Mark Watson

Mark Watson – Award Winning Stand-Up Comedian and Author

Mark Watson is a comedian, author and sports pundit. He performed his first gig in 2002 and in the same year won the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Competition. In the same year, he was runner-up in the aggressively titled So You Think You’re Funny?

In 2004, he published his first novel, Bullet Points. It was Commended in the Commonwealth Writers’ Prizes. Also that year he performed his first 24-hour show.

In 2005, his first Edinburgh show, 50 Years Before Death and the Awful Prospect Of Eternity, was nominated for the Perrier Best Newcomer. A year later he won the first ever if.comeddies Panel Prize in recognition of being stupid enough to do a 36-hour show and a show about writing a novel, in addition to his main show I’m Worried I’m Starting To Hate Almost Everyone In The World. Also in ’06 he was nominated for the Barry Award in his first appearance at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

In 2007, he recorded his first Radio 4 series, Mark Watson Makes The World Substantially Better, with collaborators Tim Key and Tim Minchin. He and Key were to link up again, together with Alex Horne, in oddball quiz show We Need Answers. His third Edinburgh show Can I Briefly Talk To You About The Point Of Life? sold out every night and he published his second novel, A Light-Hearted Look At Murder. He began the online environmental group Crap At The Environment and became a regular guest on Mock The Week.

In 2008, Mark completed a 37-date tour of Britain and a three-month Australasian tour which included sell-out runs at the Melbourne and New Zealand Festivals, and Best Show Awards at both the Adelaide and Sydney Festivals. In Melbourne, he performed for the first time his version of Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ lecture, to an audience of 1500 people.

The second series of Mark Watson Makes The World Substantially Better for Radio 4 was broadcast as well as Spike’s Lookalikes, a four-part sitcom which Mark wrote, staring Ardal O’Hanlon and Doon Mackinchan. He returned to Edinburgh with his sell out fourth solo show All the Thoughts I’ve Had Since I Was Born and launched his first non-fiction book Crap At The Environment.

In 2009, Mark filmed 2 series of his BBC4 quiz show We Need Answers, he hosted the NME Awards at Brixton Academy, starred in BBC1’s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, completed a 60 date tour of the UK, Melbourne and New Zealand and won a Fringe First for his interactive Edinburgh show The Hotel. Mark also had time to write “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” starring Ruth Jones which aired over  Christmas on BBC4. He hosted his own Five Live radio show £100 Million or Bust and hosted Nevermind The Buzzcocks.