Count Arthur Strong

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Count Arthur Strong is a fictional comedy character created by English comedian Steve Delaney. He is an elderly pompous out-of-work deluded thespian from the North of England who is challenged by attention deficit disorder and memory loss. He is apt to use malapropisms in his attempts to sound educated.

Delaney grew up in Leeds. He created the Count in the 1980s, when he was a drama student at Central College in London and performed him at the end of term show, having drawn inspiration from characters he met during his childhood. However he put him to one side for several years during which he worked as an actor, appearing on Television in dramas such as Casualty.

In 1997 Delaney resurrected him for his stand up comedy routine which gained a cult following in clubs. The character was performed at the Edinburgh Festival for several years to increasing praise and BBC Radio 4 launched a series for him in 2005. A second radio series was recorded between September 2006 and January 2007 at the Komedia Theatre, Brighton, and started to broadcast on Radio 4 at the end of February 2007. A third series began in late December of 2007, still on Radio 4.

The character has appeared on Mark Radcliffe's BBC Radio 2 show and can be seen on YouTube supporting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Chicken Out! campaign, and on BBC Radio 4 show "The Remains of Foley & McColl".

2008 The Count is currently on tour in Count Arthur Strong the Musical which is planned for a DVD release later this year