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Micky Flanagan
Flanagan in 2010
Birth nameMichael John Flanagan
Born (1962-10-07) 7 October 1962 (age 62)[1]
Whitechapel, London, England
MediumTelevision, radio, stand-up
Years active1997–present
Websitemickyflanagan.com

Michael John Flanagan (born 7 October 1962[2]) is an English comedian. Flanagan has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and toured Britain with stand-up shows. He presented Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change? for Radio 4 and has appeared on various TV shows including Mock the Week, A League of Their Own, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Was It Something I Said?, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow and I Love My Country.

Early life and career

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Flanagan was born in Whitechapel, East London,[citation needed] and grew up in Bethnal Green.[3] His father, Jim Flanagan, who worked as a welder and latterly as a fish porter, came from County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.[4] His father was involved in petty crime, and served a short prison sentence as a result.[4]

Flanagan was a sensitive and thoughtful child, and keen to leave the East End of London.[4] At the age of thirteen, he joined the Young Socialists.[4] Flanagan was a bright student, but became disengaged with schoolwork, and began to truant.[4] He left school at the age of fifteen with no qualifications.[5]

Through his father, he got his first job as a fish porter at Billingsgate Fish Market.[4] In 1981, he spent the summer on Fire Island, New York, where he worked as a kitchen porter.[4]

Flanagan returned to London and worked as a furniture maker for several years.[6][7] His business failed and he returned to Fire Island for another summer.[4]

Flanagan resumed education at the age of 25, beginning with a GCSE in English[8] and going on to a foundation course in Arts and Social Sciences and a degree at City University, which he began aged 29.[6][7]

Flanagan went on to train as a teacher by taking the Postgraduate Certificate in Education,[when?][9] but decided not to pursue teaching as a career, later describing the experience as "the unhappiest year of my life ... everything that was wrong about the school system when I was young was still the same".[6]

Comedy career

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Flanagan became a professional comedian in 1997[10] after attending a comedy course at Jacksons Lane, north London, in 1996.[6]

In 2001 he performed in the Big Value Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe as one of four headline acts,[11] and in 2003 co-headlined a show with Nina Conti.[12] In January 2003 he was performing at Balham's Banana Cabaret, alongside Jimmy Carr, [13] and The Bearcat Comedy Club, alongside Stephen K. Amos. [14]

He performed his first full-length solo show, What Chance Change? in 2006,[6] and in 2007 was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[15] He toured Great Britain with The Out Out Tour in 2010/2011.[16][17]

Flanagan was a regular performer on Out to Lunch on Radio 2 in 2008,[18] and appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow in 2009.[19] In 2010 he presented a four-part series for Radio 4 entitled Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?,[20] and performed on Live at the Apollo,[21] Stand Up for the Week[22] and the Royal Variety Performance.[23] He appeared on Mock the Week in 2010[24] and made further appearances in 2011.[25][26] He was a panellist on the BBC1 game show Epic Win, which was broadcast in August and September 2011.[27]

In 2009, Flanagan's agent lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority claiming that a television commercial for directory enquiries service 118 118 was using his "out out" catchphrase and skit.[19] The skit, performed on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, is based on the idea that people have different levels of going out, with "out out" referring to a big night out. The commercial featured an animated character using the phrase in a nightclub setting. The ASA acknowledged the similarity but said it was beyond its remit to take action.[19]

In 2011 Flanagan signed a deal with Ebury Publishing to write his autobiography.[28] He appeared in a celebrity version of The Chase, hosted by Bradley Walsh.

In 2012 he starred alongside Mark Watson and host Mark Dolan as a captain on the Channel 4 advertising-based comedy panel programme The Mad Bad Ad Show.[29] On 7 June 2013, he appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Dan Stevens, Hayden Panettiere, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. He was a team captain, alongside Frank Skinner on the BBC One comedy series I Love My Country, which is hosted by Gabby Logan.[citation needed] Additionally, he was a team captain on Channel 4 comedy panel show Was It Something I Said?.

