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Phil Ellis
Born1982 (age 42–43)
Preston, England
OccupationStand-up comedian
Years active2008–present

Phil Ellis (born 1982[1][2]) is an English stand-up comedian from Preston, Lancashire.[3] In 2023, his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality,[4] and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award.[5] He will be a contestant in the 20th series of Taskmaster.[6]

Career

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Ellis was born in Preston, Lancashire. His interest in comedy began as a child when he would ask his mother for comedy VHS tapes which she would buy from the Asda she worked at as she had an employee discount.[7] He watched shows like Bottom and The Young Ones, The League of Gentlemen and Red Dwarf and comedians such as Rik Mayall, Bob Mortimer, Sean Lock and Lee Mack are some of his influences.[7][8] He went to the University of Staffordshire with a level three degree in media and production and worked at an airbag factory.[7][8]

Ellis's TV appearances include The Russell Howard Hour, Drunk History (UK), Roast Battle, The Tez O'Clock Show, and Redknapp's Big Night Out.[9] Ellis's wrote and starred in three series of his own BBC Radio 4 show, Phil Ellis is Trying,[10] and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe every year since 2013.[11] He won the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel prize in 2014 for Funz and Gamez, a children's game show with adult jokes.[12] In his shows he is known for making up lies about his personal life, for example in his 2013 show Phil Ellis: Unplanned Orphan, one of the main premises of the show was that his parents told him at age thirty that he was adopted and in another more recent show spoke about his two children, when in reality neither are these things are true as he isn't adopted and doesn't even have children.[13]

In 2023, his Edinburgh Fringe show Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award.[4] Ellis was announced as a contestant of the 20th series of Taskmaster in 2025 along with Ania Magliano, Maisie Adam, Reece Shearsmith and Sanjeev Bhaskar.[14]

Reception

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Ellis' shows at the Edinburgh Fringe have received many positive reviews. He was described by The Guardian as "a helter-skelter hour of fun".[15] Broadway Baby as "one of the finest and funniest comedians in the UK today" in 2023 and The Skinny called him a "conductor of chaos" in a 2024 review.[16][17]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Note
2010 Phil's III Writer [18]
2012 The Tape Face Tapes Various Television movie[18]
2015 BBC Comedy Feeds Writer and associate producer One episode[18]
2016 Drunk History Phil One episode[18]
2017 Born Silly Writer [18]
2018 Life Lessons Phil One episode[18]
2020 There She Goes Captain Banana Crackers One episode[18]
2021 Back Chat Hans One episode, voice only[18]
2025 Taskmaster Himself Upcoming release/ set to air in late 2025[6][14]

Edinburgh fringe shows

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  • 2008 — Phil Ellis: Why I Bathe In Ajax[19][20]
  • 2011 — Comx[19][21]
  • 2013 — Phil Ellis: Unplanned Orphan[19][22]
  • 2014 — Funz And Gamez[19][23]
  • 2015 — Funz And Gamez Tooz[19][24]
  • 2016 — Phil Ellis Is Alone Together (But Mostly Alone)[19][25]
  • 2017 — Phil Ellis Has Been On Ice[19][26]
  • 2018 — Phil Ellis Is Ready For The Big Time[19][27]
  • 2019 — Phil Ellis: An Revoir[19][28]
  • 2022 — Phil Ellis: Hedgehog[19][29]
  • 2023 — Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show[19][30]
  • 2024 — Phil Ellis: Come On And Take The Rest Of Me[19][31]
  • 2025 — Phil Ellis: Soppy Stern[19][32]

References

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  1. ^ "Phil Ellis: Come On and Take The Rest of Me – Squirrel Comedy". 16 August 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  2. ^ Guide, British Comedy (24 July 2023). "Phil Ellis: Top 10 Edinburgh Festival survival tips". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  3. ^ "Phil Ellis: Short on Wikipedia, Long on Fun". 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Malcolm Hardee Awards 2023 winners". British Comedy Guide. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  5. ^ Peel, Adrian (15 February 2024). "Phil Ellis: 'Stand-up is quite a social job, which is probably why it breeds so many alcoholics'". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Who's in Taskmaster Series 20". Chortle. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Murray, Andy (7 June 2024). "'If you get a laugh, then it's working' Comedian Phil Ellis talks to Northern Soul". Northern Soul. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b "An Interview with Comedian, Phil Ellis". Yorkshire Theatre Guide. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Phil Ellis". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Phil Ellis". Avalon. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Phil Ellis". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  12. ^ Logan, Brian (26 August 2023). "Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show review – helter-skelter hour of fun". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  13. ^ Richard Herring (4 August 2024). Phil Ellis on Unplanned Orphan, and always having a twist in his shows - from RHLSTP 517. Retrieved 13 July 2025 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ a b "Taskmaster season 20 cast confirmed with Inside No. 9 and Unforgotten stars | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  15. ^ Logan, Brian (26 August 2023). "Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show review – helter-skelter hour of fun". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Edinburgh Fringe review: Phil Ellis @ Monkey Barrel - The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show: 5 star review by James Macfarlane". broadwaybaby.com. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h "Phil Ellis | Actor, Writer, Producer". IMDb. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Phil Ellis, comedian tour dates : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  20. ^ "Phil Ellis: Why I Bathe In Ajax : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Comx : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Phil Ellis: Unplanned Orphan : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Funz And Gamez : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  24. ^ "Funz and Gamez Tooz : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  25. ^ "Phil Ellis is Alone Together (But Mostly Alone) : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  26. ^ "Phil Ellis Has Been on Ice : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  27. ^ "Phil Ellis Is Ready for the Big Time : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  28. ^ "Phil Ellis: Au Revoir : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  29. ^ "Phil Ellis: Hedgehog : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  30. ^ "Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  31. ^ "Phil Ellis: Come On and Take The Rest of Me : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  32. ^ "Phil Ellis: Soppy Stern : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2025.

Website

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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phil_Ellis&oldid=1300511136"