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Sarah Millican

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Sarah Millican
Millican in 2010
Birth nameSarah Jane King
Born (1975-05-29) 29 May 1975 (age 49)
South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England
MediumRadio, stand-up, television
NationalityBritish
Years active2004–present
GenresObservational comedy
Subject(s)Relationships, body image, television
Spouse
Andrew Millican
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2004)​
​
(m. 2013)​
Websitewww.sarahmillican.co.uk

Sarah Jane Millican (née King;[1] born 29 May 1975[2]) is an English comedian, writer and presenter. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[3] In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Radio 4's Woman's Hour,[4] and in the same year she married fellow comedian Gary Delaney. Her first book, How to Be Champion, was published in 2017. Millican has performed on various tours, mainly across the United Kingdom, over the years.

Early life

[edit]

Millican was born and brought up in South Shields, England, the daughter of Valerie Prince and Philip D. King, who was a mining electrician. She attended Mortimer Comprehensive School, later to become Mortimer Community College,[5] and then worked as a civil servant at a job centre until the age of 29.[6] She was married on 5 November 1997[7] but divorced in 2004 and moved back in with her parents for two and a half years.

Career

[edit]

Millican's debut Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Sarah Millican's Not Nice, inspired by her divorce, won the if.comedy award for Best Newcomer in 2008.[8] In spring 2009, she began previewing her second Edinburgh show, attracting enthusiastic reviews for her material on the battle of the sexes.[9][10] Newcastle newspaper The Journal praised Millican's "sharp observations of gender-led behaviour".[11] Her third show, Chatterbox, was hosted by the Stand Comedy Club[12] during Fringe 2010.[13] The show was nominated for the main Edinburgh Comedy Award, losing to Russell Kane.[14]

Millican has appeared as a panellist on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week, You Have Been Watching, Would I Lie to You?, QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and as a performer at The Secret Policeman's Ball 2008 and on 4 Stands Up. She has also appeared a few times as a contestant on the Channel 4 crossover game show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She was featured in the Manchester edition of Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, which was broadcast in June 2009,[15] made an appearance on the third episode of David Mitchell's panel show The Bubble in March 2010,[16] and has been a guest on six episodes of Frank Skinner's Opinionated.

She provided vocal work to the BBC's natural history footage for Walk on the Wild Side, alongside fellow comics Rhod Gilbert, Jon Richardson, Isy Suttie and Gavin Webster.[17] She appeared on Live at the Apollo on 11 December 2009, and headlined Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, recorded at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland on 15 August 2010.[13] Millican also headlined the fourth episode of Dave's One Night Stand.[18]

Her radio series, Sarah Millican's Support Group, began broadcasting on 18 February 2010 on BBC Radio 4.[19] The format is that studio audience members are encouraged to share problems with her agony aunt character for her to offer tips "in the same way as the busybody at the end of your street who knows everything and dishes out advice whether you want to hear it or not does". Some problems are scripted, the roles being played by guest actors, while others come from real people in the audience, to allow Sarah to improvise. Audience member problems have included "My boyfriend prefers his Blackberry to me". A pair of "therapists", also played by actors, feature in each week's show and provide scripted and improvised responses to all the "problems".[20] A second series debuted on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 2 May 2011.[21]

She was a regular co-host of the satirical news show 7 Day Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Live, along with comedians Chris Addison, Andy Zaltzman and one different guest each week. The first episode aired in January 2010; she and Addison left the show on 27 February 2011.

In December 2011, she voiced three Viz "Comedy Blaps" alongside Steve Coogan, Simon Greenall and Gavin Webster for Channel 4.[22]

Also in 2011, Millican became a panellist on the ITV programme The Marriage Ref and joined the panel on ITV daytime chat show Loose Women, leaving the series in August. She was also a guest on several other panel and chat shows. A live DVD of her Chatterbox tour was released in November 2011 by Channel 4.[23] The Chatterbox DVD went on to break an all-time record in sales for a female stand-up comedian selling 172,000 copies in just over one month.[24]

Millican's television series, The Sarah Millican Television Programme, was first broadcast on 8 March 2012 on BBC Two. In November 2012, she released a follow-up live DVD, Thoroughly Modern Millican. In early January 2013, she appeared for a couple of nights on The One Show. On 15 January 2013, she began presenting a second series of The Sarah Millican Television Programme. Millican was nominated for 2013 and 2014 BAFTA Entertainment Performance awards for her work in The Sarah Millican Television Programme.[25]

Millican appeared in a celebrity episode of Deal or No Deal broadcast on 29 April 2012, where she won £20,000 for charity. She had £100,000 in her box. Also, on the 10th anniversary of the programme, she hosted while regular host Noel Edmonds played for charity. He won £26,000.

