Trevor Neal (born 1963, Dorchester, Dorset) and Simon Hickson (born 1962, Salford, Lancashire) are a British comedy duo (known as ''Trevor and Simon'' or ''Trev and Simon'') and are best known for a family-friendly version of anarchic alternative comedy on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

Saturday-morning shows ''

Going Live! ''Going Live!'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 26 September 1987 to 17 April 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene. Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Annabel Giles, Phillip ...

'' (1987–1993), and '' Live and Kicking'' (1993–1997).

Education

Trevor and Simon met as drama students at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1981. Hickson was a year older than Neal. They first encountered each other at the drama department's Christmas show, in which Neal played a squirrel on a skateboard. In a podcast, the pair recount how comedian

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was Left-wing politics, left-wing political satire ...

taught Hickson Greek tragedy, and their Professor, David Mayer (father of

Lise Mayer Lise Mayer (born 29 November 1959) is an American television and film writer. She was creator and co-writer, alongside Rik Mayall and Ben Elton, of the BBC comedy series '' The Young Ones''. __NOTOC__ Background and work Mayer was born in Chica ...

) introduced them to

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (; 7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Adrian Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University, and was a pioneer of alternative come ...

and

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

, who had been his students some years before. '' The Young Ones'' (written by Mayall, Lise Mayer and Ben Elton) was an early influence.

Career

Neal and Hickson initially performed as a trio together with Phil Dennison. They later appeared as a double act on the Manchester comedy circuit as Devilfishhornclub, performing at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 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 1984, and promising “non-racist, non-sexist humour”. Following a suggestion by

John Hegley John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter. He has a reputation for wry and surreal humour, mostly performance-oriented or designed for younger audiences, and often sung or acc ...

, the duo were persuaded to relocate to London from Manchester. Later they were approached by a BBC producer for ''

Saturday Superstore ''Saturday Superstore'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1982 to 18 April 1987. It was shown on Saturday mornings with presenters including Mike Read, Sarah Greene, Keith Chegwin, and John Craven. The ...

'' who "said they were looking for a double act to represent the new style of comedy, but for children”. Their appearances on ''Going Live!'' would result in the creation of some well loved sketches and catchphrases, such as the Singing Corner's "Swing Your Pants" and "We don't do duvets." Trevor and Simon created a

crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...

comedy drama

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, ''Strangeness in Space''. The podcast stars Trevor, Simon, and

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''D ...

. ''Strangeness in Space'' is reminiscent of ''

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

'', albeit with the pair's trademark absurd humour. The story concerns a fictional pop duo called Pink Custard (played by Trev and Simon) who are stuck in space orbiting the planet Mirth with Sophie (played by Sophie Aldred) and robot L.E.M.O.N as they encounter various bizarre creatures and situations.

Post-comedy careers

Since 2017, Hickson has been the manager of

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. The hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminster Hospital. It is operated by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS ...

's MediCinema, an on-site cinema for inpatients.

References

External links

* The BBC Guide to Comedy – Simon Hickson * * {{IMDb name, 1051121, Trevor Neal British comedy duos British podcasters Alumni of the University of Manchester