Hugh Dennis

Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the original run of Mock the Week from 2005 until 2022, and is one half of the double act Punt and Dennis alongside Steve Punt.

Dennis has also played Dr Piers Crispin in the sitcom My Hero (2000–2006), Pete Brockman in the sitcom Outnumbered (2007–2014, 2016, 2024), Toby in the sitcom Not Going Out (2014–2023), and the Bank Manager in the comedy-drama series Fleabag (2016). He presents the community archaeology television show The Great British Dig (since 2020).

Early life Peter Hugh Dennis was born in Kettering on 13 February 1962, the son of schoolteacher Dorothy Mary (née Hinnels) and Anglican priest John Dennis. His older brother, John Jr., is a diplomat who has served as the British Ambassador to Angola and the British Representative to Taiwan. He grew up in the Mill Hill suburb of London as his father was appointed vicar of the local John Keble Church soon after his birth. His father later became the Bishop of Knaresborough and then the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

Dennis was educated at private University College School in London. During his time at UCS, he played rugby with Will Self and was head boy in his final year. He went on to read for the Geographical Tripos as an exhibitioner at St John's College, Cambridge. His thesis was titled "The Spatial Distribution of Elementary Education in 19th-century Wakefield". He also joined the Footlights, where he first met Steve Punt and club president Nick Hancock, and the trio collaborated on a number of projects besides the annual revue. In 2016, Dennis said that he was approached by MI5 agents whilst at Cambridge University and attended a preliminary interview to join them; he decided that he did not want to take the option any further, particularly after being told during the interview that the job would require him to "do people over".

After graduating with a first class honours degree, Dennis worked for Unilever for six years in the marketing department while performing comedy with Punt at venues including The Comedy Store in London at weekends. Whilst at Unilever, Dennis became a brand manager of Lynx deodorant. His time at Unilever came to an end when he and Punt had their BBC Radio 1 show The Mary Whitehouse Experience, which they had created alongside David Baddiel and Rob Newman, commissioned for BBC Two. Dennis was put on sabbatical by Unilever, as rehearsals for the show were to take place on a weekday, but he never returned to the company and instead chose to pursue comedy full-time as a result of the show's success.

Dennis uses his middle name Hugh as his stage name because the actor Peter Dennis was already a member of the performing arts union Equity.

Career

As an impressionist, Dennis did voices for Spitting Image and appeared with Punt as resident support comics on two TV series hosted on the BBC by Jasper Carrott. He has also provided voiceover for several adverts, including Tango's controversial 1991 advertisement Orange Man.

Dennis also appeared twice as a contestant on the topical panel show Have I Got News for You, including one opposite former schoolmate Self. Punt and Dennis's radio career includes over a decade of performing Punt and Dennis, It's Been a Bad Week, The Party Line and the satirical radio comedy show, The Now Show. On The Now Show, Dennis was originally in a line-up including Punt, Mitch Benn, Laura Shavin, Jon Holmes and Marcus Brigstocke. He is friends with Chris Morris and has had cameos on Brass Eye as well as doing the narration for the CBBC show Sam and Mark's Guide to Dodging Disaster.

In December 2009, Dennis joined Oz Clarke in presenting the 60-minute Christmas special Oz and Hugh Drink to Christmas broadcast on BBC Two. In December 2010 the pair returned for a four-part series called Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar, which puts them in a competition to create a bar featuring only local British food and drinks.

Dennis has starred in a number of sitcoms, including My Hero, in which he played obnoxious GP Piers Crispin. From 2007 to 2014, he starred in Outnumbered, a semi-improvised sitcom based around family life and won a BAFTA nomination in the comedy category for the 2009 Christmas special. On Radio 4 he also featured in the sitcom Revolting People which, like Outnumbered, was co-written by Andy Hamilton.

Besides his regular television work, Dennis was a panellist on Mock the Week and appeared in every episode since its premiere in 2005, with the exception of a special episode of the programme that was broadcast as part of David Walliams' 24 Hour Panel People. He is a regular guest on various BBC-broadcast comedy panel game shows such as They Think It's All Over, Would I Lie To You?, QI and has guest hosted Have I Got News for You. In 2011, Dennis hosted the short-lived improvisational comedy series Fast and Loose.

