Dom Joly

Dominic "Dom" John Romulus Joly (/ˈdʒɒli/; born 15 November 1967)[1] is an English television comedian and travel writer, known as the star of Trigger Happy TV, a hidden camera show sold to over seventy countries worldwide.

Dom Joly
Joly in 2011
Birth nameDominic John Joly
Born (1967-11-15) 15 November 1967
Beirut, Lebanon
MediumTelevision, books, stand-up
Years active1999–present
GenresCharacter comedy, improvisational comedy, physical comedy
Notable works and roles

Early life

Joly was born in Beirut, Lebanon[2] to British parents and speaks French, Arabic and Czech in addition to English.[3] Joly attended Brummana High School[4] in Lebanon, and two independent schools in the UK: Dragon School in Oxford and Haileybury College in Hertfordshire. He then went to the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.[5]

Joly has stated that when he was in Lebanon, he attended the same school as Osama bin Laden (Brummana High School).[3][6]

Career

Trigger Happy TV
Main article: Trigger Happy TV

The original series ran for two series on Channel 4 from 2000-2003.

In 2003, a new series of Trigger Happy TV was made for an American audience with an altered format that featured a band of different comedians who performed skits without Joly although he cameoed. Joly was not happy with the US version.[7]

Following the success of Trigger Happy TV on Channel 4, Joly was secured by the BBC for a rumoured £5 million.[8]

This is Dom Joly
Main article: This is Dom Joly

This is Dom Joly was a spoof chat show presented by Dom Joly, originally shown on BBC Three in 2003.

World Shut Your Mouth
Main article: World_Shut_Your_Mouth_(TV_series)

World Shut Your Mouth was a hidden camera television series starring Dom Joly. It ran on Friday nights in 2005 on BBC One.

Made in Britain

In 2009, Joly fronted a show titled Made in Britain, shown on the Blighty channel in the UK.[9]

Fool Britannia

In 2012-13, Joly made two series of Fool Britannia a hidden camera show that aired on Saturday evenings on ITV1.

The Island

In 2016 Joly was marooned on a desert island for two weeks for a show hosted by Bear Grylls for Stand Up To Cancer

Pilgrimage

In 2020 Joly walked from Belgrade to Istanbul for the BBC1 series Pilgrimage

Writing

Joly writes for various publications.

He was a columnist for The Independent on Sunday from 2003 until the paper closed in 2016.

He was thought to be the writer of a spoof column in The Independent and then "i" called "Cooper Brown: He's out there,"[10] and later confirmed in his autobiography that this was the case.[11] The column is published as the work of an American character named Cooper Brown and revolves around his putative adventures as "a garrulous American showbiz type".[12]

In 2010, Joly published a travel book called The Dark Tourist: Sightseeing in the World's Most Unlikely Holiday Destinations, investigating dark tourism.[13] In the book Joly travels to places that witnessed great tragedy and death, including Chernobyl, which he visited on 4 May 2009, his childhood home of Lebanon, North Korea, various locations in the United States visiting places of famous assassinations, the Killing Fields of Cambodia and Iran for a skiing holiday.[14] It was published on 2 September 2010 in the UK.

Joly published his second travel book, Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, in 2012. In the book, he travels the world in search of mythical monsters such as Bigfoot and the Yeti.

In 2019 Joly published his latest travel book The Hezbollah Hiking Club in which he documented his walk across the Lebanon with two friends.

Joly was a special correspondent for the Independent at the Beijing Olympics.[15] While in Beijing, he also appeared daily on the "Drive" programme on Five Live.[16]

Political career

In the 1997 UK general election, Joly stood in Kensington and Chelsea against Alan Clark. Hiring out hundreds of teddy bear costumes, he staged mock protests at Westminster and came fifth out of nine candidates, receiving 218 votes (0.6%).[17]

Podcast

On 29 June 2018, Joly released the first episode of his podcast titled "Earworm".[18]

In 2020 the second series of his podcast titled Earworm was released by Audible

Personal life

Joly is married to Stacey MacDougall, a Canadian graphic designer. Having lived in Notting Hill before their children were born, Joly and his wife bought a property in the Cotswolds. They sold his flat to Salman Rushdie.[19]

Joly has spoken about his struggles with anxiety[20] and depression.[21]

References
  1. "Dom Joly Biography". Celebrity Birthdays. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. Charlotte Reather. "Dom Joly : TV's prankster and star of The Complainers has taken to country life like a duck to water. Hunting, shooting, polo? Bring It On, he says" (PDF). Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. Child Genius vs Celebrities Christmas Special. Channel 4 Television. 24 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  4. Dom Joly. "Dom Joly's foodie tour of Lebanon". Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. "Not as Joly as he seems". London Evening Standard. 31 January 2003. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  6. Also on television comedy panel show Would I Lie to You?, and radio show Loose Ends 8 June 2019.
  7. "Television The return of the king". The Times. London. 2 January 2005. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  8. "Dom Joly Biography". Chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  9. Archived 4 August 2012 at Archive.today
  10. "The Londoner's Diary". London Evening Standard. 25 October 2008.
  11. Joly, Dom, Here Comes The Clown: A Stumble Through Show Business, p. 141, Simon and Schuster, 2015, ISBN 0857207695, 9780857207692
  12. Spanier, Gideon (10 January 2007). "In the air". London Evening Standard.
  13. "Dom Joly: At war in Thailand, but keeping my Buddha dry". The Independent. London. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  14. "Dom Joly, The Dark Tourist". Tuppence Magazine. London. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  15. Locke, Suzanne (22 March 2016). "British comedian Dom Joly works to live a 'fun' life". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  16. "2008 Olympics press pack: 5 live at the Olympics" (Press release). BBC. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  17. "Guardian Unlimited Politics, Kensington and Chelsea". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 25 June 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  18. Joly, Dom. "Earworm". iTunes Store. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  19. Dom Joly, The Dark Tourist (Chatham, 2010), p. 11.
  20. https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/dom-joly-anxiety-attacks-trigger-3541359
  21. https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/not-as-joly-as-he-seems-7280506.html

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