Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse

Paul is a Welsh actor, writer, and renowned comedy genius. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. Paul is a comedy writer and attended the University of East Anglia in Norwich from Autumn 1977, where he made friends with Charlie Higson. The pair began working as tradesmen on a house shared by comedians Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, which inspired them to start writing comedy. They moved to an estate where in a pub they met Harry Enfield, a neighbour with a stage act, and after he gained a place on Channel 4's Saturday Live, the pair were invited to write for him. Whitehouse created Enfield's character Stavros a London-based Greek kebab shop owner, and then Loadsamoney an archetypal Essex boy made good in Margaret Thatcher's 1980s; he also appeared as Enfield's sidekick Lance on Saturday Live.

Career

This success turned Whitehouse and Higson's career, and they began to appear on shows such as Vic Reeves' Big Night Out and extensively for the BBC, with Whitehouse appearing on A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Paul has been a performer on shows such as Harry Enfield's Television Programme, where he developed numerous characters including DJ Mike Smash of Smashie and Nicey alongside Harry Enfield as Nicey. While watching a preview tape of highlights from Enfield's show, Whitehouse and Higson were inspired to create a rapid-fire delivery comedy show, The Fast Show. In 2001 and 2002 Whitehouse wrote and performed in two series of the BBC comedy drama Happiness, in which he played a voice-over actor with a mid-life crisis. Whitehouse wrote, produced and appeared with Chris Langham in the 2005 comedy drama Help, also for the BBC. In this show he took 25 roles, all patients of Langham's psychotherapist (except one, who is Langham's psychotherapist's psychotherapist). Whitehouse starred alongside Charlie Higson in a BBC2 comedy series called Bellamy's People, the first episode was broadcast on 21 January 2010. The comedy evolved from the BBC Radio 4 show Down the Line.

Other Work & Recognition

Whitehouse is also involved in a current advertising campaign for Aviva in which he plays a variety of inspirational characters including a Plymouth Argyle supporter taking his companions to away games, an elderly Welsh goth who collects antiques, and a deceased patriarch providing life insurance to his grieving family. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders. One of the most respected figures in comedy, Paul Whitehouse is in demand as an after dinner speaker for his entertaining anecdotes and memories.