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David Baddiel

David Baddiel, comedian and writer, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island Discs.

David Baddiel is a comedian and writer. Known both for his solo work and for his comedic collaborations with, among others, Rob Newman and Frank Skinner, he has also written a screenplay, a musical and several books. Born in 1964 to Jewish parents, the second of three boys, he was brought up in Dollis Hill, London. His father was a scientist from Swansea and his mother was a refugee, whose family had to flee from Nazi Germany. When David was 13, his older brother Ivor played him sketches by Derek and Clive which kindled his appetite to become a comedian.

He read English at Cambridge and became vice-president of the Footlights before starting out on the London comedy circuit. Together with Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and Rob Newman, he was part of The Mary Whitehouse Experience for Radio 1 and later ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 2. Rob and David went on to create Newman and Baddiel in Pieces, and were the first comedians to sell out Wembley Arena with a gig in 1993, prompting newspapers to declare comedy "the new rock 'n' roll". David then formed a comedy partnership with Frank Skinner and they hosted Fantasy Football League and later Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned. They co-wrote the lyrics to one of the best-known football songs, Three Lions.

In 2005, David took a break from performance and concentrated on writing novels for adults and children's books as well as the script for a film, which became a musical, The Infidel. He returned to stand-up in 2013 with a show about fame. He recently mined his parents' idiosyncrasies and the rare form of dementia from which his father suffers for a stand-up show entitled My Family: Not the Sitcom. His partner is fellow comedian and writer Morwenna Banks. They have two teenage children.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

Available now

48 minutes

Last on

Fri 1 Jun 2018 09:00

Music Played

  • Nikki M. James (Original Broadway Cast)

    Sal Tlay Ka Siti

    • The Book of Mormon – Original Broadway Cast Recording.
    • Ghostlight.
    • 8.
  • David Bowie

    Conversation Piece

    • Heathen.
    • ISO/ Columbia.
    • 2.
  • Genesis

    Mad Man Moon

    • A Trick Of The Tail.
    • Atco Records.
    • 4.
  • The Sundays

    Monochrome

    • Static And Silence.
    • EMI Records Limited.
    • 11.
  • David Baddiel, Frank Skinner & The Lightning Seeds

    Three Lions

    • Three Lions (single).
    • Epic.
    • 1.
  • Erran Baron Cohen

    Love Will Find A Way

    • N/A.
    • N/A.
  • CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE

    • Dolly Banks Baddiel

      Your Song

      • N/A.
      • N/A.
  • Dylan Thomas

    Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

    • Dylan Thomas Reading – A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
    • Caedmon Records.
    • 1.
  • BOOK CHOICE

    Rabbit Angstrom by John Updike

  • LUXURY ITEM

    Giant slipper foot massager

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest David Baddiel
Producer Cathy Drysdale

Broadcasts

  • Sun 27 May 2018 11:15
  • Fri 1 Jun 2018 09:00

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