Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor most well known for live shows Dandelion Mind, Tinselworm, Bewilderness and Part Troll, and his work on television in programmes such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Black Books.

He was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003. In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the 7th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Bill was educated at King Edward's School, an independent school in Bath. It was here that he was given his nickname Bill by his music teacher (his real name was Mark Bailey), for being able to play the song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" so well on the guitar. In 1998 the BBC gave him his own television show, Is It Bill Bailey?. Bill made well received guest appearances on shows such as Have I Got News For You, World Cup Comedy, Room 101, Des O'Connor Tonight, Coast to Coast and three episodes of off-beat Channel 4 sitcom Spaced. He won the Best Live Stand-Up award at the British Comedy Awards, 1999. Black Books, a Channel 4 sitcom was commissioned in 2000, and Bill took the part of the assistant Manny Bianco. He has appeared frequently on the intellectual panel game QI since it began in 2003. He has appeared twice on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. He also hosted his own show Comic's Choice, which aired in 2011. His most recent tour, titled Dandelion Mind, was released on DVD on 22 November 2010.