Frankie Boyle | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Boyle in 2020 | |
| Born | Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (1972-08-16)16 August 1972 (age 53) |
| Education | |
| Children | 2 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Medium | Stand-up,television,radio |
| Genres | One-liners,black comedy,blue comedy,satire,insult comedy,surreal humour |
| Subjects | Scottish culture,celebrities,politics,family,current events |
| Website | frankieboyle |
Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. Boyle first gained widespread recognition as a regular panellist on the comedy showMock the Week from 2005 until 2009. He then created and starred in theChannel 4 sketch showFrankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights (2010) andBBC Two's chat showFrankie Boyle's New World Order (2017–2022). In 2020, he presented a four-part series on BBC Two,Frankie Boyle's Tour of Scotland. He has cycled on a number of tours, releasing several stand-up specials. Boyle has been involved in several public controversies due to his wild humour.
Francis Martin Patrick Boyle[1] was born on 16 August 1972[2] inPollokshaws,Glasgow, toIrish Catholic parents fromCrolly inCounty Donegal.[3]
He attended St Conval's Primary andHolyrood Secondary School in Glasgow. After leaving school, he worked as a library assistant over the summer and attendedLangside College.[4] He then studied urban planning atAston University for a year before leaving and beginning a BA inEnglish literature at theUniversity of Sussex.[5][6]
He graduated from university aged 22 and his first job was working in amental health hospital. He then went to a teacher-training college inEdinburgh and had placements in schools, but by then was performing as astand-up comedian.[4]
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Frankie Boyle" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Boyle first performed stand-up at the University of Sussex Student Union, later gaining his big break after performing atThe Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh and winning an open-mic event at the 1996Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[6][7] His comedy influences includeBilly Connolly,Bill Hicks andSpike Milligan.
Boyle was a regular on the BBC panel showMock the Week from its first episode on 5 June 2005 until 17 September 2009.[8] A programme in which the panel comment humorously on news stories from theBritish media,Mock the Week was hosted byDara Ó Briain, who in an episode ofLive at the Apollo referred to Boyle as "the dark heart ofMock the Week".[9] He is known for hismorbid sense of humour, which plays on negative images of celebrities, politicians and society (particularly his home country Scotland). On 2 October 2009, Boyle announced via theMock the Week's Facebook fan page that he was leaving the show to concentrate on other projects.[10]
Boyle has since criticised both the show's production team and theBBC Trust. He claims the show did not cover enough major news stories and was too restrictive on his risqué comedy act, because the producers and the BBC Trust were afraid of "frightening the horses".[11] He is seen in archive footage ofMock the Week on the 2009 Christmas Special, which aired on 22 December 2009, as a series of "Best Bits and Festive Clips", in a compilation celebrating the show's 100th episode on 5 July 2012 as well as in archive footage on the 2012 Christmas Special, which aired on 27 December 2012.
In October 2009, Boyle piloted a sketch and stand-up show forChannel 4, entitledDeal With This, Retards to be produced by RDF Scotland subsidiary theComedy Unit.[12] Boyle mentioned onFriday Night with Jonathan Ross that the original title of the show had been dropped, due to its offensive nature, and been renamedTramadol Nights and aired from the end of November 2010.[13] An official page launched via Channel 4's official website, which confirmed that the show's full name isFrankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights and the series was made up of six episodes.[14] Boyle caused controversy on the show with his comments aboutKatie Price andDwight Yorke's disabled son, Harvey.[15]
On 21 August 2011, it was revealed that Channel 4 had given Boyle permission to record a pilot for a topical talk show in October of that year, which would be calledFrankie Boyle's Rehabilitation Programme (despite the controversy surroundingFrankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights). Channel 4 head of comedy Shane Allen told the press that "it's very much likeParkinson orWogan, but with paedo jokes" and that the show would feature Boyle "in a studio, riffing off the audience a bit with some people challenging what he says".[16] The pilot's format is similar to his laterAutopsy shows and toFrankie Boyle's New World Order, with Boyle making controversial statements which are discussed and challenged by his guests. It was included on the DVD release ofThe Last Days of Sodom.[citation needed]
"Give her a state funeral because a lot of people will want to pay their respects and lot more people will want proof that she's really dead. It will be the first time the 21-gun salute shoots the coffin."[17]
The Boyle Variety Performance was broadcast on 19 August 2012 and featured Boyle with guestsRob Delaney,Nick Helm,Katherine Ryan andTom Stade. A few days after the show was broadcast, Boyle attracted criticism after he posted jokes on Twitter about the2012 Summer Paralympics.[18]
In 2014, Frankie Boyle starred in the short comedy filmGasping for BBC Scotland, written byGreg Hemphill. The title refers to an expression inScottish English, communicative of an irresistible compulsion to do something, such as smoke a cigarette; or, as here, to drink alcohol. The short feature is an at-times-farcical but generally deadpan treatment of a man's attempted recovery from alcoholism.
