TOM BINNS

Born in Sheffield, England, in 1970, Christopher Thomas Binns began his comedy and broadcasting career in the mid-1990s, first appearing on national television on BBC Two's The Friday Night Armistice and Lee and Herring's Fist of Fun. Alongside television, he built a substantial career in radio, presenting and performing for BBC Radio 1, Virgin, GLR, Talksport, BRMB and Key 103 — work later recognised with three Sony Radio Academy Gold Awards. His writing on Channel 4's hidden-camera hit Trigger Happy TV won Best Comedy Moment and TV Moment of 2001.

The trajectory of his career changed with the development of his character work. Ivan Brackenbury — the well-meaning but completely incompetent hospital radio DJ — became a breakout hit, earning a nomination for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show in 2007 and leading to national radio segments, The Jason Byrne Show, and Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

In 2010 Binns debuted Ian D. Montfort, a camp pseudo-psychic medium performing genuine mentalism while satirising the spiritualist industry. The character won Best International Act at the 2013 New Zealand International Comedy Festival, was twice nominated for the Adelaide Fringe Comedy Award, fronted the BBC Radio 2 series Ian D. Montfort is Unbelievable, and featured in the film Eaten by Lions.

In 2016, BBC One commissioned the mockumentary Hospital People as part of its Comedy Playhouse strand; co-written by Binns and Matt Morgan, it was expanded into a full prime-time series in 2017. Binns played five distinct lead characters: Ivan Brackenbury, Ian D. Montfort, hospital manager Susan Mitchell, hypochondriac Terry Boyle, and chaplain Father Kenny Mercer.

Beyond character comedy, Binns is a skilled ventriloquist, performing technical puppetry with Nibbles the Guinea Pig, and the author of the satirical industry handbook How to Get Famous — A Cynical Guide. His acting credits include The IT Crowd, Spooks, and Knowing Me Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge.