Darren Harriott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darren Harriott | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 September 1988 |
| Website | darrenharriott |
Darren Harriott (born 1 September 1988) is a British stand-up comedian from Oldbury, West Midlands.[1] He was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award and Best Show Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and 2019 respectively.[2][3]
Harriott was born to parents Patrick and Paulette, and grew up in Oldbury, near Birmingham in the West Midlands.[4] His father was a drug dealer who was incarcerated during Harriott's childhood. He died by suicide while Harriott was still a child.[4]
Career
Harriott moved to London at the age of 26 to pursue a career in comedy. He worked as a security guard at venues including the Hammersmith Apollo to finance his early years.[5]
Harriott has toured the UK with his shows Visceral and Good Heart Yute,[6][7] and regularly appears at comedy clubs across the country.[8] His stand-up shows became the basis for his BBC Radio 4 series Darren Harriott's Black Label.[9]
Harriott has appeared on multiple television shows such as Live at the Apollo,[10] The Last Leg,[11] Ghost Bus Tours,[12] Hey Tracey!,[13] Comedy Games Night,[14] 8 Out of 10 Cats,[15] The Apprentice: You're Fired!,[16] The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice,[17] Catchpoint for Sport Relief,[18] University Challenge for Comic Relief,[19] CelebAbility,[20] The Stand Up Sketch Show,[21] Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier,[22] Celebrity Mastermind,[23] Pointless Celebrities,[24] Dave Gorman: Terms and Conditions Apply,[25] Dave's Comedy Against Living Miserably,[26] Comedy Central Live,[27] Roast Battle, Mock the Week,[28] Comedy Central at the Comedy Store,[29] Hypothetical,[30] Russell Howard's Stand Up Central,[31] Don't Hate the Playaz, Love Island,[32] and The Comedy Bus.[33]
On radio he has hosted Newsjack Unplugged,[34] Comedy of the Week[35] for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC Radio 4 Summer Festival.[36] Radio appearances include BBC Radio 4 shows Best of the Fest[37] and The Now Show,[38] and BBC Radio 5 Live comedy sports panel show Fighting Talk.[39]
He appeared on Dave's Campaign Against Living Miserably, where he discussed his father's incarceration and death.[40]
In late 2021, Harriott co-presented the Dave travelogue British as Folk alongside fellow comedians Ivo Graham and Fern Brady. In 2022, he was a regular panellist on Love Island's companion show Aftersun.[41] He co-hosts the podcast Shame is Delicious with Eshaan Akbar.[42][43]
In 2023, Harriott was a contestant on the fifteenth series of Dancing on Ice, finishing seventh alongside professional partner Tippy Packard.[44]