Frankie Boyle's Referendum Autopsy was released on 28 September 2014, andFrankie Boyle's Election Autopsy was released on 17 May 2015, throughBBC iPlayer. Featuring guests Katherine Ryan andSara Pascoe, Boyle dissected theScottish independence referendum, 2014 andgeneral election.[19]Frankie Boyle's American Autopsy dissected the buildup and fallout of the United States presidential election, tackling topics such as feminism, entertainment, propaganda, and guns. Special guests include Sara Pascoe, Katherine Ryan,Michelle Wolf, Desiree Burch, andRichard Osman.
A show similar to his BBC iPlayer exclusive "autopsy" shows, Boyle returned to TV onBBC Two, with hisFrankie Boyle's New World Order, which follows a very similar structure to the aforementioned programmes, where Frankie makes two statements, and discusses them with his guests. The show premiered on 8 June 2017[20] and was cancelled in 2023.[21][22]
A two part travel documentary on BBC TV filmed in Russia in the lead up to the World Cup being held there. Featuring interviews with Russian football fans and others.[23]
A four-part travel documentary filmed around Scotland,Frankie Boyle's Tour of Scotland, was shown on BBC Two in early 2020, it also featured Boyle performing work in progress shows prior to a stand-up tour. The stand-up special which followed,Frankie Boyle Live: Excited for You to See and Hate This, filmed in Glasgow, was broadcast on BBC Two in July 2020.[24]
In a Channel 4 documentary, Boyle discusses historicalBritish kings and queens, comparing them to the modernroyal family.[25] Under the nameFrankie Boyle: Monarchy, the project was announced in 2022, shelved after thedeath of Elizabeth II and aired in 2023 shortly beforeCharles III's coronation.[26][27][28]
A sitcom set in a small regional theatre starringDavid Mitchell as a happy-go-lucky writer with writer's block written by Frankie Boyle and Steven Dick, broadcast onBBC Radio 4 on 5 June 2014.[29]
Boyle contributes occasional articles to UK newspapers, including satire and opinion pieces for the British newspaperThe Guardian.[30] He wrote a regular column forThe Sun until 2012.
On 1 October 2009, Boyle's autobiographyMy Shit Life So Far was released,[31] published byHarperCollins.[32] His second bookWork! Consume! Die!—a collection of his columns forThe Sun—was released in October 2011.[33] Boyle's third book, the political comedyScotland's Jesus: The Only Officially Non-racist Comedian, was released in the UK on 24 October 2013.[34] As of October 2021, the three books had sold 600,000 copies in the UK for £5 million, withMy Shit Life So Far as the best-selling of these.[35] Boyle's fourth book,The Future of British Politics, was released 12 November 2020 as one of five essays in theFutures series.[36][37]
Boyle's first fictional book,Meantime, is a crime fiction novel set in Glasgow in the aftermath of Scottish Independence. It was published in July 2022. The book was nominated forBloody Scotland's Debut of the Year award for crime writing.[38][27] Boyle wrote for the book while in hotel rooms after a gig, saying that he would be unable to sleep due to adrenaline.[26] Boyle said at theEdinburgh Book Festival in 2022: "I would much rather, if I could, segue into writing novels and just stay in the house and not travel so much". He said of writing, in comparison to stand-up comedy, that "you don't have to go and sell it to people". However, he said that writing fiction was "equally difficult". He planned to begin writing a second novel over Christmas 2022.[26]
In 2024, Boyle started the podcastHere Comes The Guillotine with fellow Scottish comediansSusie McCabe andChristopher MacArthur-Boyd.[39]
He has also appeared as a guest on an episode ofOff Menu, recorded live at theSEC Armadillo in Glasgow.[40]
In October 2007 Boyle embarked on a stand-up tour of Britain, playing over 100 dates and enjoying a sold-out run that was extended through until December 2008. Boyle said that he planned to retire from live stand-up before he turned 40, had written his final tour, and planned to do more television work after this.[41] Boyle performed the tour, entitledI Would Happily Punch Every One of You in the Face, between March and December 2010.[42]
On 21 November 2011, at a "Meet the Comedians" session in theApple Store,Regent Street withJimmy Carr,[43] Boyle announced he was doing another tour entitledThe Last Days of Sodom, despite intending I Would Happily Punch Every One of You in the Face to be his final one. He mentioned the tour would not be as long as its predecessor. His website stated it would run from July to December 2012 with more dates to be added.[44] Tickets went on sale in December 2011.[45]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2007–2008 | Morons, I Can Heal You |
