Toby Foster (born 13 August 1969) is a British

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

radio presenter A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

, promoter and festival producer. He is best known for his long-running

BBC Radio Sheffield BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC's local radio station serving South Yorkshire, north Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital television and via BBC Sounds from studios on Shoreham Street in Sheffield. Accordi ...

show, and for his appearances in the television work of

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...

Early life

Foster went to the

Barnburgh Barnburgh is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The village is adjacent to the village of Harlington - the parish contains both villages, and according to the 2001 census it had a population of 1, ...

Junior School, followed by Lacewood Primary School, Dearneside Comprehensive and Wath Comprehensive in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

Radio

Foster has been the host of BBC Radio Sheffield's breakfast show since 2004. He originally joined the station in the afternoon slot, from 2 until 5pm, taking over from

Tony Capstick Joseph Anthony Capstick (27 July 1944 – 23 October 2003) was an English comedian, actor, musician and broadcaster. Life and career First son of Joe Capstick, a wireless operator in the RAF, and his wife, June, née Duncan, he was born in Ro ...

on 2 April 2002. He then worked with Antonia Brickell on a joint breakfast show in September 2004. His current breakfast show is called Toby Foster at Breakfast (formally Toby Foster Bigger at Breakfast). The show is aired from 06:00-10:00 every weekday. He has been nominated for three

Radio Academy Awards The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...

: The Entertainment Award in 2004, Best Interview Award in 2010, and Sony Speech Broadcaster of the Year in 2012. In 2020 Foster won for Best Speech Breakfast Show, but was unable to attend due to suffering an "

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

meltdown". Foster was suspended from Radio Sheffield in December 2013 after using an offensive word on his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account, in reference to a fellow BBC employee. He returned in January 2014 after making an apology to his colleagues and the public.

Film and television

Foster appeared in Channel 4'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 th ...

'' as Les Campbell, one half of eponymous work mens club's backing band, Les Alanos. Foster went on to work with show creator and star

on several projects, including ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere ''Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere'' is a British sitcom starring and written by Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness. It was broadcast on Channel 4 and began on 12 November 2004, running for six 30-minute episodes up until 17 December 2004. A spin-of ...

''. He is affectionately referred to as "One-Take" Toby by friend and co-star Peter Kay, because of his belief that he never gets his lines wrong. Foster made a cameo as "Northern Comic" in the 2007 Christmas Special of

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

series '' Extras''. His character appeared as a contestant in the reality show ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

'', alongside co-writer and star Gervais' Andy Millman,

Lionel Blair Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...

Lisa Scott-Lee Lisa Scott-Lee (born 5 November 1975) is a British singer from St Asaph, Wales. She is a member of the pop group Steps, formed in 1997. Scott-Lee signed a record deal with Mercury Records and launched a solo career in 2003, achieving only min ...

and ''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' contestant

Chico Slimani Yousseph "Chico" Slimani (born 1971) is a Welsh singer who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show ''The X Factor''. In 2006, he had a number one hit on the British cha ...

. In 2008, he worked on the British comedy film ''Snappers'', which was shot on location in

Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...

. The film also stars

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

, Matt Milburn, Tim Healy,

Suranne Jones Sarah Ann Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. Known for her numerous collaborations with screenwriter Sally Wainwright, she rose to prominence playing Karen McDonal ...

, Matt Slack and John Bowe, amongst others. It remains unreleased. Since 2019, Foster has provided the narration for Yesterday's ''Bangers and Cash'', a factual entertainment programme following a family-run classic car auction in Thornton le Dale, North Yorkshire.

Stand-up

In addition to his broadcast work, Foster is also 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 ...

, and continues to promote twice weekly shows at the Last Laugh Comedy Club, held on Friday and Saturday evenings at

Sheffield City Hall Sheffield City Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England in Barker's Pool, one of the city's central squares. It was built and is owned by Sheffield City Council. History The building was designed in 1920 by E. Vincent Harr ...

. He was a founder member of the M.E.N.@Work team at Manchester's

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Com ...

. He also runs his own company, Don't Shoot Productions Ltd., which runs comedy nights in the north of England.

References

External links

''Toby Foster on BBC Radio Sheffield''
(BBC Radio Sheffield)
''Toby Foster on BBC Radio Leeds''
(BBC Radio Leeds)
''Toby Foster on BBC Radio York''
(BBC Radio York) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Toby Comedians from South Yorkshire Male actors from South Yorkshire English male comedians 1969 births English radio personalities People educated at Wath Academy People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Living people Actors from Rotherham