Rob Rouse

Rob Rouse (born 1974) is an English comedian.

Overview Rouse grew up in Gawsworth, Cheshire. He trained as a geography teacher at the University of Sheffield and got into comedy in his final year at university. Having fully qualified as a teacher, he decided that teaching was not for him after spending two days as a supply teacher. Instead, he decided to move to London to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. Since winning Channel Four's prestigious 'So You Think You're Funny' competition at the Edinburgh Festival in 1998, an award previously won by Phil Kay, Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Tommy Tiernan and Peter Kay, he has been a regular performer at major venues on both the London and national circuit.

Rouse is married to comedian and author Helen Rutter. The couple have two children and live in the Peak District.

As part of the trio Big and Daft, Rouse took three shows to the Edinburgh Festival culminating in 2001 with the Big and Daft Christmas Show. Big and Daft went on to host their own weekend show on BBC London Live.

His 2002 solo Edinburgh show was mediocrely received by The Guardian. The following year he returned to Edinburgh with another show and finished the year with a performance at London's Soho Theatre.

Throughout 2004 Rouse continued touring his live show and performed the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Other work In 2015, Rouse and Rutter started their comedy self-help podcast Rob and Helen's Date Night, charting a series of odd dates including horse riding, life-drawing in front of a fire, and the couple recording Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name, which they recorded live in their garage.

The couple returned to Edinburgh in 2019 with their show Funny in Real Life.

Rouse co-hosts The Unlikely Weightlifters Podcast with friend and fellow comedian Tom Wrigglesworth tackling various topical/social/DIY issues whilst training for the ‘2048 Pontefract Olympiad’. There are various running joke arcs and features, the most popular being their TKMaxx ‘Pant Cage’ reviews. Comedian Kiri Pritchard-Maclean commended the podcast for its positive promotion of male friendship in self-care (Episode 19 13/2/23).

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Awards So You Think You're Funny Winner, Edinburgh Festival, 1998