Nick Helm
Helm in 2017
Born	Nicholas Tristan Phillip Helm (1980-10-01)1 October 1980 (age 45) West Smithfield, England
Notable work	Uncle 8 Out of 10 Cats Loaded "Nick Helm's Heavy Entertainment"
Comedy career
Years active	2005–present
Medium	Television stand-up music
Subjects	British culture Relationships Human interaction
Website	nick-helm.co.uk

Nicholas Tristan Phillip Helm (born 1 October 1980) is an English comedian, actor and rock musician known for his comedic confrontational delivery.^[1] His routines have been described as "brash and bullish".^[2] Many of his performances begin with him acting calmly and see him gradually getting more and more enraged about what he is talking about. He came to prominence following the success of his2010 Edinburgh Fringe showKeep Hold of the Gold. In 2014, Helm made his main acting debut as lead character Andy in theBBC Three sitcomUncle.

Helm was born inBarts Hospital inWest Smithfield, London, and raised inFinsbury Park, until the age of 8 when he then moved toSt Albans,Hertfordshire.^[3] He attendedCunningham Hill Primary School, after which he went toSandringham Secondary School.^[4] Following this he attended theUniversity of Winchester.

While at secondary school Helm began writing and performing. In 1997, when he was in sixth form, his drama teacher Louise Howes brought the school's production ofRomeo and Juliet to theEdinburgh Festival.^[5] Helm played the part ofPrince Escalus.^[3]

With friends, Helm began taking shows to theEdinburgh Fringe Festival in the early 2000s with increasing levels of success.^[6]

By 2007, Helm began performing solo stand-up, but also maintained his theatrical work with a 2008 Fringe show calledI Think You Stink, which gained critical acclaim. ComedianRichard Herring called it a "lovely little hidden gem... funny, silly and slightly chilling... something very new and special".

Helm has worked closely with his friends on the stand-up circuit, performing mixed bill stand-up shows at the Fringe before his first fully solo show,Keep Hold of the Gold, in 2010.

In 2011, the follow-up,Dare to Dream, saw him nominated for the Fosters best comedy show^[7] and a joke lifted from the show wonDave's award for the funniest joke of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe: "I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves".^[8]

In 2012, Helm appeared regularly on the BBC Three seriesLive at the Electric performing songs with backing band, The Helmettes. There were further TV appearances on8 Out of 10 Cats (including as Santa in the 2012 Christmas Special) and its spin-off8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (on which he has a recurring skit where he repeatedly fails to woo the show's lexicographer,Susie Dent),^[9]The Boyle Variety Performance,Russell Howard's Good News and a new show for Edinburgh,This Means War.

His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show,One Man Mega Myth, strongly referencedEvel Knievel, and he was again nominated for Best Show in theEdinburgh Comedy Awards, losing out toBridget Christie.^[10]

Helm won the South Bank Sky Arts "The Times Breakthrough Award" on 27 January 2014.^[11]

Helm also plays guitar and sings. He has so far released three solo albums. His latest album is calledHot 'n' Heavy, released on 10 May 2013.^[12] He performed "He Makes You Look Fat", one of the tracks from his album, when he appeared as the stand-up guest onRussell Howard's Good News.^[13]

In 2014, Helm started playing the lead role of Andy in theBBC Three sitcomUncle.^[14] The show was written by Oliver Refson, and featured songs written and performed by Helm and his band. The third and final series ofUncle was screened in January–February 2017.

Helm's comedy/music showNick Helm's Heavy Entertainment broadcast on BBC Three in May–June 2015.

In 2015, Helm co-wrote and co-starred withEsther Smith in an episode of the BBC Three online series of short stories,Funny Valentines. The episode, titled "Elephant",^[15] was nominated for a Short Film BAFTA Award in 2016.^[16]

In mid-2017, Helm starred in the sitcomLoaded (Channel 4), about a group of IT entrepreneurs who become millionaires when their company is bought out, and in the food comedic documentaryEat Your Heart Out with Nick Helm (Dave). He also performed Work in Progress shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, he starred in the online comedy series Angry Quiz Guy.

In August 2021, he starred as a guest on the Cheapshow podcast with fellow comedian Nathaniel Metcalfe.

As actor

As himself

Wikiquote has quotations related toNick Helm.

• Official website
• Nick Helm atIMDb
• Biog at agent's websiteArchived 11 December 2013 at theWayback Machine
• 2012 filmed interview with Helm about his Edinburgh Fringe shows

• Living people
• 1980 births
• 21st-century English male actors
• Alumni of the University of Winchester
• Comedians from Hertfordshire
• Comedians from London
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English stand-up comedians
• Male actors from London
• Male actors from St Albans
• Musicians from St Albans
• People from the City of London

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