Darren Harriott (born 1 September 1988) is a British stand-up comedian from Oldbury, West Midlands. He was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award and Best Show Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Early life Harriott was born to parents Patrick and Paulette, and grew up in Oldbury, near Birmingham in the West Midlands. His father was a drug dealer who was jailed during Harriott's childhood. He died by suicide while Harriott was still a child.
Career Harriott moved to London at the age of 26 to pursue a career in comedy. He worked as a security guard at venues including the Hammersmith Apollo to finance his early years.
Harriott has toured the UK with his shows Visceral and Good Heart Yute, and regularly appears at comedy clubs across the country. His stand-up shows became the basis for his BBC Radio 4 series Darren Harriott's Black Label.
Harriott has appeared on multiple television shows such as Live at the Apollo, The Last Leg, Ghost Bus Tours, Hey Tracey!, Comedy Games Night, 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Apprentice: You're Fired!, The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, Catchpoint for Sport Relief, University Challenge for Comic Relief, CelebAbility, The Stand Up Sketch Show, Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, Celebrity Mastermind, Pointless Celebrities, Dave Gorman: Terms and Conditions Apply, Dave's Comedy Against Living Miserably, Comedy Central Live, Roast Battle, Mock the Week, Comedy Central at the Comedy Store, Hypothetical, Russell Howard's Stand Up Central, Don't Hate the Playaz, Love Island, and The Comedy Bus.
On radio he has hosted Newsjack Unplugged, Comedy of the Week for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC Radio 4 Summer Festival. Radio appearances include BBC Radio 4 shows Best of the Fest and The Now Show, and BBC Radio 5 Live comedy sports panel show Fighting Talk.
He appeared on Dave's Campaign Against Living Miserably, where he discussed his father's incarceration and death.
In late 2021, Harriott co-presented the Dave travelogue British as Folk alongside fellow comedians Ivo Graham and Fern Brady. In 2022, he was a regular panellist on Love Islands companion show Aftersun. He co-hosts the podcast Shame is Delicious with Eshaan Akbar.
In 2023, Harriott was a contestant on the fifteenth series of Dancing on Ice, finishing seventh alongside professional partner Tippy Packard.
Filmography +TVYearProgrammeChannelNotes2016Stand Up CentralComedy CentralSeries 2, Episode 12017Live at the ApolloBBCSeries 13, Episode 32018The Great Xmas RantITV-Mock the WeekBBCSeries 17, Episode 1Comedy Central at The Comedy StoreComedy CentralSeries 5, Episodes 2 and 7Roast BattleSeries 2, Episode 42019'Don't Hate the PlayazITVSeries RegularThe Stand Up Sketch ShowSeries 1, Episode 3The Dog Ate My HomeworkBBCHypotheticalDaveSeries 1, Episode 6The Comedy BusComedy CentralSeries 1, Episode 6Comic ReliefBBCCelebrity University Challenge aired as part of a telethonCelebAbilityITVSeries 4, Episode 4Jon Richardson: Ultimate WorrierDaveSeries 2, Episode 2The Great British Bake Off: An Extra SliceChannel 4Series 3, Episode 8Dave Gorman's Terms and Conditions ApplyDaveEpisode 5The Apprentice: You're Fired!BBC-Series 14, Episode 5Live at the ApolloHost/Presenter, Series 15Romesh Presents...SkyHost/Presenter, Episode 8: Stan By Your ManCelebrity MastermindBBCSeries 17, Episode 220208 out of 10 CatsE4Series 22, Episode 7Comedy Against Living MiserablyDaveSeries 1, Episode 22021OutsidersSeries 2Richard Osman's House of GamesBBC TwoSeries 4, Episodes 66–70Would You Rather?CBBCHost/PresenterBritish as FolkDaveCo-presenter2022The Real Dirty DancingE4ContestantBackstage with Katherine RyanAmazon Prime VideoSeries 1, Episode 5Love Island: AftersunITVRegular panellist; series 8Britain's Top TakeawaysBBC TwoCo-presenter2023Dancing on IceITVContestant; series 15Weakest LinkBBC OneContestant; Series 3, Episode 4
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