Nick Helm

Nick Helm
Birth name Nicholas Tristan Phillip Helm
Born (1980-10-01) 1 October 1980
London, England
Medium
  • Television
  • Stand-up
  • Music
Nationality British
Years active 2000s–present
Subject(s)
Notable works and roles
Website nickhelm.co.uk

Nick Helm (born 1 October 1980) is an English comedian, actor and rock musician known for his comedic confrontational delivery.[1] His routines have been described as "brash and bullish".[2] Many of his performances begin with him acting calmly and see him gradually getting more and more enraged about what he is talking about. He came to prominence following the success of his 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show Keep Hold of the Gold. In 2014, Helm made his main acting debut as lead character Andy in the BBC Three sitcom Uncle.

Early life

Helm was born in St Bartholomew's Hospital, London and raised in St Albans, Hertfordshire.[3] He attended Cunningham Hill Primary School after which he graduated to Sandringham Secondary School[4]

While at secondary school he began writing and performing. In 1997, when he was in the sixth form, his drama teacher, Louise Hows, brought the school's production of Romeo and Juliet to the Edinburgh Festival.[5] Helm played the part of Prince Escalus.[3]

Career

With friends, he began taking shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the early 2000s with increasing levels of success.[6]

By 2007, Helm began performing solo stand-up, but also maintained his theatrical work with a 2008 Fringe show called I Think You Stink, which gained critical acclaim. Comedian Richard Herring called it a "lovely little hidden gem... funny, silly and slightly chilling... something very new and special".

Helm has worked closely with his friends on the stand-up circuit, performing mixed bill standup shows at the Fringe before his first fully solo show, Keep Hold of the Gold, in 2010.

In 2011, the follow up, Dare To Dream, saw him nominated for the Fosters best comedy show[7] and a joke lifted from the show won Dave's award for the funniest joke of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe: "I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves".[8]

In 2012 Helm appeared regularly on the BBC Three series Live at the Electric performing songs with backing band, "The Helmettes". There were further TV appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats (including as Santa in the 2012 Christmas Special) and its spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, The Boyle Variety Performance, Russell Howard's Good News and a new show for Edinburgh, This Means War.

His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show, One Man Mega Myth, strongly referenced Evel Knievel and he was again nominated for Best Show in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, losing out to Bridget Christie.[9]

Helm also plays acoustic guitar and sings. He has released three solo albums. His latest album is called Hot 'n' Heavy, released on 10 May 2013.[10] He performed "He Makes You Look Fat", one of the tracks from his album, when he appeared as the stand-up guest on Russell Howard's Good News.[11]

Helm won the South Bank Sky Arts "The Times Breakthrough Award" on 27 January 2014.[12]

Helm currently plays the lead role of Andy in the BBC Three sitcom Uncle.[13] The show is written by Oliver Refson, but features songs written and performed by Helm and his band.

In 2015 Helm co-wrote and co-starred with Esther Smith in an episode of the BBC Three online-only series of short stories, Funny Valentines. Their episode was titled "Elephant".

Helm's comedy show Nick Helm's Heavy Entertainment started broadcasting on BBC Three in May 2015.

References

  1. ↑ Challis, Chris (22 June 2011). "Nick Helm: Dare To Dream". The Argus. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Hall, Julian (4 February 2011). "Nick Helm: Keep Hold of the Gold". The Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  3. 1 2 https://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_lst_podcast/episode_45_nick_helm/
  4. ↑ Dakin, Melanie (2012-05-24). "Comedian owes career to Sandringham School". Watford Observer. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  5. ↑ "Interview, Nick Helm, comedian". The Scotsman. 2012-08-11. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  6. ↑ Gilbert, Gerard (12 January 2014). "Nick Helm: Loud, aggressive – and a big pussycat off stage". The Independent.
  7. ↑ "Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2013 – Best Comedy Show". Comedyawards.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  8. ↑ Murphy, Niall (26 August 2011). "The 10 Best Jokes of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe". Broadsheet.ie. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Brocklehurst, Steven (24 August 2013). "Bridget Christie wins Foster's Edinburgh comedy award". BBC News. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Hot 'n' Heavy by Nick Helm on Spotify". Open.spotify.com. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "nick helm he make you look fat". YouTube. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "South Bank Sky Arts Winners 2014". Sky.com. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "BBC3 orders comedy starring stand up Nick Helm". The Stage. 29 April 2013.
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