Lenny Henry

Lenny Henry is the founder of Comic Relief and is a British comedy  icon.

Working his way around working men’s clubs, and eventually gaining some recognition in the form of the New Faces talent show in 1975, Lenny enjoyed his TV breakthrough in LWT's sitcom The Fosters – the UK’s first comedy series featuring predominantly black performers.

As co-host of the children's programme Tiswas from 1978 until 1981, Lenny was beginning to make a name for himself, and teamed up with Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield to write and perform in Three of a Kind. It was during this project that he met his future wife, Dawn French, who was instrumental in Lenny’s move into the fledgling alternative comedy scene, where his natural talent and wit, especially his characterisation, created a top comedian, and eventually a household name, with his own TV show.

By the 90’s Hollywood was calling, and Lenny starred in True Identity, before returning to the small screen opposite Robbie Coltrane in BBC’s Alive and Kicking.
Chef Gareth Blackstock in the TV comedy series Chef!, and the lead role in BBC drama Hope And Glory, contributed to his accolade as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy in The Observer.

Alongside Dawn French and Griff Rhys Jones, Lenny set up the British Comic Relief charity organisation, and he took on the mantle of the voice of the British speaking clock for two weeks in aid of Comic Relief.

For further information or to book Lenny Henry, please call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk