Paul Garner (born 1968/69) is an English comedian, writer, producer and director. Garner is married to Kate, a singer songwriter who is the daughter of Chas Hodges from

Chas & Dave Chas & Dave (often billed as Chas 'n' Dave) were an English pop rock duo, formed in London by Chas Hodges and Dave Peacock (musician), Dave Peacock. They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled ''rockney'' (a p ...

Personal life

Paul is married to Kate Hodges, the couple have a son.

Radio

Garner started out in radio, working with Jo Bunting who has worked as a producer of ''

Have I Got News For You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

'' and Chris Morris (''

The Day Today ''The Day Today'' is a British comedy television show that parodies television news and current affairs programmes, broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adap ...

'', ''

Brass Eye ''Brass Eye'' (stylised as brassEYE) is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming. A series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001. The series was created and presented by ...

'') at

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road in Cambridge. The station al ...

. Garner then contributed to Chris Morris's weekend radio show at GLR in London before their now infamous stint at

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

in the mid-1990s. It was on this show that Garner made his airport tannoy recordings that have since become an internet phenomenon. He would go to Heathrow and get the tannoy announcer to page passengers whose names were essentially rude phrases written phonetically and disguised as foreign names. For example, "Markollig Jezvahted & Levdaroem Dabahzted" sounded like the announcer was saying "My colleague just farted and left the room the bastard". As well as "Mister Farken Buss", which sounded like "missed the fucking bus". Also in the mid-1990s, Garner hosted his own comedy and unsigned music show on the Chiltern Radio network whilst continuing to write for and appear on various shows at BBC Radio 1 including The

Zoë Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...

Breakfast Show and The

Mark Tonderai Mark Tonderai (born 1974) is a British-ZimbabweanPress Book House at the End of the Street, 2012 entrepreneur, film director, writer, actor and former disc jockey. He is co-founder of the London-based production company Shona Productions with h ...

Show. Garner also devised, wrote and played all the parts in the spoof Australian soap 'Strewth Street' which featured every week on The

Kevin Greening Kevin Greening (30 December 1962 – 29 December 2007) was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 with Zoe Ball from 13 October 1997 to 25 September 1998. Early career Kevin Greening grew up in Bristol ...

Show.

''The 11 O'Clock Show''

Garner made the transition to television in the multi-award-winning satirical series ''Brass Eye'', which he wrote for and appeared in. He was then invited to take part in a new topical late night comedy show for

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 ...

called ''

The 11 O'Clock Show ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' was a satirical late-night British television comedy series on Channel 4 which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items. It ran between 30 September 1998 and 8 December 2000, most notably hosted by Iain Lee ...

''. It was here that Garner worked alongside the likes of

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen ( ; born 13 October 1971) is an English comedian, actor and performance artist. Known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Haf ...

Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...

Daisy Donovan Daisy Constance Donovan (born 23 July 1973) is an English television presenter, actress and writer. Early life Donovan was born in London. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother, Diana (''née'' St. ...

and

Iain Lee Iain Lee (born Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973) is an English former broadcaster, writer, and television presenter and stand-up comedian who hosts the phone-in talk show ''The Late Night Alternative'' on "pay to view" Patreon. Lee's career began ...

. Whilst making ''The 11 O'Clock Show'', Garner also started to collaborate with

Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...

on the final stages of the

Dennis Pennis Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...

era. Along with Ant Hines, Garner and Kaye then wrote and developed a series of scripts for Channel 4 on which they collaborated with Ricky Gervais,

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...

and

Nick Frost Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...

. After ''The 11 O'Clock Show'', Garner went on to write for and/or appear in such shows as ''

Da Ali G Show ''Da Ali G Show'' is a British satirical sketch comedy television series created by and starring British comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh ...

'', '' Bo Selecta'', '' The Harry Enfield Show'', ''

The Priory The Priory Hospital, Roehampton, often referred to as The Priory, is a private mental health hospital in South West London. It was founded in 1872 and is part of the Priory Group. The Priory has an international reputation and, because of the ...

'', ''

High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman ''High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman'' is a British television comedy show broadcast on BBC Three and featuring character comedian Marc Wootton who plays an effete and slightly vicious medium/psychic. It is narrated by Patrick Stewart, with anim ...

'' and '' My New Best Friend''. He has also written extensively for comedian

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

''The Pilot Show''

Garner created, wrote and starred in E4/Channel 4's '' The Pilot Show'' which lured celebrities and members of the public into appearing on what they thought were genuine TV shows such as ''Lapdance Island'' and ''Who Wants To Be A Spaceman?'' A 16-part series of ''The Pilot Show'', (renamed '' BSTV'') was then made for American television with Garner once again starring in it, writing and executive producing. Garner has also appeared as an actor in various shows such as '' Pulling'' and ''The Jim Jeffries Show''. Most notably, Garner played the part of "Dave Millman",

Sharon Horgan Sharon Lorencia Horgan (born ) is an Irish actress, writer, director, producer, and comedian. She is best known for creating and starring in the comedy series '' Pulling'' (2006–2009), '' Catastrophe'' (2015–2019), and '' Bad Sisters'' (2022 ...

's police officer husband in the sitcom ''

Angelos The House of Angelos (; pl. Angeloi; , pl. ) was a Byzantine Greek noble family that produced several Emperors and other prominent nobles during the middle and late Byzantine Empire. The family rose to prominence through the marriage of its foun ...

'' on Five. In January 2008, Garner appeared on

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...

's '' Celebrity Hijack'' and, masquerading as a disgruntled cameraman, barricaded himself into the '' Big Brother'' house and had to be forcibly ejected by Russell and a pair of security guards.

Strutter

Garner has created, written and appeared alongside Paul Kaye in two series of the award-winning MTV show ''

Strutter "Strutter" is a song by American Rock music, rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, originally from their Kiss (Kiss album), self-titled debut album, released in 1974. It was the third and final single released from the album, and failed to chart. Despit ...

''. The show holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for 'The Most Number of Swear Words in a TV Show' beating the previous holder ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

''. He has also worked with

Marc Wootton Marc James Wootton (born 8 February 1975) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his role as Mr Poppy in the '' Nativity!'' film series. He also starred in the television series '' High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman'', ...

on the Showtime series ''

La La Land ''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...

.''

Conviction

In 2014, Garner was convicted of demolishing a listed 17th-century outbuilding on his Hertfordshire home. He was ordered to pay fines of £35,120.

References

External links

Official SiteInterview with The Humourdor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Paul 1973 births English male comedians English television directors English television writers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) English male television actors English male writers English male television writers