Steve Punt (born ) is a British comedy writer, comedian and actor. Along with

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...

, he is part of the double act

Punt and Dennis Punt and Dennis are a comedy double act consisting of Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The duo first met at the Footlights while studying at Cambridge University in the early 1980s. Initially they were an amateur double act performing at various venu ...

and was presenter of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

satirical news programme '' The Now Show''. He is also a writer and programme associate for various television panel game shows, including '' Would I Lie to You?'' 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 ...

'', and is a writer for fellow comedians such as

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

and

Jasper Carrott Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, writer, actor, singer and television presenter. His credits include '' An Audience With Jasper Carrott'' (1978), '' The Secret Policeman ...

Early life

Punt wanted to be an author as a child, but knew he would never make a living out of it, so turned to comedy. Punt was educated at

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

and

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

, where he read English. While at Cambridge, he joined

Footlights The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...

, where he first met comedy partner

and was vice-president from 1983 to 1985 with Nick Hancock as president. He was in the writing team for three revues in a row.

Career

While at university Punt began writing for the

series '' Week Ending''. Punt and Dennis later became resident guest comedians on shows presented by

, including '' Canned Carrott'', with Punt contributing in the writing team as well. In 1988 Punt and Dennis worked with fellow former Footlights member David Baddiel and his comedy partner Rob Newman to write and perform a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

sketch and stand-up show called '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' on

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 ...

. After three years, the show transferred to television. Punt and Dennis went on to perform in their own TV sketch show, '' The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show'', and co-wrote and starred with Nick Hancock in the sitcom ''

Me, You and Him ''Me, You and Him'' is a British television sitcom, that aired on ITV from 30 July to 3 September 1992. It was made for the ITV network by Thames. It was written by and starred Hugh Dennis, Nick Hancock and Steve Punt, all previously know ...

''. Punt performed with Dennis in '' It's Been a Bad Week'' for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

. The pair were also the main presenters and writers of

's '' The Now Show'' and the writers of Radio 4 sitcom ''The Party Line''. Punt, with Mark Tavener, is co-writer of the 2007 Radio 4 series ''

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

''. He also, with the help of

, Jon Holmes,

Marcus Brigstocke Marcus Alexander Brigstocke (born 8 May 1973) is a British comedian and actor. He has worked in stand-up comedy, television, radio and musical theatre. He has appeared on many BBC television and radio shows. Early life Brigstocke is the son of N ...

and Mitch Benn wrote ''The Now Show Book of World Records'', a follow-up book for ''The Now Show''. In 2008 Punt wrote the script for and performed in '' Rockford's Rock Opera'', a critically acclaimed ecological musical story created with school friend, Matthew Sweetapple, which has been published as an audiobook. 2008 also saw the first episode of '' Punt PI'', a fact-based comedy radio series on

in which Punt investigates mysteries in Britain. The show continued occasionally until 2017, racking up 10 series. In 2011, Punt became the presenter of Radio 4 quiz show '' The 3rd Degree''. Punt played

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...

in the BBC adaptation '' Holy Flying Circus'', covering the controversy surrounding the release of ''

Monty Python's Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British biblical black comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Micha ...

''. On 3 January 2013 Punt appeared on '' Celebrity Mastermind''. His specialist subject was

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series '' Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

and his chosen supported charity was The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (Sands). Punt won the contest. During 2016 Punt toured with the production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'' in the role of the narrator.Steve Punt joins The Rocky Horror Show at Mayflower (From Daily Echo)
/ref>

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Punt, Steve 1960s births Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge British male comedians Living people People educated at Whitgift School 20th-century British comedians 21st-century British comedians Year of birth missing (living people) British political artists British satirists British comedy writers British radio show creators British satirical radio show creators British television show creators British satirical television show creators