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Lee Ridley (comedian)

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Lee Ridley
Lost Voice Guy performing stand-up at the Northern Stage, Newcastle
PseudonymLost Voice Guy
Born (1980-12-31) 31 December 1980 (age 43)
Consett, County Durham, England [1]
MediumStand-up, television
NationalityEnglish
Years active2012–present
GenresImprovisational comedy, observational comedy
Notable works and rolesBritain's Got Talent (2018)

America's Got Talent: The Champions (2019)

Britain's Got Talent: The Champions (2019)
WebsiteOfficial website

Lee Ridley (born 31 December 1980[2]), better known by his stage name the Lost Voice Guy, is an English stand-up comedian. Disabled since early life, and unable to speak, in June 2018 he won the 12th series of Britain's Got Talent.[3]

Early life

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Ridley is originally from Consett, County Durham.[1] At the age of six months he was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy, brought about by a brain infection that left him in a coma for two months, which affected his movement and rendered him unable to speak.[4][5] His disability in early life made it difficult for him to communicate with people, until the age of eight, when he received his first communication device.[citation needed]

Ridley attended Percy Hedley School for disabled children,[6][7] in Newcastle, until 12, then, until 16, the Barbara Priestman Academy[8][9][10] for autistic children, and the mainstream school, Thornhill Academy, in Sunderland.[11][12]

Between 1999 and 2002, he studied journalism and online journalism at the University of Central Lancashire,[13] achieving an undergraduate degree in the former, and a master's degree in the latter.

Career

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In 2006, he worked as a journalist with the BBC and local newspapers,[14] before taking on the role of online content manager for the city of Sunderland in 2007.[15]

In 2011, he worked as an online journalist for the Sunderland City Council media team[16] and freelanced for dance and entertainment magazines and web sites.[17][18]

Ridley began performing comedy in 2012.[19]

His decision to perform standup himself came in the aftermath of a show by Ross Noble, after which Ridley encountered the comedian and challenged him on the quality of Noble's impersonation of Stephen Hawking,[5] claiming he could do a far better impersonation of the renowned physicist.[20] To formulate his routines, Ridley purchased an iPad Text to Speech app called Speak It!,[21] which he pre-programmed with sentences based on material he created.[22][23] Following his first show, Ridley adapted his routine by selecting material that had received favourable audience reaction, and adopting a style of improvisation in which he occasionally created new material onstage through his synthesiser in real time.[5] His first successful show was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013,[22] but he was forced to cut this short after he developed pneumonia.[24]

In 2014, Ridley won the BBC Radio New Comedy Awards.[25]

In 2015, Ridley began to pursue a professional comedy career,[26] performing a new show titled Disability for Dunces as part of the Edinburgh Fringe that year. The following year, he performed a sequel of the show, titled "Volume 2", and in 2017 he launched a new show titled Inspiration Porn, which made fun of "inspirational" videos and memes about disability.[27]

By 2018, The Sequal Trust asked him to be a patron of their communication disability charity, a role he still plays.[28]

In 2018, Ridley starred in Radio 4 sitcom Ability,[29][30][31] which he co-wrote with the writer and comedian Katherine Jakeways (series 1 and 2) and Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt (series 3).[27] His role involved playing the disabled 'Matt', who moves out from his parents' home to share with his best friend from school, who refreshingly treats him as an equal but is not the influence Matt's concerned parents are looking for.[32][33] In June 2018, Ridley won the 12th series of Britain's Got Talent after successfully making it through the audition stages, and winning the show by the public vote.[34][3][35] In February 2019, Ridley appeared in one episode of the BBC Three television series, Jerk.

In 2019, Ridley competed in America's Got Talent: The Champions,[36][37] where he was eliminated in the preliminaries. He also released his first book I'm Only In It For The Parking.[38][39]

In March 2021 he announced he would be working with a technology company, CereProc and the voice-artist Dan Pye to create a Consett accent similar to his family's.[40]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2018 Talent Recap Fan Choice Awards Favorite Talent Show Winner Britain's Got Talent Winner