Beginning on 16 February 2012, Dennis and Julia Bradbury hosted a four-part BBC One documentary series The Great British Countryside.

In February 2021, Dennis started presenting The Great British Dig on More 4.

In the 2021 Bond film No Time to Die, Dennis cameoed as scientist Dr Hardy in an MI6 laboratory.

Personal life Dennis lives in London, having previously resided near Chichester. He married Miranda Carroll in 1987 but they divorced in 1993. He married Catherine Abbot-Anderson in 1996, and they had a son and a daughter before divorcing in 2015. In June 2018 it was confirmed he was in a relationship with his Outnumbered co-star Claire Skinner. In 2025 it was revealed the couple had married in 2022.

Dennis is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and in 2008 he received an Honorary fellowship from the University of Northampton. In 2024 he became the Chancellor of the University of Winchester.

In 2007 he took part in the L'Étape du Tour, cycling an open stage of the Tour de France for amateurs which was held in the mountains two weeks before the main event, completing it in 11 hours and 7 minutes. In 2011 he completed the Great South Run in Portsmouth, for the Alzheimer's Society. He is a supporter of Arsenal FC.

Filmography Year Show Role Notes 1989–1991 Spitting Image Various characters Voice only 1991–1992 The Mary Whitehouse Experience Various characters Co-creator/writer 1992 Me, You and Him Harry Dunstan Co-creator A Word in Your Era Prince John 1 episode Springing Lenin Peter TV short 1994 The Easter Stories Gardener 1 episode 1994–1995 The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show Various characters 12 episodes 1996 The Detectives Seth 1 episode 1997 Brass Eye Dr. Balb Kubrox 1 episode 2000 Doctors Nick Browning 1 episode Jack Dee's Happy Hour Jed Cake Voice only; 8 episodes 2000–2006 My Hero Dr. Piers Crispin 51 episodes 2002 TV to Go Various characters Series 2 2005–2022, 2026 Mock the Week Himself, regular panellist (BBC series), recurring panelist (TLC series) 2007–2014, 2016, 2024 Outnumbered Pete Brockman Series regular 2009 New Tricks Tony Granville 1 episode Hotel Babylon Jim Doody 1 episode 2009, 2010 QI Himself, guest panellist 2 episodes 2011 Fast and Loose Himself Host 2013 Agatha Christie's Marple Major Phillpot "Endless Night" 2014–present Over to Bill Bill Onion 2014–2023 Not Going Out Toby Also voiced Captain Morris in 1 episode 2015 Ballot Monkeys Martin Frost 2016 Drunk History Napoleon / Richard III 2 episodes Midsomer Murders Milo Craven Episode 19.1 "The Village That Rose from the Dead" Britain's Classroom Heroes Presenter 2016, 2017 Insert Name Here Guest panellist 2 episodes 2016–2019 Fleabag Bank Manager 4 episodes2017 The Red Nose African Convoy Himself One-off special Taskmaster Contestant 8 episodes The Zoo Narrator 15 episodes Possibly... The Best Adverts in the World Presenter One-off special 2018 Richard Osman's House of Games Contestant 5 episodes (won) Trollied Jerome 1 episode Nativity Rocks! Liam Hargreaves 2019 Urban Myths Richard Asher 1 episode Yorkshire Airport Narrator 6 episodes 2020 McDonald & Dodds George Holden 2020 The Great British Dig Presenter Pilot 2021 No Time to Die Dr. Hardy 2021–2023 The Great British Dig: History in Your Back Garden Presenter 2022 Huge Homes with Hugh Dennis Presenter Murder, They Hope Aaron Episode: "Can't See the Blood for the Trees" 2023 The Festive Pottery Throw Down Contestant Winner 2023–2025 The Couple Next Door Alan Richardson Series 1 & 2 2024 Pointless Guest co-presenter 2025 Two Men on a Bike Himself With David Baddiel Beyond Paradise Arthur Donelan Series 3

Accolades Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1994 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards Light Entertainment Canned Carrott 2010 BAFTA TV Awards Best Male Comedy Performance Outnumbered: The Christmas Special 2011 British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy Actor Outnumbered