Micky Flanagan

Micky Flanagan

Flanagan in 2010
Birth name Michael Flanagan
Born October 1962 (age 52)[1]
Whitechapel, London, England
Medium Television, radio, stand-up
Years active 1997–present
Website mickyflanagan.com

Michael "Micky" Flanagan (born October 1962) is an English comedian. Flanagan has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured Britain with stand-up shows. He presented Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change? for Radio 4 and has appeared on various TV shows including Mock the Week, A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. He released his debut DVD in November 2011.

Early life and career

Flanagan was born in Whitechapel, East London and grew up on a council estate in Bethnal Green. He left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications. His first job was as a fish porter at Billingsgate Fish Market,[2] after which he lived in New York for a year where he worked as a dishwasher and chef. After returning to London he worked as a furniture maker for several years.[2][3] On an episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats, he also revealed he was once a window cleaner.

Flanagan resumed education at the age of 25, beginning with a GCSE in English[4] and going on to a foundation course in arts and social sciences and a degree at City University, which he began aged 29.[2][3] He went on to train as a teacher by taking the Postgraduate Certificate in Education,[5] but decided not to pursue teaching as a career, later describing the experience as "the unhappiest year of my life ... everything that was wrong about the school system when I was young was still the same".[2]

Comedy career

Flanagan became a professional comedian in 1997[6] after attending a comedy course at Jacksons Lane in 1996.[2] In 2001 he performed in the Big Value Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe as one of four headline acts,[7] and in 2003 co-headlined a show with Nina Conti.[8]

He performed his first full-length solo show, What Chance Change? in 2006,[2] and in 2007 was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[9] He toured Great Britain with The Out Out Tour in 2010/2011.[10][11]

Flanagan was a regular performer on Out to Lunch on Radio 2 in 2008,[12] and appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow in 2009.[13] In 2010 he presented a four-part series for Radio 4 entitled Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?,[14] and performed on Live at the Apollo,[15] Stand Up for the Week[16] and the Royal Variety Performance.[17] He appeared on Mock the Week in 2010[18] and made further appearances in 2011.[19][20] He was a panellist on the BBC1 game show Epic Win, which was broadcast in August and September 2011.[21]

In 2009, Flanagan's agent lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that a television commercial for directory enquiries service 118 118 was using his "out out" catchphrase and skit.[13] The skit, performed on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, is based on the idea that people have different levels of going out, with "out out" referring to a big night out. The commercial featured an animated character using the phrase in a nightclub setting. The ASA acknowledged the similarity but said it was beyond its remit to take action.[13]

In 2011 Flanagan signed a deal with Ebury Publishing to write his autobiography.[22] He appeared in a celebrity version of The Chase, hosted by Bradley Walsh.

In 2012 he starred alongside Mark Watson and host Mark Dolan as a captain on the Channel 4 advertising-based comedy panel programme The Mad Bad Ad Show.[23] On 7 June 2013, he appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Dan Stevens, Hayden Panettiere, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. He was a team captain, alongside Frank Skinner on the BBC One comedy series I Love My Country, which is hosted by Gabby Logan. Additionally, he is a team captain on Channel 4 comedy panel show Was It Something I Said?.[24]

In 2014, Flanagan teamed up with Spice Girl Mel B on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.[25]

Personal life

Flanagan is married and has a son. [26]He lives in East Dulwich.[27]

Stand-up DVDs

References

  1. ↑ Dessau, Bruce (14 September 2013). "Micky Flanagan talks to Bruce Dessau about turning 50 and his latest show". Waltham Forest Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Hay, Malcolm (7 August 2006). "Micky Flanagan: Interview". Time Out. London. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Holland, Jessica (9 April 2009). "Interview with comedian Micky Flanagan". The London Paper. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Burrell, Ian (20 November 2011). "Micky Flanagan: The ragged-trousered controversialist". The Independent (London). Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Fleckney, Paul (15 February 2007). "Cockney charmer". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Micky Flanagan". Comedy Central (UK). Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  7. ↑ "Big Value Comedy Show ... Early". Chortle. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "Nina Conti and Micky Flanagan". Chortle. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  9. ↑ Smith, Alistair (22 August 2007). "Edinburgh's If.Comedy Awards shortlist announced". The Stage. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  10. ↑ Burgess, Marissa (28 January 2011). "Interview: Micky Flanagan". City Life. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Micky Flanagan: The Out Out Tour". Chortle. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  12. ↑ "Programme Information". BBC Press Office. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Sweeney, Mark (12 November 2009). "118 118 lifted my catchphrase, says comedian Micky Flanagan". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  14. ↑ "Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  15. ↑ "Live at the Apollo". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "Stand Up for the Week". Channel4.com. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  17. ↑ "The Royal Variety Performance". BBC Online. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  18. ↑ "Mock the Week Series 9 Episode 3". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  19. ↑ "Mock the Week Series 10 Episode 4". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  20. ↑ "Mock the Week Series 10 Episode 5". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  21. ↑ "Epic Win". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  22. ↑ Neill, Graeme (12 August 2011). "Ebury buys Micky Flanagan memoir". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  23. ↑ "The Mad Bad Ad Show, coming soon to Channel 4" (Press release). Channel 4 Press. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  24. ↑ "Was It Something I Said? - 4oD". Channel 4. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
  25. ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-12-27/mel-bs-appearance-on-the-big-fat-quiz-of-the-year-the-twitter-reaction
  26. ↑ Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker, BBC Two, 21 December 2011
  27. ↑ Miranda Sawyer (5 June 2010). "Breaking news; The Reith Lectures; Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?". Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  28. ↑ "Micky Flanagan Back In The Game Live (DVD)". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 13 April 2013.

External links