Stephen goes stand up for comedy tour

Globally known for his acclaimed collaborative work with partner Ricky Gervais, Merchant has at last decided to take his considerable stand-up talents on the road.

It’s not widely known that Merchant started his career as a stand-up comedian and radio presenter at XFM – where he met Gervais.

In 2001, Merchant in fact shared a stand-up bill in four-hander Rubbernecker, with Gervais, Jimmy Carr and Robin Ince at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Bristolian Merchant, along with Gervais and Karl Pilkington, features in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most downloaded internet show of all time, clocking up a staggering 280 million downloads.

Their conversations have subsequently been animated for HBO series The Ricky Gervais Show.

Merchant’s recent show, An Idiot Abroad, on Sky One, is a live-action travelogue series starring Karl Pilkington. Merchant also appears in this hugely successful series, with a second series to be broadcast in September.

Life’s Too Short is a brand new observational comedy show from Merchant, which is also co-written and co-directed with Gervais, for BBC2. A fake documentary, it follows the day-today existance of a real-life dwarf actor, played by Warwick Davies (Willow, the Harry Potter films) and will transmit in the autumn.

Merchant’s film credits include Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson and cameos in Hot Fuzz and Run, Fat Boy, Run, with Simon Pegg, and directed his first feature film, Cemetery Junction, with Gervais, released last year.

Stephen Merchant Live: Hello Ladies... comes to St George’s Hall on November 24, tickets cost £25, available from www.bradford-theatres.co.uk or the box office on 01274 432000.