In September 2014, Millican founded Standard Issue, an online magazine for women, which was followed up by a spinoff podcast in February 2016.[26][27]

Millican also participated in BBC's Comic Relief 2015, appearing as a host during the live broadcast on Friday 13 March 2015.

In May 2015, it was announced that Millican would be made the eighth "curator" of The Museum of Curiosity, co-presenting the eighth series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series.[28]

Millican's autobiography, How to be Champion, was published in October 2017.[29] Dates were later announced for her 2018 UK tour, Control Enthusiast, which was later extended into Oceania and Canada.

In 2019, Millican began presenting the comedy panel show Elephant in the Room for BBC Radio 4.[30][31] The show focuses on the panellists being asked about various life experiences and testing who is closest and farthest from the national average, and Millican has said that she wishes to defy typical panel show gender ratios on the show by having "three champion women and one smashing male".

In November 2019, Millican began a YouTube channel, uploading clips from her stand-up shows and The Sarah Millican Television Programme as well as interviews from other shows. As of November 2022 the channel has accumulated over 65 million views and 400,000 subscribers.[32] In lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Millican began uploading a series of videos entitled "How to Be Champion Storytime" in which she read a section of her autobiography every day.[33] In 2021 she began touring the UK with her sixth stand-up show, Bobby Dazzler. A live recording of the show was released exclusively via her website in February 2023.[34]

In June 2022, Millican was confirmed as a contestant in the 14th season of Taskmaster, airing in September 2022.[35] In November of that year she also announced her new tour, Late Bloomer, which is expected to run for over 100 shows from September 2023 to October 2024.[36]

Personal life

[edit]

After her husband left her unexpectedly in 2004,[37] Millican found solace in attending writing workshops in local theatres, such as at Newcastle's Live Theatre and the Customs House in South Shields. Jokes about her failed marriage initially formed the majority of Millican's comedy material.[38]

She began a relationship with fellow stand-up comic Gary Delaney in 2006.[39] The couple moved in together and married in December 2013.[39]

Stand-up shows

[edit]
Year Title Notes
2010–11 Chatterbox
2011–12 Thoroughly Modern Millican
2013–14 Home Bird
2015–16 Outsider
2018 Control Enthusiast
2021–22 Bobby Dazzler
2023–24 Late Bloomer

DVD releases

[edit]
Title Released Notes
Chatterbox Live 21 November 2011 Live at London's Bloomsbury Theatre
Live - Thoroughly Modern Millican 12 November 2012 Live at London's Hammersmith Apollo
Home Bird Live 17 November 2014 Live at Newcastle's Tyne Theatre and Opera House
Outsider Live 21 November 2016 Live at Brighton's Dome
Control Enthusiast Live 3 December 2018 Live at Birmingham's Symphony Hall
Bobby Dazzler Live 10 February 2023 Live at Dartford's Orchard Theatre

Bibliography

[edit]
  • How to be Champion (Trapeze, 2017) ISBN 9781409174301

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
2005 So You Think You're Funny? Herself Runner-up [40]
BBC New Comedy Award Runner-up [41]
Funny Women Award Runner-up [42]
Amused Moose Comedy Award Won [43]
2006 Chortle Awards Best Newcomer Nominated [44]
2007 North West Comedy Awards Best Breakthrough Act Won [45]
2008 If.Comedy Awards Best Newcomer Sarah Millican's Not Nice Won [46]
2009 Chortle Awards Breakthrough Act Herself Won [47]
Barry Award Sarah Millican's Not Nice Nominated [48]
2010 Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Comedy Show Chatterbox Nominated [14]
Chortle Awards Best Headliner Herself Won [49]
British Comedy Awards Best Female Television Comic Nominated [50]
Best Female Comedy Breakthrough Artist Nominated
2011 Best Female Television Comic Nominated [51]
King/Queen of Comedy Won
2012 Best Female Television Comic Nominated [52]
King/Queen of Comedy Nominated
2013 Best Female Television Comic Nominated [53]
King/Queen of Comedy Nominated
British Academy Television Awards Entertainment Performance The Sarah Millican Television Programme Nominated [54]
2014 Nominated [55]

