Trivia

In 1997, along with his fellow League of Gentlemen (Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson), he won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They became the first sketch group to win since the Awards began in 1981. The first Sketch group to win was The Cambridge Footlights which featured Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery, Emma Thompson, Paul Dwyer and Paul Shearer.

Along with Sir Derek Jacobi, he is one of only two actors to play both the "Doctor Who" character the Doctor and his greatest enemy, the Master. He played the former in the spoof The Web of Caves (1999) originally aired as part of BBC Two's "Doctor Who Night" and the latter in the Big Finish "Doctor Who Unbound" audio drama "Sympathy for the Devil". He also played Professor Richard Lazarus, an agent of the Master and an antagonist to the Doctor, in the Doctor Who (2005) episode "The Lazarus Experiment".

When writing for The League of Gentlemen, he always writes with Jeremy Dyson, while Reece Shearsmith always writes with Steve Pemberton. This is to avoid arguments.

In 2002 he was nominated along with Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson for Best Entertainment at the Olivier Awards for their show The League of Gentlemen: Live at Drury Lane (2001). They lost out to "Shockheaded Peter", created and devised by Julian Bleach, Anthony Cairns, Julian Crouch, Graeme Gilmour, Tamzin Griffin, Jo Pocock, Phelim McDermott, Michael Morris and The Tiger Lillies (Martyn Jacques, Adrian Huge and Adrian Stout).

Won Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in 'Coriolanus' at British Stage Awards 2015.

Since primary school he's been passionate about history.

His mother is from Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

He was educated at Heighington C of E primary school and Woodham Comprehensive near Darlington.

On leaving school he worked briefly as a gardener at the Psychiatric Hospital at School Aycliffe where his parents both worked.

Educated at Heighington C E Primary School, Woodham Comprehensive and Theatre Arts at Bretton Hall College.