Sean Lock

Sean Lock
Sean Lock at The Hexagon, Reading, 2008.
Born	(1963-04-22) 22 April 1963 Chertsey, Surrey, England
Medium	Television Stand-up
Nationality	British
Years active	1993–present
Genres	Observational comedy Surreal humour
Subject(s)	British culture Current events Human interaction
Notable works and roles	15 Storeys High 8 Out of 10 Cats TV Heaven, Telly Hell QI Argumental
Template:Infobox comedian awards

Sean Lock (born 22 April 1963) is an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian. He won the British Comedy Award in 2000 in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. He is also well known for his appearances on television and radio. He has written material for such comics as Bill Bailey, Lee Evans and Mark Lamarr and was voted the 55th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups in 2007 and again in the updated 2010 list as the 19th greatest stand-up comic.

Early life and career

Lock attended St. John the Baptist Secondary School, Woking. Prior to becoming a comedian, he was a labourer on building sites. During this time, he developed skin cancer. His first television appearance was in 1993, when he appeared in a supporting role alongside Rob Newman and David Baddiel in their TV show Newman and Baddiel in Pieces. He toured with the duo as their support act and, as a result, became the first comedian to perform at Wembley Arena. Newman and Baddiel were widely promoted as being the first comedians to have performed at Wembley but, in his capacity as their warm-up, Lock technically takes this honour. However, Lock has conceded the honour to the duo on several occasions, including on the BBC Radio 4 show Loose Ends.

In June 2012, during an interview with Richard Herring for one of Herring's podcasts, David Baddiel commented on the notion that Lock was the first comedian to play Wembley, calling it "bollocks" and stating that Lock was part of sketches that broke up the show, implying that he didn't actually perform a warm-up set at Wembley.

In 1995, Lock played an escaped murderer in an episode of The World of Lee Evans, alongside Lee Evans and Phil Daniels.

15 Minutes of Misery and 15 Storeys High

Lock made regular appearances on various radio panel shows, script-edited for Bill Bailey's 1998 BBC2 series, Is It Bill Bailey? and had his own show on BBC Radio, 15 Minutes of Misery.

As the title suggested, these shows filled a 15-minute time-slot and also featured Kevin Eldon and Hattie Hayridge. The premise involved Lock eavesdropping on his neighbours in his South London tower block (all played by Lock, Eldon and Hayridge) using a bugging device fitted by his plumber, "Hot Bob" (Eldon), which was known as "The Bugger King" (and had "nothing to do with meat or sex").

15 Minutes of Misery lasted for one series of six programmes in late 1998 and early 1999, and would later be expanded into the half-hour series 15 Storeys High. From ostensibly the same tower block, Lock's character was now given a flatmate (the hapless Errol) and a job at the local swimming baths, as well as a somewhat dour and intolerant demeanour.

The bugging device was no longer used, but the antics of Lock's neighbours still featured heavily in the show. The plots for this series were more linear in a "traditional" sitcom style, although they still showed Lock's brand of dark, surreal humour.

15 Storeys High would transfer to television after two radio series, with Lock's character renamed 'Vince', for a further two series in 2002 and 2004.

Other work

Lock wrote the screenplay for Andrew Kötting's 2001 feature film This Filthy Earth, based on the novel La Terre by Émile Zola.

In 2004, Lock had a guest appearance in television's first ever "dope opera", Top Buzzer, written by Johnny Vaughan. In 2005 he became a regular team captain on the panel game 8 Out of 10 Cats.

In spring 2006, he hosted his own entertainment show on Channel 4 called TV Heaven, Telly Hell. Lock narrated for the BBC production World Cup Goals Galore in 2006. In 2008 he appeared on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, on a team with James Corden. Lock has also appeared on many popular British TV panel shows including Have I Got News for You, QI and They Think It's All Over. Lock has become "The Curator" for the second radio series of The Museum of Curiosity, in 2009, taking over from Bill Bailey.

In 2010, Lock took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena. He has also appeared in a spoof video produced by Shelter, the housing charity, to highlight the problem of rogue landlords. In 2011, Sean Lock took over from John Sergeant as the host of Dave comedy panel show, Argumental.

Before going into comedy Lock drifted through a series of odd jobs including six weeks spent as a goatherd for a hippie in the mountains of central France.

Personal life

Lock recently moved to Lewes, East Sussex and lives with his partner and their three children, two daughters and a son. He is a fan of Chelsea football club. He is a lapsed Catholic and an atheist.

Stand-Up DVDs

Title	Released	Notes
Live	17 November 2008	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
Lockipedia Live	22 November 2010	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
Purple Van Man	18 November 2013	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo

External links

• Sean Lock at IMDb
• Sean Lock writes the foreword for the novel Nappy Rash by Mark Kotting on Wrecking Ball Press ISBN 1-903110-16-5
• ShortList.com – Exclusive Sean Lock Interview 2008-12-12