| 2010 | I Would Happily Punch Every One of You in the Face |
| 2012 | The Last Days of Sodom |
| 2015 | Hurt Like You've Never Been Loved |
| 2019 | Full Power |
| 2023 | Lap of Shame |
On 10 November 2008, Boyle's first DVD was released,[9] featuring a sell-out stand-up performance given at London'sHackney Empire and some additional material, including a documentary about the tour, entitledFuck You Scotland, and some sketches from theBBC Three comedyRush Hour.[46] The DVD was described by WhatDVD.net as "certainly not one to watch with your grandparents – not unless they are pretty open-minded!"[47]
Boyle has also featured in three DVD compilations of material fromMock the Week. The compilations, entitledToo Hot for TV, include material deemed too offensive for broadcast on TV and uncut versions of several full episodes. Boyle's second live DVD,If I Could Reach Out Through Your TV and Strangle You I Would, was released on 15 November 2010.[48]
On 16 July 2009, Boyle's first podcast was released.[49] EntitledMock the Week Musings, the podcast is a recording of Boyle testing the material he has written forMock the Week to a London audience. Boyle comments on his material throughout and often informs the audience that certain jokes are not going into the show due to their reaction (or lack thereof), and the podcast carries an explicit content warning. The recording includes some audience interaction, with Boyle offering to test some of his new "put-downs" on the crowd.[50]
Between 2013 and 2015, Boyle, along with Canadian comedianGlenn Wool hosted a number of editions of a podcast known as Freestyle, which involved Boyle and Wool speaking about topical and controversial news stories, includingMadeleine McCann,Bill Cosby, and obscure takes on popular culture.[51]
In September 2010, Boyle began publishing his comic stripRex Royd in the launch issue ofCLiNT magazine, co-written with comedian Jim Muir and with artwork by Michael Dowling.[52] The story follows aLex Luthor-style newspaper magnate with a super-villain alter-ego. Initially, the strip ran for first four issues ofCLiNT. The strip resumed again in November 2011, until the final issue in August 2013, when publisherTitan announced thatCLiNT was ending.[53]
Boyle appeared as himself in the video gameGrand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned (2009), in a stand-up routine at Liberty City's Split Sides Comedy Club. He appeared onReal Radio Wales's weekly comedy showComedy Nighthorse on 19 October 2011.
Boyle made his theatrical stage debut playing the role of Hamm in a production of the Samuel Beckett play, 'Endgame'. The show ran in theGate Theatre, Dublin, from February 2022 and concluded in late March.[54]
As of 2008 Boyle was living inGlasgow[55] and has two children: a daughter (born 2004) and a son (born October 2007). He is anatheist. He has said that his career had caused him to neglect his family.[56] He is divorced.
Boyle is a supporter of the Glasgow-basedCeltic Football Club.[57] Throughout 2017, Boyle supportedJack Thomas, a British Paralympic swimmer who suffered a number of unfortunate career setbacks, via Twitter and through donations.[58]
Boyle attended theGaelic Football, Senior Club County Final in 2018 betweenNaomh Conaill andGaoth Dobhair.[59] Boyle posted a picture to his Instagram account of himself andDonegal footballerEamon McGee with theSam Maguire Cup, a trophy awarded to the winner of theAll Ireland Football Championship.
During an interview, he has also claimed to be a follower ofAdvaita Vedanta.[60]
Boyle was analcoholic,[61] having started drinking at the age of 15 and stopped at 26, and is also a former drug user, who now maintains a life ofsobriety.[62][63]
During his teenage years, Boyle claimed that he received treatment fordepression but has also declared "I don't really think it was depression. In terms of depression being achemical illness, I don't think I had that – in fact, quite the opposite. I'm strangely optimistic usually". He has since spoken fondly ofneuro-linguistic programming.[64]
During an interview onThe Jonathan Ross Show in 2010, he revealed that he has afear of flying, and travels to shows in England by train. When making the TV showFrankie Goes to Russia before the 2018 World Cup, he travelled there by train.
