Edward Cathal Byrne (born 16 April 1972) is an Irish actor and comedian.
He has presented the British television shows Just for Laughs and ''Uncut!
Best Unseen Ads'', has been a guest on numerous television panel games and has appeared on a number of television cooking shows.
Byrne was born on 16 April 1972 in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, to Jill and Eddie Byrne, the third of four children.
Deciding to study horticulture at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, he was made entertainments convener at the Students' Union in his second year of study.
Byrne also volunteered at the Student Association Welfare Office in his first year.
1998
After building up his act on observational comedy, Byrne was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
2006
In 2006 he toured the UK, recording a DVD in Leeds entitled Pedantic and Whimsical, which was largely a "greatest hits" set of his material to date.
He has also appeared in Father Ted and performed voice-over work in the Carphone Warehouse adverts.
2007
In February 2007 Byrne appeared on a comedians' special edition of Weakest Link.
Byrne has performed eight sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and four sell-out UK tours.
He has performed in Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
He has since garnered a raft of major broadcast credits, including five U.S. appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC).
In July 2007, Byrne made his début at the Newbury Comedy Festival, having participated in the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny shortly before.
2009
He recorded a live DVD Different Class at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, on 23 March 2009, which was released on 23 November of that year.
2010
On 15 September 2010, Byrne, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.
Byrne frequently appeared on BBC stand-up comedy programme Mock the Week as the most common guest panellist, having appeared on 73 episodes during the show's run.
Byrne's earliest TV appearances included the ITV shows The Big Big Talent Show and Blind Date.
He also appeared in Father Ted as a teenager mocking Father Ted and two other priests on a phone chat line, in the episode "A Christmassy Ted".
Byrne has presented television shows ''Uncut!
Best Unseen Ads and Just for Laughs, and is a regular guest on The Panel, HeadJam, Mock the Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks''.
He has also appeared on Lily Savage's Blankety Blank, Have I Got News for You, The Bubble, The Unbelievable Truth, Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment and We Need Answers.
He has also appeared on The Graham Norton Show six times.
Byrne featured in a series of comedy shorts on the MSN Video Channel in which he discusses some of his pet hates, including occasional smokers and his girlfriend's snoring.
Byrne appeared in the second part of the BBC2 programme Three Men Go to Scotland on 30 December 2010 whilst hitching a ride to reach the Cuillin mountains on Skye for his Munro bagging attempt – climbing every mountain in Scotland over 3000 ft. On 31 March 2012, Byrne appeared on All Star Family Fortunes.
2012
On 5 July 2012, Byrne appeared as a guest on The One Show.
Byrne presented segments during Volcano Live from 9 to 12 July.
2013
Byrne started a comedy night called The Comedy Cellar in the basement of the 13th Note public house on Glassford Street, Glasgow.
On the first night, Byrne appeared on the roster alongside Armando Iannucci's brother David.
Over the following few months, acts booked included Ford Kiernan, Phil Kay, Greg Hemphill, Alan Francis and Alan Tyler.
After a few months he gave up studying and headed to London.
He was later booked to appear at The Comedy Cellar by new convenors Ford Kiernan and J.P. Leach.
He appeared on a celebrity version of The Chase on 30 November 2013, where he successfully brought £117,000 through, a record for the programme.
In January 2013 Byrne was a contestant on episode 4 of BBC's The Great Comic Relief Bake Off and won the Technical Challenge with his lemon meringue pie.
2014
In January 2014 he hosted episode 4 of The Great Sport Relief Bake Off on BBC Two.
In January and February 2021 he was a contestant on BBC's Celebrity Best Home Cook.
Describing his signature dish, smoked pork ribs, Byrne said, "I cover them in a dry rub that I've been perfecting by trial and error for years, then shove them in a barrel smoker for about 10 hours, spraying them with apple juice and cider to keep them moist."
Byrne was described as "a reasonably strong participant" and was named as one of the judges' favourites in episode two.
He was eliminated, along with Karim Zeroual, in episode five, on 8 February.
2015
Dara and Ed's Great Big Adventure, a 2015 three-part fly-on-the-wall television series, followed Byrne and Dara Ó Briain (fellow Irish comedian and best friend) in their journey by car down the Pan-American Highway.