In 2015 he took a year's sabbatical, citing work-related stress and a need to relax.[4]

Micky's sell-out tour 'An Another Fing...' was the biggest comedy event of 2017 playing to over 600,000 people across the UK and Ireland, breaking box office records across the UK. The DVD was recorded live at The O2 in London.

The Evening Standard described it as 'Comedy Par Excellence' and The Guardian stated 'he's the country's most popular comic and, by some measure, its most popular entertainer, full stop.'

Personal life

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Flanagan and his wife, Cathy, have one son.[30]

Flanagan retains a London base in East Dulwich but lives primarily in the Hampshire countryside.[31][32]

Stand-up tours

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Year Title DVD Release Filming Location Tour Dates
2010–2011 Live: The Out Out Tour 14 November 2011 Live at Southend's Cliffs Pavilion 82 dates
2013 Back in the Game Live 18 November 2013 Live at London's Hackney Empire 58 dates
2017 An' Another Fing Live 20 November 2017 Live at London's O2 Arena 43 dates
2023–2024 If We Ever Needed It.. TBC

References

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  1. ^ Dessau, Bruce (14 September 2013). "Micky Flanagan talks to Bruce Dessau about turning 50 and his latest show". Waltham Forest Guardian. Newsquest. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  2. ^ Profile, findmypast.co.uk; accessed 31 December 2017.
  3. ^ Fishwick, Samuel (18 November 2014). "Are you going out out? Micky Flanagan, Clean Bandit and the Plebs cast". Evening Standard.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Micky Flanagan, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (Nov 2017)
  5. ^ Crampton, Robert (22 November 2014). "Micky Flanagan: class act". The Times.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hay, Malcolm (7 August 2006). "Micky Flanagan: Interview". Time Out. London. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  7. ^ a b Holland, Jessica (9 April 2009). "Interview with comedian Micky Flanagan". The London Paper. Retrieved 12 September 2010. [dead link]
  8. ^ Burrell, Ian (20 November 2011). "Micky Flanagan: The ragged-trousered controversialist". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  9. ^ Fleckney, Paul (15 February 2007). "Cockney charmer". Surrey Comet. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Micky Flanagan". Comedy Central (UK). Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  11. ^ "Big Value Comedy Show ... Early". Chortle. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  12. ^ "Nina Conti and Micky Flanagan". Chortle. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  13. ^ "Comedy listings until January 30". News Shopper. 24 January 2003. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Comedy listings until February 20". News Shopper. 14 February 2003. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  15. ^ Smith, Alistair (22 August 2007). "Edinburgh's If.Comedy Awards shortlist announced". The Stage. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  16. ^ Burgess, Marissa (28 January 2011). "Interview: Micky Flanagan". City Life. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Micky Flanagan: The Out Out Tour". Chortle. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  18. ^ "Programme Information". BBC Press Office. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  19. ^ a b c Sweeney, Mark (12 November 2009). "118 118 lifted my catchphrase, says comedian Micky Flanagan". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  20. ^ "Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  21. ^ "Live at the Apollo". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Stand Up for the Week". Channel4.com. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  23. ^ "The Royal Variety Performance". BBC Online. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  24. ^ "Mock the Week Series 9 Episode 3". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
  25. ^ "Mock the Week Series 10 Episode 4". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  26. ^ "Mock the Week Series 10 Episode 5". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  27. ^ "Epic Win". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  28. ^ Neill, Graeme (12 August 2011). "Ebury buys Micky Flanagan memoir". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  29. ^ "The Mad Bad Ad Show, coming soon to Channel 4" (Press release). Channel 4 Press. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  30. ^ Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker, BBC Two, 21 December 2011
  31. ^ Miranda Sawyer (5 June 2010). "Breaking news; The Reith Lectures; Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?". Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  32. ^ "Micky Flanagan quits London for £1.5million Hampshire mansion". 24 May 2022.
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