Dave Spikey

Dave Spikey
Birth name David Gordon Bramwell[1]
Born (1951-10-06) 6 October 1951
Farnworth, Lancashire, England[2]
Medium Actor, comedian, writer, producer, broadcaster
Years active 1990–present
Genres Stand-up
Spouse Kathleen Kenyon[3]
Notable works and roles That Peter Kay Thing (2000)
Phoenix Nights (2001–02)
Dead Man Weds (2005)
Website davespikey.co.uk

Dave Spikey (born David Gordon Bramwell on 6 October 1951)[2] is an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer.

Born in 1951 in Farnworth, 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'.[4] Dave and Rick were known as Spikey and Sykey. The double act's most notable success came on Central TV's New Faces show. In 1993 he was voted "best up and coming comedian" by the Manchester Evening news.

He was the final host of UK gameshow Chain Letters in 1997, following on from Jeremy Beadle, Andrew O'Connor, Allan Stewart, Ted Robbins and Vince Henderson.

Success

Spikey won the Best Newcomer award at the British Comedy Awards, and then co-wrote and starred in Phoenix Nights on Channel Four as Jerry St. Clair. In 2003, Spikey released his first DVD, The Overnight Success Tour. In late 2004, he wrote the ITV comedy-drama Dead Man Weds (2005), in which he also co-starred with Johnny Vegas.

In 2005, Spikey became one of the regular team captains on the comedy panel game, 8 Out of 10 Cats, leaving before the 2007 series. That year also saw the release of his second live DVD, Living the Dream.

He also contributed the initial voice over for the Foxy Bingo

In 2006, Spikey became the host of a revived version of the darts-based quiz show Bullseye. The show ran for two series on Challenge.

Spikey developed two new projects which were commissioned by the BBC, being Magnolia, a sitcom about painters and decorators, and Footballers Lives – a comedy about a pub football team, neither made it beyond pilots. He was also on the panel for talent show When Will I Be Famous?. Spikey returned to stand-up and live shows again and has regularly released DVDs of his shows. His chosen subject on Celebrity Mastermind in 2006 was human blood; he won.

Other interests

Dave Spikey is patron of the non-profit radio station Chorley FM (not to be confused with fictitious radio station made famous by That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights). Spikey's first book, He Took My Kidney, Then Broke My Heart, was published in October 2009 by Michael O'Mara Books.

Spikey is supporter of the League Against Cruel Sports and appeared in a short film for the group in 2013. He has been quoted: "It is shocking to think anyone would want to turn the clock back to a time when chasing animals to exhaustion and encouraging them to be ripped apart by a pack of dogs for sport was legal."[5]

Stand-up DVDs

Title Released Notes
Overnight Success Tour – Live 17 November 2003 Live at Leeds City Varieties
Living the Dream – Live 7 November 2005 Live at Oldham Coliseum
The Best Medicine Tour – Live 9 November 2009 Live at Mansfield Palace Theatre

References

  1. ↑ Researcha
  2. 1 2 GRO Birth Index: Oct/Nov/Dec 1951, Bramwell, David G., Farnworth 10c 142.
  3. ↑ 192.com – Search for David Bramwell in Chorley, Lancashire; other residents Kathleen M. Bramwell and Kathleen M. Kenyon
  4. ↑ The Intaglio Project Archived 15 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Owen, Jonathan (25 December 2013). "Eight out of ten want to keep fox hunting ban". The Independent. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
Preceded by
Jim Bowen		 Host of Bullseye
2006 		Succeeded by
Series ended
Preceded by
Vince Henderson		 Host of Chain Letters
1997 		Succeeded by
Series ended
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