In February 2013 Millican was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Who Do You Think You Are?, BBC TV, broadcast 11 September 2013.
  2. ^ Millican, Sarah [@SarahMillican75] (29 May 2017). "I know it's early but IT'S MY BIRTHDAY. These beautiful flowers are from my husband. 42 today and beaming" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 September 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Mickey Noonan (13 October 2008). "Sarah Millican isn't resting on her laurels". Metro. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b "The Power List 2013". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Sarah Millican profile". BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  6. ^ Funny Girl: Sarah Millican in The Independent Archived 7 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 27 June 2015
  7. ^ "Sarah Millican & Her Husband Met In The Most Comedy Way". Bustle. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. ^ Tim Arthur (10 December 2008). "Sarah Millican: interview". Time Out. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  9. ^ David Durkin and Sarah Newman (6 May 2009). "What you thought of Liverpool's comedy festival: Sarah Millican, Justin Moorhouse and Drink Up Stand Up". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  10. ^ Victoria Nangle (21 July 2009). "Review of the week: Sarah Millican – Typical Woman". Latest 7. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011.
  11. ^ Sam Wonfor (1 August 2009). "Sarah Millican: Typical Woman, Live Theatre". The Journal. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
  12. ^ Richard Herring (14 August 2013). "Richard Herring's Edinburgh Fringe Podcast" (Podcast). Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  13. ^ a b Wonfor, Sam (11 August 2010). "Sarah Millican leads the comedy pack home". The Journal. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  14. ^ a b "Two women make the shortlist". Chortle. 25 August 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  15. ^ "New comedy tops bill on BBC One this summer with Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow". BBC. 23 April 2009. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  16. ^ "The Bubble, a brand-new comedy news quiz on BBC Two". BBC. 2 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Interview: Sarah Millican's stand-up is in the worst possible taste". The Scotsman. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  18. ^ Ian Wolf. "Episode 1.4". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  19. ^ "R4 Sarah Millican's Support Group". BBC Press Office. 18 February 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  20. ^ "R4 series for Millican". Chortle. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  21. ^ "Sarah Millican's Support Group". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  22. ^ Henderson, Steve (12 December 2011). "Viz Animation – "Blap" to basics". Skwigly. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  23. ^ "Sarah Millican signs DVD deal". Chortle. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  24. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (21 December 2011). "Sarah Millican reflects on her remarkable DVD sales success". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  25. ^ "Television in 2013". BAFTA. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Standard Issue - About us". Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Standard Issue Podcast Episode 1 - Acast.com". Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  28. ^ Dessau, Bruce (6 May 2015). "News: Sarah Millican Curates Museum". Beyond the Joke. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Sarah Millican: How to be Champion". Orion Books. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  30. ^ Solutions, Powder Blue Internet Business. "Sarah Millican to host a female-led panel show : News 2019 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2019. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ "Elephant In The Room - Radio 4 Panel Show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Sarah Millican". YouTube. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  33. ^ "How To Be Champion Storytime". Sarah Millican's Official Website. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  34. ^ "My Brand-New Bobby Dazzler Special - TRAILER". YouTube. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  35. ^ "Dara Ó Briain, Sarah Millican & more confirmed for Taskmaster season 14". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  36. ^ "Sarah Millican announces mammoth Late Bloomer tour". Chortle. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  37. ^ Gilbert, Gerard (2 March 2012). "Funny girl: Sarah Millican on comedy, money and marriage". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014.
  38. ^ Chitra Ramaswamy (10 August 2008). "Sarah Millican preview". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  39. ^ a b Sarah Millican marries Gary Delaney
  40. ^ "Finalists & Runners up". So You Think You're Funny?. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2017 – via Wayback Machine.Free access icon
  41. ^ "22-year-old newcomer scoops this year's BBC Talent New Comedy Award". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  42. ^ "Funny Women Awards". British Comedy Guide. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  43. ^ https://www.amusedmoose.com/amused-moose-comedy-awards/amused-moose-comedy-award-2005/ Amused Moose Comedy Award 2005
  44. ^ "Kitson's Big 4: Daniel Triumphs at Chortle Awards". Chortle. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  45. ^ "The Northwest Comedy Awards". Manchester Confidential. 27 January 2007. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
  46. ^ Dickson, Andrew. "Edinburgh festival: David O'Doherty wins if.comedy prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  47. ^ "Chortle Awards". Chortle. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  48. ^ "Nominations Announced For The 12th Annual Barry Awards". Australian Stage. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  49. ^ Logan, Brian. "Chortle awards: did we strike comedy gold?". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  50. ^ "Past Winners - 2010". British Comedy Awards. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  51. ^ "Past Winners - 2011". British Comedy Awards. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  52. ^ "Past Winners - 2012". British Comedy Awards. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  53. ^ "Past Winners - 2013". British Comedy Awards. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  54. ^ "Bafta TV awards 2013: List of winners". BBC News. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  55. ^ "BAFTA Television Awards 2014: All the winners". Digital Spy. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
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