comedy series '' Hank Zipzer''. From 2011 to 2017 Fitzmaurice starred in the Sky comedy-drama '' Mount Pleasant'', playing the part of office manager Fergus. In 2023, it was announced Fitzmaurice would be re-joining Series 11 of Waterloo Road as history teacher Neil Guthrie. He has appeared as a series regular throughout the following three series. It has also been confirmed he will be resuming his role in Series 14 of the show.


Personal life

Fitzmaurice was born and raised in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. He is a
Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has ...
fan and a survivor of the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal crowd crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the tw ...
, later being featured in the 2009 documentary ''Hillsborough Remembered''.Hillsborough Remembered - 2009 History Channel documentary
/ref>


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzmaurice, Neil 1969 births Living people English television writers English male television actors Male actors from Liverpool English male television writers 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male comedians Comedians from Liverpool