Thomas Tuck (born 28 March 1982) is a British actor and comedian. He is known for being one third of comedy troupe

The Penny Dreadfuls The Penny Dreadfuls are a British sketch comedy troupe consisting of comedians Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck, often supported by Margaret Cabourn-Smith. The troupe are best known for writing and performing ''The Brothers Faversham'' a ...

and as a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

. He was nominated for the Best Newcomer award at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Early life

Tuck attended the

American International School of Dhaka The American International School Dhaka (AISD) is a not-for-profit, international, independent, and co-educational day school located in Baridhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and Cardinal Heenan Roman Catholic High School and Notre Dame Sixth Form College in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. As a child, he also lived in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He studied philosophy at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and graduated with a 2:2. While at university, he performed with the

Edinburgh University Theatre Company Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC) is a student theatre company at the University of Edinburgh. The EUTC was founded in 1871 as the ''Edinburgh University Amateur Dramatic Club'' and adopted its current name in the 1970s. Since 1980 it ha ...

; acting in, writing and directing plays, including directing a piece written by playwright

Sam Holcroft Sam Holcroft is a British playwright. Early life Holcroft studied Biology at the University of Edinburgh. During her time as a student she wrote two plays for the Edinburgh University Theatre Company and was part of the Traverse Theatre's young ...

, and was a member of acclaimed

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

troupe ''

The Improverts The Improverts is a improvisational comedy troupe from the Edinburgh University Theatre Company, which primarily performs at the Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh. They perform weekly during Edinburgh University's term time and every night during t ...

''. It was with

that he first met and performed with fellow comedians

Humphrey Ker David Humphrey Rivers Ker (; born 11 October 1982) is a British actor, comedian, writer and football executive, who is a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls. Early life and education Ker was born to David Peter James Ker ...

and David Reed.

Career

Tuck's radio work includes ''The Penny Dreadfuls Present...'' alongside David Reed and

, and the

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 ...

series ''Thom Tuck Goes Straight-to-DVD''. With

, Tuck debuted at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2006. The group created new sketch shows for the four years that follow. In addition they created a radio series for

called ''The Brothers Faversham'', which aired in 2008. A sequel series aired that same year, and for most years that followed The Penny Dreadfuls have performed a historical comedy play. In 2011 BBC Radio 4 commissioned ''Thom Tuck Goes Straight To DVD'', a comedy show adapted from his Edinburgh show that year. The pilot aired in February 2012, and a full series of four episodes began to air in April 2013. His television credits include

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

's ''Comedy Shuffle'', ''

The Wrong Door ''The Wrong Door'' is a comedy sketch show, that first aired on BBC Three on 28 August 2008. The sketch show was set in a parallel universe, employing a mix of celebrity cameos, impractical locations and CGI visual effects. As such, it was ini ...

'', '' The Supersizers...'', ''

Dick and Dom's Funny Business ''Dick and Dom's Funny Business'' is a British comedy television series for children, hosted by comic presenting duo Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood (Dick and Dom). The series was broadcast in a Saturday morning slot on BBC Two and simulcast o ...

'' and ''

Mongrels A mongrel, mutt, or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed, including those that result from intentional breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, many mongrels have no know ...

''. He hosts and curates '' The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society'' with John-Luke Roberts at the New Red Lion Theatre in Islington. Tuck has also ventured into the world of video game acting. In 2014 he took on the role of voicing Kablooey, a well dressed peacock and peggle master in the Popcap game

Peggle Blast ''Peggle Blast'' is a casual puzzle video game developed by PopCap Games and published by Electronic Arts in the ''Peggle'' franchise. Released on December 2, 2014, to Android and iOS, it is the second game in the franchise released to mobile ...

Theatre

1999 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''West Side Story'', winner of Herald Angel Award. NSDF 2003 *''Like Skinnydipping'' by Chris Perkin

2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

& NSDF 2005 *''Scaramouche Jones'' by Justin Butcher

2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 59th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Events 2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which ...

*''Aeneas Faversham'' with

*''Geronimo'' by

Lucy Kirkwood Lucy Ann Kirkwood (born ) is a British playwright and screenwriter. She is known for her plays '' Chimerica'' (2013) and '' The Children'' (2016). Early life and education Kirkwood was born in Leytonstone around 1984 and raised in east Londo ...

, winner of ThreeWeeks Editors' Award.

2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

*''Aeneas Faversham Returns'' with

, winner of ThreeWeeks Editors' Award.Award Citations 2007
/ref>

2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

*''Aeneas Faversham Forever'' with

2009 National Tour *''Totally Looped'' 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''The Never Man'' with

*''The Hotel'' by

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is an English comedian, novelist and producer. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh people, Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul Watson (footba ...

2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Penny Dreadfuls 2010'' with

*''Gutted: A Revenger's Musical'' by

Danielle Ward Danielle Claire Ward is a British stand-up comedian and writer. Early life and education Danielle Claire Ward was born and raised in Nottingham. She graduated from university in 2004. Career Early career Ward worked as an economic researche ...

& Martin White 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Thom Tuck Goes Straight-to-DVD'' * Directed ''Bad Mother'' by Meryl O'Rourke 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Thom Tuck Flips Out'' 2013 Pleasance Theatre, London *''Coalition'' written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Thom Tuck: An August Institution'' 2018 King's Head Theatre, Islington *''Brexit'' written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe *''Thom Tuck and

Tim FitzHigham Tim FitzHigham ( ) FRSA FRGS is an English comedian, author, artist and world record holder. The feats he has performed include paddling a paper boat down 257.5 km of the River Thames, rowing a bathtub across the English Channel, and infl ...

: Macbeth''

References

External links

Official Penny Dreadfuls website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuck, Thom 1982 births Living people 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Comedians from Leeds English male comedians English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from Leeds People educated at Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School, Leeds