jack dee live at the apollo series 2

James

James Andrew Innes Dee was born in Petts Wood near Orpington in Kent on 24th September 1962. Dee is the youngest of three children; he has a brother who is five years older than him, and a sister eight years his senior.

Family

The Dee family moved to Winchester when Jack was young, and after school, he started work in the British catering industry, taking a job as a waiter. He went on to work at London’s famous Ritz hotel. In his twenties, he also began attending church, and briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a priest.

Comedy Store

Jack’s well-known now for his deadpan delivery and sardonic style, but his first public foray into comedy was an open-mic spot in 1986 at the iconic Comedy Store in London. He dropped in one evening after work, and was then encouraged by friends to continue with a career in stand-up.

The Jack Dee Show

In 1991, he bagged the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Newcomer. Soon afterwards, Dee was offered his own show on Channel 4 which started the televisual ball rolling. The Jack Dee Show was broadcast in February 1992, Jack Dee's Saturday Night followed in 1995, and Jack Dee's Happy Hour started in 1997. In 2004, Mr. Dee starred in Jack Dee Live at the Apollo on primetime BBC One.

Big Brother

In 2001, Jack entered the Celebrity Big Brother house in order to raise funds for Comic Relief. After staging several breakouts, he emerged the victor. He also co-hosted Comic Aid in 2005, in order to raise money for the Asian Tsunami Appeal.

Family man

Dee met his wife Jane in Fulham, London in 1986 when he was a waiter and she was working as a hotel receptionist. They married in Winchester, Hampshire, three years later. They have four children – Hattie, Phoebe and twins Miles and Charles, and the family now lives in Wandsworth.

TV

Jack is a regular on British TV panel shows including Shooting Stars, Have I Got News for You and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. After the death of regular ISIHGAC host Humphrey Lyttelton in 2009, the BBC announced that Dee will join Stephen Fry and Rob Brydon as part of a trio of hosts replacing the legendary jazzman in the quizmaster’s chair.

Entertainers

Dee comes from a family of entertainers. His mother’s parents were repertory actors, plus her great grandmother was a variety and music hall entertainer. Jack’s great uncle Charlie was a piano-player and comedian.

Lead Balloon

In 2006, Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair wrote Lead Balloon, often described as Britain’s answer to the Larry David comedy Curb your Enthusiasm. The semi-biographical sitcom follows the trials and tribulations of a cynical and misanthropic comedian Rick Spleen.

Woody and Jerry

Dee has acknowledged that the early films of Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld have culturally influenced Lead Balloon, but the idea behind the show actually came from the comedian musing on whether or not his experience of ‘witless interviews’ could be transformed into a TV sitcom. They could, and rather successfully - the first series of Lead Balloon was nominated for a British Comedy Award in 2007.