Tim Vine: TV Comedy

Tim is no stranger to TV  and has been seen on our screens in both series of ‘The Sketch Show’ (ITV1). The first series won a BAFTA award for best comedy, and alongside Lee Mack in ‘Not Going Out’ (BBC). Other credits include ‘The Royal Variety Performance’, ‘Jim Davidson Presents’ (both for BBC1) and Comic Relief’s Fame Academy (BBC1).

Beginnings

Tim made his first real attempts at stand-up comedy in 1991 at the Comedy Café in London. He began to attend the New Act competition nights regularly. While continuing to attend the café, he started to do numerous open spots in other clubs throughout 1992. In 1993 he came second in the Hackney Empire New Act competition, gave up his office job in Croydon and by 1994 he was a regular on the London comedy circuit. That year he made his first TV appearances on BBC Pebble Mill.

In 1995 his show ‘The Tim Vine Fiasco’ won him the Perrier Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Festival. He hosted the morning game show ‘Housemates’ on BBC One the same year (25 episodes).

Comedy Tour

Tim toured the UK with his own show ‘The Joke Machine Gun Tour’. Which was hugely successful, and was shortly followed by the release of his debut DVD ‘Tim Vine Live’. He has also been the host of “Fluke” (Channel 4 short listed for Montreux Golden Globe Award), his show ‘Whittle’ for Channel 5, ‘Housemates’ (BBC 1); and as well as his own show ‘The Tim Vine Christmas Present’ (Channel 5).

First For Channel 5

Tim was the first man ever to appear on Channel 5. Co-host of the first show they broadcast called ‘This is Five’; and guest host on ‘Not the Jack Docherty Show’ (Ch5).

Tim has also appeared on:

• Time Vine Travels In Time
• The Des O’Connor Show
• Saturday Live
• Talking Telephone Numbers
• The Stand up Show
• Call my Bluff
• Give us a Clue
• Night Fever

Television shows

Other TV shows appearances include BBC’s ‘Live at the Apollo’, ‘QI’, winning ‘Celebrity Mastermind’, hosting the ITV gameshow ‘Don’t Blow The Inheritance’, ‘Dave’s one night stand’ (Dave) a regular on ‘Celebrity Squares’ (ITV) and ‘Countdown”s Dictionary Corner (Channel 4). And for Comic relief he sang on ‘Fame Academy’, danced on ‘Let’s Dance’ as Justin Timberlake and even popped up in a Downton Abbey spoof with Victoria Wood. He’s also had fun on celebrity versions of ‘The Chase’, ‘Pointless’, ‘Tipping Point’ and ‘Catchphrase’ among others. And on Celebrity Total Wipeout filmed in Argentina he fell off everything!

Awards & touring

In 2000 Tim performed in the Royal Variety Show in front of Prince Charles. From 2001 to 2002 he appeared in two series of ITV’s ‘The Sketch Show’ which won a BAFTA. In 2004 he broke the Guinness world record for the most jokes told in an hour (499).  That year he hosted the prestigious Rose D’Or awards in Austria. In 2005 he returned to The Edinburgh festival and sold out his show ‘Current Puns.’ He followed it up with his next stand up show ‘Punslinger’ which he also took to Edinburgh and then toured. In 2006 he made his first feature film ‘Library Altitude Zero’ written, produced, directed and starring himself and some friends.

Sit-com

By now he was appearing in the award-winning sitcom ‘Not Going Out’ (BBC1) and did so for five series, from 2006 to 2012. Then he played Beach the Butler in series two of Blandings (BBC2) 2013. The Tim Vine Chat Show where Tim interviews members of the audience was a sell out at the Edinburgh festival in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It then successfully transferred to Radio 4 for two series and 3 specials including 2 christmas shows.

Tim Vine Stand Up

At home in stand up comedy, Tim is a regular at The Edinburgh Festival; and his sell out shows always receive rave reviews. Of his show ‘I’m Vine thanks!‘, Scotland on Sunday said “he’s magnificent and like no-one else in Edinburgh”. Tim received critical acclaim for his shows at the Montreal ‘Just for Laughs’ comedy festival and also won the ‘Best Newcomer Award’ at the Perrier Awards in 1995. Total sell out at the Edinburgh festival is now on tour; feel the electricity as plastic Elvis hits the stage backed by his incredible five piece the High Noon Band.

DVD’s

His stand-up shows have all been filmed and there are five DVD’s of these shows: Tim Vine Live (2004), So I Said To This Bloke (2006), Punslinger (2008), The Jokeamotive (2009), and ‘Tim Timinee Tim Timinee, Tim, Tim, to you’ (2016). His latest show ‘Sunset Milk Idiot’ is due to be released on DVD in Autumn 2019. Tim Also has released two books ‘The Tim Vine Joke Book’ (2010) and ‘The Tim Vine Bumper Book of Silliness’ (2013).

One Liners

I went down to my local ice cream shop, and said ‘I want to buy an ice cream’. He said ‘Hundreds & thousands?’ I said ‘We’ll start with one’.

Tim’s comedy material is simple, hilarious and award winning. He has twice won the sought after prize, for the funniest joke at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. First in 2010 with “I’ve just been on a once in a lifetime holiday… I’ll tell you what, never again” and in 2014 with the joke “I decided to sell my Hoover… Well it was just collecting dust”.

Tim won second prize in the same competition in 2011 for “Crime in multi-storey car parks… That’s wrong on so many levels”. Again coming second in 2012 with the joke “Last night me and my girlfriend watched three DVDs back to back… Luckily I was the one facing the telly”.

Tim Vine Corporate Comedy

Tim has entertained many blue chip companies around the world. With his uniquely silly comic style and is always in demand for after dinner speaking, award hosting and presentations.

He has appeared in seven pantomimes and his stand-up has been performed as far afield as The Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia as well as Montreal, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, USA and China