On the premiere of the fourth series ofFrankie Boyle's New World Order, he said that he was infected withCOVID-19 at a comedy gig early in the pandemic.[65]
Boyle is a supporter ofNoam Chomsky and says that Chomsky has had a great influence on his political beliefs, stating he is moreleft-wing than Chomsky himself.[66]
In July 2013, he supportedShaker Aamer, the last UK resident being held atGuantanamo Bay detention camp, by going on ahunger strike.[67] He also donated £50,000 to his legal fund.[68]
Boyle is aScottish republican. In 2013, when asked "How do you feel aboutScottish independence?" Boyle replied: "Yes, I think we should be independent. What have we got to lose? ATory government? I'm looking forward to the vote just because it will be a novelty for Scottish people to fill in official forms while still in possession of their own belt and shoelaces. And imagine what Scotland's annual Independence Day celebrations will look like; the fuckingD-Day Landings".[69]
In December 2020, Boyle said in a podcast withLouis Theroux that he believes thatRicky Gervais's jokes on transgender people are "lazy" and that Gervais should "have the same respect for trans people that he seems to have for animals".[70][71]
In response to theRwanda asylum plan unveiled by theJohnson government in 2022, Boyle denounced the scheme onTwitter, writing that "The reason you don't have a significant fascist party in Britain is that those voters are very happy with the government". An article forThe National noted that Boyle's opposition to the asylum plan reflected widespread popular sentiment in Scotland, as several leading Scottish politicians (includingNicola Sturgeon) had also denounced the plan.[72]
During theJuly–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, Boyle criticised the two major candidates running for the position ofPrime Minister,Liz Truss andRishi Sunak, on an episode ofThe Last Leg. During the episode, Boyle also criticised former Prime MinisterBoris Johnson for his handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, stating to Johnson that "You finished [your term] with a quote fromThe Terminator.The Terminator! After you killed 150,000 fucking people duringthe pandemic. I don't want to sound like I've got a grudge or anything, but I hope a vent opens up in the ground and clawed hands drag you screaming into hell".[73]
Also onThe Last Leg, in March 2023 Boyle criticised the candidates in the2023 SNP Leadership Election. He wished there were "more progressive candidates", such asMhairi Black, on the table, rather than candidates such asKate Forbes, who had issues withsame-sex marriage, andHumza Yousaf, based on his record as Health Secretary in Scotland.[74]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned | Himself | Voice role |
| Year | Title | Venue | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Frankie Boyle Live | Live at London'sHackney Empire | DVD release |
| 2010 | If I Could Reach Out Through Your TV and Strangle You, I Would | Live at London'sHammersmith Apollo | DVD release |
| 2012 | The Last Days of Sodom | Live atGlasgow'sKing's Theatre | DVD release |
| 2016 | Hurt Like You've Never Been Loved (Netflix exclusive) | Live atGlasgow'sCitizens Theatre | Netflix Exclusive |
| 2020 | Excited for You to See and Hate This | Live atGlasgow'sKing's Theatre | BBC 2 Special |
| Year | Title | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Endgame bySamuel Beckett | Dublin'sGate Theatre |
Boyle has been involved in several public controversies due to his humour.
In August 2008, complaints were received about comments he made regarding English Olympic swimmerRebecca Adlington onMock the Week, saying that she "looks like someone who's looking at themselves in the back of aspoon" and that her boyfriend must be attracted to her due to an aspect of her sexual behaviour. The BBC ruled that the jokes were indeed "humiliating" and "risked offending the audience", while also calling Boyle "a brilliant member of the team".[75] Despite this, Adlington's agent said that simply admitting mistakes was not enough, saying: "By giving Frankie Boyle a rebuke they fail to discourage others from doing the same".[76] Adlington subsequently commented on the issue, saying "It's obviously not the nicest thing but he's a comedian, isn't he? Comedians make jokes. I cannot say I don't laugh when a comedian tells a joke about someone else. So it would be hypocritical to turn round and say you can't joke about me".[77]
Whilst impersonatingQueen Elizabeth II in the "Scenes We'd Like To See" segment ofMock The Week (the prompt being "What the Queen didn't say in her annual Christmas message"), Boyle said "I've had a few medical problems this year. I am now so old, that my pussy is haunted". This caused many to complain about the state that the BBC had come to, withConservative MPDavid Davies calling the joke a "disgracefully foul comment".[78] Boyle was eventually cleared of any misconduct by the BBC Trust, although they called the comment "sexist and ageist".[79]
During a performance on his 2010 tour, Boyle interrupted a "long, seemingly semi-improvised skit" aboutDown's syndrome by challenging a woman in the front row who seemed uncomfortable with the material.[80] The audience member explained that her five-year-old daughter had the condition and strongly criticised Boyle's portrayal of people with Down's syndrome.[80][81][82]Mencap spokesman Ismail Kaji said that the comments could be misconstrued and seen as "no different to bullying".[82]
