Dave Spikey
Dave Spikeyis an English comedian, actor, writer and film producer. He is best known for his stand-up comedy, writing and starring in the British comedy programme Phoenix Nights, presenting Bullseye and Chain Letters, and serving as team captain for the first four series of 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Spikey won the Best Newcomer award at the British Comedy Awards, and then co-wrote and starred in Phoenix Nights on Channel Four as Jerry St. Clair. In 2003, Spikey released his first DVD, The Overnight Success Tour. 2003 was also the year he won ‘Best Comedy Performance at Leicester Comedy Festival 2003’, an award he describes as “the weirdest trophy I’ve got on my shelf.”
In late 2004, he wrote the ITV comedy-drama Dead Man Weds (2005), in which he also co-starred with Johnny Vegas. The drama follows the attempts of the new editor (Spikey) of the local newspaper, The Fogburrow Advertiser and News, to drum up excitement in the area to cover in his paper, to the disdain and disinterest of his lead (and only) reporter (Vegas). Nancy Banks-Smith described the drama as "endearing and cheerful".
In 2005, Spikey became one of the regular team captains on the comedy panel game, 8 Out of 10 Cats, leaving before the 2007 series. That year also saw the release of his second live DVD, Living the Dream.
In 2006, Spikey became the host of a revived version of the darts-based quiz show Bullseye. The show ran for two series on Challenge to generally unfavourable reviews, The Guardian calling it an "abhorrent reboot".
Spikey developed two new projects which were commissioned by the BBC: Magnolia, a sitcom about painters and decorators, and Footballers Lives – a comedy about a pub football team, neither made it beyond pilots. He was also on the panel for talent show When Will I Be Famous? He returned to stand-up and live shows again and has regularly released DVDs of his shows. His chosen subject on Celebrity Mastermind in 2006 was human blood; he won.
In 2010, Spikey was voted into the Channel 4 100 Greatest Stand-Ups by the British public.
In 2017, he appeared as a self-obsessed businessman, Mr Gruff, in British romantic comedy film Finding Fatimah.
Spikey celebrated 30 years in stand-up with a new retrospective, Juggling on a Motorbike which began touring in 2017. The title refers to his first live performances which began his career in comedy, a routine which he recreates at the end of his show. The show is largely autobiographical and follows his performances over the past 30 years of stand-up.
