Kevin Bishop

Kevin Brian Bishop (born 1980) is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his roles as Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island, Stupid Brian in My Family, and Nigel Norman Fletcher in the 2016 revival of Porridge, and as star of The Kevin Bishop Show, which he co-wrote with Lee Hupfield.

Career

Bishop's first role was in Grange Hill. His second role, at age 16, was as Ben Quayle in Silent Witness. He played Stupid Brian in three episodes of My Family. He starred in Muppet Treasure Island as Jim Hawkins.

In 2002, Bishop had a supporting role alongside Kelly Reilly and Romain Duris as William, the brother of an English Erasmus student, in the French comedy L'Auberge espagnole (The Spanish Apartment). Following its box office success, he appeared in the 2005 sequel, Les Poupées russes (Russian Dolls). In 2005, he portrayed the late comedian Dudley Moore onstage in Pete and Dud: Come Again, a drama charting Moore's turbulent relationship with Peter Cook, which debuted at the Assembly Rooms as part of the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to The Venue in London's West End in March 2006. In August 2007 he appeared as the title character in Channel 4's satirical spoof documentary "Being Tom Cruise", a spin-off of Star Stories. In September 2014, Bishop appeared in the one-man show Fully Committed at the Menier Chocolate Factory, in which he played forty characters.

In 2013, Bishop appeared in the American comedy series Super Fun Night, written by and starring Australian comedic actress Rebel Wilson. The show ran for one season.

In August 2016, Bishop starred in the revival of classic 1970s BBC sitcom Porridge. He played the role of Fletch, grandson of Ronnie Barker's original main character, locked up for cyber-crime. Originally a one-off, the show was commissioned to full series in October 2016. The first series was broadcast in October 2017 on a 6-week run on BBC One as well as the full series being released at the same time on BBC iPlayer.

In 2016, Bishop played Nigel Farage in a one-off BBC Two comedy series entitled Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back.

In 2017, Bishop became the speaking voice for 2-D, fictional lead singer of British virtual band Gorillaz.

Selected filmography Year Film Role Notes 1996 Muppet Treasure Island Jim Hawkins Also played the role of a boy soprano in musical numbers 1997 Silent Witness Ben Quayle Series 2, "Friends Like These" Pie in the Sky, Series 5, "The Apprentice" Nicky Banks 2000 The Big Finish Kevin 2001 My Family (TV) "Stupid" Brian 2002 L'Auberge espagnole William Food of Love Paul Porterfield 2005 Peep Show (TV) Ollie Russian Dolls William 2006–2008 Star Stories Various 2007 Irina Palm Tom 2008–2009 The Kevin Bishop Show (TV) Himself 2011 A Few Best Men Graham 2012 May I Kill U? Baz Keith Lemon: The Film Dougie 2013–2014 Super Fun Night (TV) Richard Royce 2015 We’re Doomed! The Dads Army Story James Beck (TV film) 2016 Benidorm Peter Andre tribute act Series 8 Episode 7 The Rack Pack Barry Hearn Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back Nigel Farage 2016–2017 Porridge Nigel Norman Fletcher August 2016 one-off special episode: 2017 Series 1, 6 episodes 2017 Tracey Ullman's Show Various Series 2, 6 episodes2017DetectoristsKelvinSeries 3, episode 32020 Song Machine 2-D (Web series) 2021 Inside No. 9 Arlo Episode: "Wuthering Heist"2022StrikeWally CardewSeries 6, 4 episodes

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result1997 Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor Muppet Treasure Island Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actor 2006 British Comedy Awards Best Male Comedy Newcomer Star Stories 2007 British Comedy Awards Best TV Comedy Actor 2008 British Academy Television Awards Best Comedy Programme 2009 British Comedy Awards Best Sketch Show The Kevin Bishop Show 2010 British Academy Television Awards Best Comedy Programme