Mark Bittlestone
English stand-up comedian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mark Christopher Bittlestone (born 13 June 1993) is an English stand-up comedian.[1] He has performed various shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and is known for his sketch videos on TikTok.
13 June 1993
Mark Bittlestone | |
|---|---|
Bittlestone performing in Cardiff, Wales in August 2021 | |
| Born | Mark Christopher Bittlestone 13 June 1993 Hammersmith, London, England |
| Education | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation | Stand-up comedian |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Website | markbittlestone |
Early life
Bittlestone was born on 13 June 1993 in the district of Hammersmith[2][3] and was privately educated at King's College School in Wimbledon, London.[4] He studied history at the University of Cambridge, attaining a Double First.[5]
Bittlestone is both openly gay and an adult orphan which inspired some of his earliest stand up material exploring the topics of homosexuality, death and grief.[6][7] His mother Jean was diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma in February 2010 and died in April 2011[8][9] and his father Robert, author of Odysseus Unbound, died by suicide in May 2015.[8][10]
Career
Bittlestone was a member of the Cambridge Footlights,[11][12] writing for and performing in a variety of shows during his time at university.[13] One of these shows, 'Babushka', transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, marking his first appearance as a performer at the performing arts festival.[14]
Bittlestone's debut solo show, 'Pity Laughs', was first performed in Cambridge in January 2017.[15][16] Later that year he collaborated with Will Dalrymple and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in a split bill show named 'Pity Laughs: A Tale of Two Gays'. A reworked version of the show returned in 2018.[17][18]
In 2019, Bittlestone and fellow Footlight Haydn Jenkins devised and performed in a comedy sketch show called 'Llaugh'.[19] The duo appeared in the Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off final in 2019 and 2020.[20][21]
Bittlestone returned to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 with a split bill show named 'Two Sour Gays' alongside Chris Hall.[22]
In 2023, Bittlestone appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe in a solo show named 'Poofs "R" Us'.[23] During that year he supported Eshaan Akbar on his tour.[24]
Bittlestone performed his debut solo hour, 'I Need a Straight Guy' at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe.[25][26][27][28][29] He was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[30] The show was named because he needed a heterosexual male in the audience for the through line to work.[31][32] It went on tour at various venues across the United Kingdom in May and June 2025.[33]
Podcast appearances
Bittlestone is a joint host of the Dirty Laundry podcast, along with Jamie D'Souza. The show went on hiatus in October 2024.[34]
Bittlestone has also been invited onto several independent podcasts to talk about his life and share his experiences:
| Year | Podcast name | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Guy and a Gal | Series 2, episode 2[35] |
| 2021 | Celebrity Prelash | Series 1, episode 7[36] |
| 2022 | Chatting with Cherubs | Episode 15[37] |
| 2023 | My Mum Made Me | Series 2, episode 4[38] |
| 2023 | Didn't Ask for Agony | Episode 21[39] |
| 2023 | Our Dads Died | Series 2, episode 8[8] |
| 2024 | There Will Be Film | Episode 22[40] |
| 2024 | The Bold Shout Podcast | Episode 6[41] |
| 2025 | My Mate Bought A Toaster | Series 9, episode 18[42] |
| 2025 | My Bad | Episode 4[43] |
Politics
Bittlestone was selected as a Green Party candidate for Clapham Town for the 2026 Lambeth London Borough Council election.[44] In May 2026, Bittlestone was one of several Green Party candidates reported to have made controversial social media posts relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict, with Chortle reporting that Bittlestone had deleted all of his social media profiles in the wake of being "exposed for promoting antisemitic messages online".[45] The reports emerged amid wider scrutiny of alleged antisemitism within the Green Party during the 2026 United Kingdom local elections.[46] Bittlestone failed to win election to the council after finishing fifth.[47][48]