Mathew Baynton
Baynton in 2023
Born	Mathew John Baynton (1980-11-18)18 November 1980 (age 45) Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England[1]
Alma mater	Rose Bruford College École Philippe Gaulier
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian, musician, writer
Years active	2000–present
Partner	Kelly Robinson
Children	2
Relatives	Daisy May Cooper (second cousin) Charlie Cooper (second cousin)

Mathew John Baynton (born 18 November 1980) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. He is a member of theThem Therecollective, in which he wrote and starred inHorrible Histories,Yonderland andGhosts. He was also the co-creator, writer and star of thecomedy-dramaThe Wrong Mans. Other television roles include Elliot Ward inA Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Deano inGavin & Stacey, Chris Pitt-Goddard inSpy, Simon inPeep Show, William Agar inQuacks, and twin brothers Jamie Winton and Ariel Conroy inYou, Me and the Apocalypse. He has appeared in several films, includingBill (2015) andWonka (2023).

Baynton grew up inSouthend-on-Sea, Essex.^[1]He is the youngest of three boys, with two older brothers, Daniel and Andrew. He was educated atSouthend High School for Boys. He graduated withfirst class honours from theRose Bruford College of Speech and Drama,^[2] and later trained inclowning atÉcole Philippe Gaulier inParis. Baynton explained his motivation in an interview withMetro: "The performing instinct came from making my family laugh, so I've always been drawn to the funny side of things. Comedy is really rewarding."^[3]

Baynton's second cousinsDaisy May Cooper andCharlie Cooper are also in the acting profession.^[4]Trevor Cooper is his first cousin once removed.^[5]

Baynton is one of the performers of the children's television seriesHorrible Histories, appearing in the first five series as an actor, singer, and occasional writer.^[6]Baynton and the other five members of the mainHorrible Histories cast form theThem There troupe, which has since created other shows.

Along with the other members of the troupe, Baynton is the creator, writer, and star ofYonderland, a family fantasy comedy series that premiered onSky One on 10 November 2013.^[7] He starred with the same troupe inBill, aBBCfamily comedy film based loosely around the early life ofWilliam Shakespeare, who ventures toLondon to pursue his dream of becoming aplaywright.^[8][9] The troupe also reunited in 2019 to create the BBC seriesGhosts, with Baynton appearing as aRomantic poet named Thomas Thorne.

Baynton teamed with friend and fellowGavin & Stacey alumnusJames Corden to create, write, and star inThe Wrong Mans, acomedy thriller forBBC Two that premiered in autumn 2013.^[10] The series is co-produced by online television providerHulu.com in the United States, where it premiered in November 2013.^[11] The first six-part series proved a critical and commercial success, and a similarly well-received two-part sequel was broadcast in December 2014.^[12]

Other notable TV comedy roles include Deano inGavin & Stacey; Chris in theDarren Boyd sitcom vehicleSpy; and William in the 2017black comedy seriesQuacks.

In 2009, he appeared in amusic video forMercury Prize-nominated bandThe Bees.^[13]

Baynton appeared at the 2013Edinburgh Fringe Festival, starring in the world premiere ofTom Basden's playHoles.^[14] He reprised his role of Gus in a London revival of the same play in summer 2014.^[15]

In late 2015, Baynton portrayed Jamie Winton and his brother Ariel Conroy inSky One'sscience fictioncomedy-drama miniseriesYou, Me and the Apocalypse.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2024, Baynton made hisRoyal Shakespeare Company debut inEleanor Rhode's production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream asNick Bottom at theRoyal Shakespeare Theatre,Stratford-upon-Avon, before transferring to theBarbican Centre in December 2024.^[16][17]

In January 2025, it was announced that Baynton would appear as a contestant on the nineteenth series of theChannel 4 showTaskmaster alongsideFatiha El-Ghorri,Jason Mantzoukas,Rosie Ramsey, andStevie Martin.^[18] Baynton would go on to win the series.

Baynton is a former member of the band Special Benny as a vocalist and guitarist.^[19] Their debut albumToys was released in 2010.

He has also performed as a solo act under the name Dog Ears. His debut solo EP,So It Goes, was released in November 2011.^[20] It consists of four self-penned songs.

He appeared in 'John Finnemore's Double Acts'.

He and his partner Kelly Robinson, afilm historian, have two children. Baynton and Robinson had acivil partnership ceremony in 2023.^[21]

Baynton has commented on his son's skewed view of his father's profession: "He thinks work is putting on a beard. One day his eyes will be opened, but I do find it wonderful that that's his view of work."^[22] He commented during the same interview that while many actors do not want their children to become actors as well, he sees no problem with his son following in his footsteps, stating that "if he enjoys it, so why shouldn't I let him?"^[22] His son appeared as the youngMary, Queen of Scots in an episode ofHorrible Histories.

Baynton tries to keep his children out of the spotlight. However he raised awareness about breakinggender barriers after his son was mocked in the park for wearing a pink bicycle helmet.^[23] Baynton expressed his belief in letting his son express his likes and dislikes freely without categorising toys and colours in gendered categories. He stated "I won't be teaching my boy how to be a 'boy'."^[23]

• Mathew Baynton atIMDb
• Mathew Baynton onTwitter

• 1980 births
• Living people
• Alumni of Rose Bruford College
• English male film actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English male voice actors
• English television writers
• Male actors from Southend-on-Sea
• English male television writers
• 21st-century English male actors
• English male comedians
• Comedians from Essex

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from July 2024
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2025