| Hugh Dennis | |
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Hugh Dennis on The Now Show |
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| Birth name | Peter Hugh Dennis |
| Born | February 13, 1962 [1] Kettering, Northamptonshire, England |
| Medium | Stand up, Television, Radio |
| Nationality | English |
| Years active | 1980s – present |
| Genres | Political satire, Improvisational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Politics, Family |
| Spouse | Miranda Carroll (1987-1993) Kate Abbot-Anderson (1996-present) |
| Notable works and roles | The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Mock The Week, Outnumbered |
Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13th February 1962) is an English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist, best known for his work with comedy partner Steve Punt. He is also known for his position as a permanent panelist on the TV comedy show Mock The Week. He uses his middle name Hugh as his stage name because Equity already had a Peter Dennis.[2]
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Dennis, whose father, John Dennis, was the Bishop of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich,[3] was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire and grew up in Mill Hill in North London. He was educated at University College School, an independent school for boys in Hampstead (where he was head boy in his final year) and at St John's College, Cambridge, where he read Geography. He was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, but after university worked for Unilever for six years. However, with Punt, whom he met at university, he continued performing comedy at venues including London's Comedy Store. At University College School he played rugby with Will Self.
While in his final year of university he was approached by a member of the intelligence services and was invited to London for interview at which time he decided he did not want to take the matter further. He often makes jokes or references to his days as a 'spy'.
While an impressionist, Dennis did voices for Spitting Image[4] and appeared with Punt as resident support comics on two TV series hosted on the BBC by Jasper Carrott.[5]
The pair then formed half of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on BBC Radio 1, later graduating to a television series. His radio work with Punt includes over a decade of performing Punt and Dennis, It's Been a Bad Week and The Now Show and a current run of writing The Party Line (a topical political satire that is written and performed the day prior to transmission). On The Now Show he is in a line-up including Punt, Mitch Benn, Laura Shavin, Jon Holmes and Marcus Brigstocke.
Dennis has performed on various TV and radio shows, including Mock the Week, The Imaginatively Titled Punt and Dennis Show, New Tricks in the episode "Fresh Start", Outnumbered and sitcom Me, You and Him. He has guest hosted Have I Got News For You and played obnoxious GP Piers Crispin in BBC sitcom My Hero. He is friends with Chris Morris and has had cameos on Brass Eye. He has also done the narration for the CBBC show Sam and Mark's Guide To Dodging Disasters.
Dennis took part in the 2007 L'Étape du Tour, cycling an open stage of the Tour de France for amateurs which was held in the mountains 2 weeks before the main event. This was discussed in the fifth series of Mock the Week and also QI series six, episode 5 'France'. He started in 2,400th place of 8,000 entrants, finishing in 3,400th from 4,000 who completed it, 5 hours behind the winner.
Since August 2007, Dennis has starred in the BBC comedy Outnumbered, a semi-improvised sitcom based around family life.[6]
He is a panellist on Mock The Week and has appeared in every episode.
In December 2009, Dennis joined Oz Clarke in presenting the 60 minute Christmas special Oz and Hugh Drink to Christmas broadcast on BBC Two.[7] In December 2010 the pair returned for a four-part series called Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar, which puts them in a competition to create a bar featuring only local British food and drinks.[8]
In 2011, Hugh Dennis became the host of an improvised sketch show called Fast and Loose.
Dennis lives in Chichester, West Sussex[9] with his second wife, Catherine ("Kate") Abbot-Anderson whom he married in 1996. They have two children, a son called Freddie (born March 28, 1997) and a daughter called Meg (born July 2, 1999).[10]
On 10 July 2008, Dennis received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Northampton.[11]
On 30 October 2011, Dennis completed the Great South Run in Portsmouth for the Alzheimers Society.
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