Dave Spikey (born as
David G.
Bramwell, on 6 October 1951
in Farnworth
, England
) is an
English comedian based in Chorley
, Lancashire
. Spikey spent his early career working as a
BioMedical Scientist in the
haematology
laboratory at Bolton General Hospital. It was during this period in
the 1980s that Spikey scripted and performed in a number of amateur
pantomimes with a group of like-minded
health workers called the Bolton Health Performers.
Biography
Early years
In 1992, Spikey was asked to form a double act with Rick Sykes, as
purely a 'one-off' to support a popular musical duo called
'Intaglio'. Dave and Rick were known as Spikey and Sykey. The
double act's most notable success came on
Central TV's
New
Faces show.
A turning
point came one summer Sunday evening in 1993 when Spikey got a
phone call to see if 'he could get to Blackpool
in half an hour'. Cannon and Ball were appearing at The Opera
House and they needed a compere immediately.
He was the last host of UK gameshow
Chain Letters in 1997, following on from
Jeremy Beadle,
Andrew O'Connor,
Allan Stewart,
Ted Robbins and
Vince
Henderson. While working on the show, he once got trapped by
the rotating
Chain Letters revolving sign.
Success
Spikey won the Best Newcomer award at the
British Comedy Awards, and then
starred in
Phoenix
Nights, a hit comedy series on
Channel
Four in which he played
Jerry St.
Clair. Peter Kay has announced that a new series of Phoenix
Nights is to be made, however it is unknown whether Spikey will
return.
In 2003, Spikey released his first
DVD,
The
Overnight Success Tour. Towards the end of 2004, he wrote the
ITV comedy-drama
Dead Man Weds, in which he also
co-starred, in 2005, with
Johnny
Vegas.
Since 2005, Spikey has been one of the regular team captains on the
comedy
panel game,
8 Out of 10 Cats although did not
return for the series in 2007. That year also saw the release of
his second live DVD,
Living The Dream. He presented the
darts gameshow
Bullseye on
Challenge for two series.
Spikey has two new projects in the pipeline which have been
commissioned by the BBC, being
Magnolia, a sitcom about
painters and decorators, and
Footballers Lives - a comedy
about a pub football team, which was due to air by the end of 2006.
He was also on the panel for talent show
When Will I Be Famous?.
Because of his time at hospital, Spikey's chosen subject on
Celebrity Mastermind in 2006 was
Human Blood. He won this show.
Dave Spikey is patron of the non-profit radio station "
Chorley FM" which is not the fictitious radio
station made famous by "That Peter Kay Thing" and "Phoenix Nights"
TV Series.
Dave Spikey also provides the voice of the fox character in Foxy
Bingo advertisements.
Dave Spikey's first book, He Took My Kidney Then Broke My Heart,
was published in October 2009 by Michael O'Mara Books.
Live Shows/tours[91066]
2003: 'Overnight Success'
2005: 'Living the Dream'
2007: 'An audience with Dave Spikey'
2008: 'The Best Medicine'
2009: 'The Best Medicine: Repeat Prescription'
References
- GRO Birth Index: Oct/Nov/Dec 1951,
Brawell, David G., Farnworth 10c 142.
- The
Intaglio Project.
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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