References

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  1. ^ a b Autograph – Lee Ridley, in Living North; retrieved 4 July 2015
  2. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Lee Ridley". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Natasha Sporn (4 June 2018). "Britain's Got Talent winner: Lost Voice Guy crowned 2017 champion". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  4. ^ Lost Voice Guy: Heard the one about the stand-up comedian who can't speak?, by Alice Jones, in the Independent; published 11 December 2014; retrieved 4 July 2015
  5. ^ a b c Lee Ridley: making comedy out of silence, by Gary Evans, in the Guardian; published 6 June 2012; retrieved 4 July 2015
  6. ^ "Comedian hoping to inspire Percy Hedley pupils". ChronicleLive. Evening Chronicle. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  7. ^ Wollaston, Sam (25 February 2019). "Lee Ridley, Lost Voice Guy: 'It's quite ironic if I'm the voice of the disabled'". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  8. ^ "about-us". barbara-priestman-academy. ascenttrust.org. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Barbara Priestman Academy". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Welcome". Barbara Priestman School. Archived from the original on 6 April 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Lost Voice Guy – "We got up to our fair share of mischief"". Teachwire. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Who is this guy really?". Lost Voice Guy. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Former Preston student Lee Ridley through to the next round of Britain's Got Talent". Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  14. ^ CM Admin (20 November 2012), "Finding My Voice" – Lee Ridley, retrieved 23 April 2018
  15. ^ Lee Ridley: 'Disabled people are either inspirational, or benefit cheats', by Mary O'Hara, at the Guardian; published 15 April 2015; retrieved 4 July 2015
  16. ^ Ridley, Lee (18 May 2019). "Lee Ridley: I'm like a cooler version of Stephen Hawking, but I never imagined I'd make it as a comedian". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  17. ^ Ridley, Lee. "Who is this bloke?". On my radar. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  18. ^ Sunderland City Council (2 February 2012). "Workwise". issuu.com. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  19. ^ The stand-up comic who cannot speak, by Colin Paterson; at the BBC; published 13 April 2012; retrieved 4 July 2015; "two months ago he did his first show"
  20. ^ Ridley, Lee. "My Stephen Hawking is better than yours". On my radar. Archived from the original on 4 February 2011.
  21. ^ Future Apps. "Speak It!". App Store. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  22. ^ a b Lee Ridley: Stand-up success for 'Lost Voice Guy' comic, by Phil Mawson, at the BBC; published 9 August 2012; retrieved 4 July 2015
  23. ^ "BBC – The Ouch! Blog: Lee Ridley aka Lost Voice Guy: the communication revolution (technology and disabled people series)". Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  24. ^ Voiceless comedian in hospital after contracting pneumonia during Edinburgh Fringe performances, by Jane O'Neill, in the Sunderland Echo; published 27 August 2013; retrieved 4 July 2015
  25. ^ Lost Voice Guy wins BBC New Comedy Award 2014, at British Comedy Guide; published 17 December 2014
  26. ^ BBC launches its 2015 New Comedy Award, by Andrew Dipper; at GiggleBeats; published 17 June 2015; retrieved 5 July 2015
  27. ^ a b Peacock, Robert (21 April 2018). "Interview: Lost Voice Guy". The Wee Review. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Meet The Team". The Sequal Trust. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  29. ^ Lost Voice Guy (24 April 2017). "Lost Voice Guy chats to Steve Wright about his BBC Radio 4 sitcom". SoundCloud. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  30. ^ Lost Voice Guy (5 April 2018). "Lost Voice Guy talks about his new BBC Radio 4 sitcom, Ability". youtube. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  31. ^ "Ability". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  32. ^ Hodgson, Barbara (6 January 2017). "Lost Voice Guy Lee Ridley stars in new BBC Radio 4 sitcom". nechronicle. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  33. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Ability - Radio 4 Sitcom". British Comedy Guide.
  34. ^ Hegarty, Tasha (21 April 2018). "Britain's Got Talent's The Lost Voice Guy has everyone in stitches". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Revealed: Just how clear was Lost Voice Guy's victory". www.chortle.co.uk. Chortle. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  36. ^ "America's Got Talent: 9 comedians return for Champions season – ComedyNews.Org :: Comedy News Organization :: CN.O". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  37. ^ "Lost Voice Guy honoured sharing stage with Susan Boyle on AGT: The Champions". Metro. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  38. ^ "Lee Ridley to release Lost Voice Guy book in 2019". British Comedy Guide. 28 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  39. ^ "Transworld wins Lost Voice Guy's first book | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  40. ^ "Whey aye, I'm gannin' to be propa Geordie". Lost Voice Guy. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
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Preceded by Winner of Britain's Got Talent
2018 		Succeeded by
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