Tim Key

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Roles:

Contestant, Guest

Biography

Timothy David Key (born on 2 September 1976) is an English actor, writer, and comedic performance poet.

Key was first noticed in the Cambridge Footlights production Far Too Happy at the Edinburgh Fringe, and was nominated for a Perrier Award for Best Newcomer.

In 2003 he returned to Edinburgh directing (with Mark Watson) a sketch show, Non-Sexual Kissing, and performing in Alex Horne’s Making Fish Laugh.

In 2004, he took Luke & Stella, a one-man comedy play, to Edinburgh. He also performed in Alex Horne’s Every Body Talks and Mark Watson’s 24-hour show.

In 2005, he took the four-man sketch group Cowards to Edinburgh, and also performed in Alex Horne’s When In Rome and Mark Watson’s 2005 minute show. The same year, he was commissioned to write a radio show, All Bar Luke, for BBC Radio 4, based on his stage show Luke & Stella.

In 2006, Cowards returned to Edinburgh and Key performed in Mark Watson’s 36-hour show. He also worked on Armando Iannucci’s sketch show Time Trumpet.

In 2007, Key took his first solo poetry show, The Slut in the Hut, to Edinburgh. In this year We Need Answers also debuted, with Key and co-hosts Mark Watson and Alex Horne running a quiz to find the smartest comedian. Key also starred in Mark Watson’s 24-hour jamboree.

In 2008, Key performed Freeze with Tom Basden in Edinburgh.

In 2007 and 2008 there were two series of Cowards on BBC Radio 4. In 2009 a TV series of Cowards was produced for BBC Four.

In 2007 and 2008 Key performed poetry on Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe. In 2009 and 2010 he performed poetry on the spin-off series Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe.

In 2008 and 2009, Key was resident poet on the radio show Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better on BBC Radio 4.

In 2009 Key took his second solo poetry show The Slutcracker to Edinburgh. He additionally starred in a radio sitcom Party, written by Tom Basden, and featured in Mark Watson’s final 24-hour show. He also co-created (with Mark Watson and Alex Horne) a TV version of We Need Answers, for BBC Four.

In 2010, Key brought The Slutcracker to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He also appeared as Sidekick Simon alongside Steve Coogan on Mid Morning Matters, an online series based on Coogan’s Alan Partridge character.

In 2011, Key returned to Edinburgh with Masterslut. He was also one of the contestants in Taskmaster II, an Edinburgh show in which Alex Horne challenged comedians to complete numerous tasks for points. He returned to BBC Radio 4 with Mark Watson and Tom Basden for a six-week run of Mark Watson’s Live Address To The Nation. The same year, he presented his first documentary for BBC Radio 4, Timothy Key’s Suspended Sentence.

In 2012, he reunited with Tom Basden for Timothy Key’s Late Night Poetry Programme on BBC Radio 4. His second documentary for Radio 4, Timothy Key and Gogol’s Overcoat, also aired in 2012.

In 2014 Key performed Single White Slut in the Pleasance Grand, played Ian in the Inside No. 9 episode Sardines, and also appeared in season 2 of Plebs.

In 2015 he appeared as a panelist on the first series of Dave’s Taskmaster (for which he continues to be credited as a Task Consultant). He also appeared as Jerry in the final series of Peep Show.

In 2016 he appeared in the thriller comedy miniseries Stag, and presented another documentary for BBC Radio 4 entitled Timothy Key Delves Into Daniil Kharms And That’s All.

In 2017, Key starred in E4’s comedy-drama series Gap Year. In 2018 he appeared in the final series of the sitcom Detectorists.

In 2019, Key returned as Sidekick Simon in the BBC series This Time With Alan Partridge, and appeared in an episode of The End of the F***ing World as a motel owner.

[Source: Wikipedia, 01/03/2021.]