Jack Dee

His father was a printer and his mother was the daughter of two repertory actors, Henry Lionel Pope Stamper (1906–1985) and Edna May Howard Innes (1904–1969).

Dee was educated at both private and state schools.

His first school, The Pilgrims' School, a preparatory school in Winchester, was followed by the state Montgomery of Alamein School for his secondary education, and for a period he attended Frensham Heights School.

He took his A-levels at Peter Symonds' College, and left with a D and an F grade.

Following this, he planned to attend drama college, but his plans were scuppered when his mother persuaded him to get a vocation, and so he entered the catering industry and became a waiter.

In May of the same year he appeared on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of the BBC Two series Top Gear, achieving a lap time of 1:53.5 (52nd on the Suzuki Liana leader board).

James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour.

He wrote and starred in the sitcom Lead Balloon and hosts the panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

Dee's first public act was an open-mic gig in 1986 at The Comedy Store, which he went to one evening after work.

He was encouraged to write additional material and to tour the circuit.

Since the 1990s, he has performed sell-out acts at many high-profile venues (including the London Palladium and the Hammersmith Apollo).

After he scooped the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Newcomer in 1991, Dee was offered his own show; The Jack Dee Show first went out on Channel 4 in February 1992, bringing him to a wider audience.

In 1996, he starred alongside Jeremy Hardy in Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives, a collection of mockumentaries similar to their previous collaboration, Jack and Jeremy's Police 4.

Each episode would focus on the pair playing bizarre characters from a particular profession.

Shot on film and featuring no laugh track, the show failed to catch on.

After three episodes, it was moved to air after midnight.

The pilot featured Sacha Baron Cohen being electrocuted.

Aside from his successful stand-up career, Dee has played starring roles and guest appearances in television series.

His combination of stand-up routines on television continued with Jack Dee's Saturday Night on ITV, Jack Dee's Happy Hour in 1997 and later Jack Dee Live at the Apollo in 2004 on BBC One.

He played the part of Doug Digby in the Grimleys pilot (1997) before the role was recast for the series, and made guest appearances on such programmes as Silent Witness, Dalziel and Pascoe and Jonathan Creek.

He won Celebrity Big Brother 1 in 2001.

Jack Dee is the youngest of three children born to Rosemary ( Stamper) and Geoffrey Dee, after Joanna Innes Dee and David Simon Innes Dee.

He was born in the Municipal Borough of Bromley, Kent (now within the London Borough of Bromley) and grew up in Petts Wood before moving with his family to Winchester when he was young.

In 2001, he won Celebrity Big Brother (then linked to fundraising for Comic Relief).

During evictions, he dressed up in a tweed jacket and cap and held his packed suitcase, hoping to be voted out.

During the eviction of another housemate he briefly absconded to sneak a quick kiss with his wife.

He also escaped for several hours at night-time.

He has subsequently said that he dislikes the treatment of the housemates by the show and its producers, and has refused all permission for any of the clips to be shown again.

In 2004, he played the role of Steven Sharples MP the self-styled 'Deputy Home Secretary' alongside Warren Clarke and Dervla Kirwan in The Deputy.

Dee's performance was praised, though the film itself received a lukewarm response.

Later that year he starred in another one-off drama, Tunnel of Love.

He was the celebrity advocate in Britain's Best Sitcom for Fawlty Towers and presented an hour-long documentary about the series.

In 2005, he co-hosted Comic Aid, a one-off gathering of comedians that aimed to raise money for the Asian Tsunami Appeal.

He also starred as Harry in the 2005 film Short Order.

His UK television appearances include being a team captain on Shooting Stars and hosting Jack Dee: Live at the Apollo, which was nominated for a BAFTA in 2006.

He also presented The Jack Dee Show, Jack Dee's Saturday Night and Jack Dee's Happy Hour.

His series Lead Balloon, which he also co-wrote, began on BBC Four on 4 October 2006.

Described as "Britain's answer to Curb Your Enthusiasm", Lead Balloon sees Dee play the semi-biographical role of Rick Spleen.

A second series of eight episodes was commissioned and was broadcast on BBC Two in 2007, with a third series debuting on Thursday 13 November 2008.

A fourth series finished on the BBC on 5 July 2011.