In April 2010, theBBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee apologised for a joke made by Boyle onRadio 4 panel showPolitical Animal in which he likened the situation inPalestine to "a cake being punched to pieces by a very angryJew". Boyle also made another joke where he said that he had "been studying Israeli Army martial arts. I now know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back".[83] In response, Boyle published a letter in which he criticised the Trust's "cowardly rebuke of my jokes about Palestine" and reprinted the jokes in question. He then criticised the BBC for not broadcasting a humanitarian appeal during the 2008–2009Gaza War, saying that it was "tragic for such a great institution but it is now cravenly afraid of giving offence and vulnerable to any kind of well drilled lobbying". Boyle then said that the situation in Palestine "seems to be, in essence, apartheid", concluding that he had reached this position after watching a documentary about life in Palestine that he said had driven him to tears.[84]
In 2018, Boyle accused BBC television producers of "editing out" comments he made onNew World Order aboutPalestinian deaths on the Gaza border and his joke about "Israel being an Apartheid state".[85]
In December 2010, bothKatie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) andPeter Andre were said to have been left "absolutely disgusted and sickened" by a joke that was made onFrankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights about Price's disabled son, Harvey. On the show, Boyle said: "Apparently, Jordan and Peter Andre are fighting each other over custody of Harvey. Although eventually one of them will lose and have to keep him". Then he added: "I have a theory that Jordan married a cage fighter (Alex Reid) because she needed someone strong enough to stop Harvey from fucking her".[86]
Andre's representative responded to the comments made by Boyle and said "We're all disgusted by these comments. Peter is angry and very upset at Harvey being mocked in this way. Children, especially a disabled youngster, should be off-limits". Both confirmed that they had sought legal action and wrote a complaint to Channel 4 regarding Boyle's jokes with Price saying: "To bully this unbelievably brave child is despicable; to broadcast it is to show a complete and utter lack of judgement. I have asked my lawyers to write to Channel 4".[86]Ofcom confirmed that Price issued a complaint and accordingly launched an investigation into the programme.[87] In April 2011, Ofcom ruled Channel 4 had breached broadcasting rules by transmitting the material in question but did not require the network to broadcast an apology saying that it was an "erroneous decision on a matter of editorial judgment on the broadcaster's part". Price criticised the decision not to require a broadcast apology.[88]
Boyle discussed the material onstage at a charity gig some months later, saying that the joke was intended to highlight how Price exploited her son, and that he felt the two aspects of Price's media profile, "her disabled son and her sexuality", did not belong together. He rejected comments that the joke may have led to playground bullying, saying that "I find it hard to believe there are kids at that school who would like to slag Harvey, but can't think of an angle".[89]
In July 2011, theDaily Mirror published an article strongly criticising Boyle which alleged he had been forced to quitMock the Week and described him as a "racist comedian". Boyle, in response, sued theMirror for libel. In October 2012, a jury found in his favour, ordering theMirror to pay him £54,650 in damages, which he donated to charity.[90]
In 2012, Boyle posted a tweet about Olympic cyclistVictoria Pendleton, saying that it was sexy that while she could lift twice her own weight, she still couldn't throw him off of her. This was condemned by theEnd Violence Against Women Coalition.[91] In 2022, Boyle joked about whether he would rape television hostHolly Willoughby before or after killing her.ConservativeMPCaroline Nokes strongly criticised Boyle's use of rape as a subject for jokes.[91] Addressing the controversy relating to the Holly Willoughby joke, Boyle argued that the joke "was part of a very long routine about whether or not it’s OK to do a joke about that" and that the routine "concludes that certain jokes are probably a product of toxic masculinity".[92]
On 6 March 2013, Boyle caused controversy when he was invited to perform atRussell Brand'sBBC Three fundraiserGive It Up for Comic Relief atWembley Arena. He made a series of jokes about Comic Relief itself;Queen Elizabeth II;Catherine, Princess of Wales;Andy Serkis;Oscar Pistorius;Pope Benedict XVI and theJimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal.[93] This was deemed so distasteful that his entire six-minute performance was cut out of the broadcast version of the 3.5-hour show.[94]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Media related toFrankie Boyle at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
