Alex Lowe(born 15 January 1968) is an English actor, comedian and voice artist. He is the creator and performer of the characters Barry from Watford onSteve Wright'sBBC Radio 2show andIain Lee's shows, and the character Clinton Baptiste, originally seen inPhoenix Nights,as whom he has since toured.
| Alex Lowe | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 January 1968 |
| Medium | Stand up |
| Years active | 1981–present |
Barry from Watford
editLowe began calling the Iain Lee radio show on theLondontalk radio stationLBC 97.3in May 2005, as Barry from Watford. It was during Lowe's first call that Barry's wife Margaret (later to be played byCatherine Tatein Barry's stage show) would be introduced. Barry became popular amongst LBC listeners, who requested that his calls be repeated on future shows.
'Barry "The" Saint-Michael' has been a popular caller on Iain Lee's radio show, which later moved to the radio stationAbsolute RadioandTalkradio.Since 2006, Alex has also put on live performances called 'Let's Talk To Barry', a 50-minute show telling about life in Watford, which also features audio clips fromCatherine Tateand Iain Lee.
In October 2008 Barry called into Harry Shearer'sLe Showradio show to discuss the American Presidential election, he was credited as 'Barry Martin', which Shearer later corrected to 'Barry Saint-Martin'.[1]He called again on 4 January 2009 to discuss the recent holiday celebrations, and corrected his name to be 'Barry Barry Saint-Michael'.[2]
In January 2010, Lowe's "Barry from Watford" podcast released oniTunesbyAbsolute Radiospent two weeks in the Podcast top ten. In October 2012 he co-wrote "BARRY" with Fraser Steele; a pilot sitcom featuring his BARRY FROM WATFORD character forSky Atlantic,broadcast on 4 March 2013.
Barry currently has his own show on the new subscription radio comedy channel Fubar Radio which was launched on 20 February 2014.[3]He also runs'Barry from Watford's Bingo Bonanza'at the100 Club.
Barry from Watford's weekly podcast withAngelos Epithemiou,"The Angelos and Barry Show" was launched in October 2014. On 24 October 2014, he appeared onChannel 4'sThe Feeling Nuts Comedy Nightin sketches as his Barry character, together withDan Renton Skinner(as character Angelos Epithemiou). The duo walked the streets being comically rude to members of the public to raise awareness of testicular cancer. In June 2015 he recorded his BBC Radio 4 series as Barry from Watford, Barry's Lunch Club. From 14 August 2017, the character of Barry appears alongsideNoel Edmondson theChannel 4showCheap Cheap Cheapwhere contestants have to choose the cheapest item from a selection of three.
Television, radio and theatre
editLowe made his TV debut in 1981 inThames Television'sTheatre Box.On stage, he played Wharton in "Another Country"at the Queen's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London. In 1983 he played Young Edmond Bertram in BBC 1'sMansfield Park.His career has included diverse roles from serious drama to character comedy. He has worked as both a writer and actor in many different areas of media.
In 1990, Lowe appeared in The Hypochondriac at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won a First.
In 1991, having trained at The Studio School in North London and Leicester School of Performing Arts, he played PC Corman in Minder alongsideGeorge Cole.Lowe has appeared in a variety of different television programmes, including,Three Men in A Boat,The Rise and Fall of Rome,The Fast Show,Fun at the Funeral Parlour,TheBig ImpressionChristmas Special, andBremner, Bird and Fortune.He appeared in four episodes of Simon Day's comedy seriesGrassas precocious child star Crispin Winterville's father Roland. He played Clinton Baptiste inPeter Kay's Phoenix Nightsand Sparky inThat Peter Kay Thing.He starred with Lee onThe 11 O'Clock Showon Channel Four in the late 1990s, usually appearing as a reporter. In 2007, he wrote and performed forRonni Anconaand Co.forBBC Oneand performed inThe Peter Serafinowicz ShowonBBC 2.
In the cinema, Lowe played Paul inPeter's Friends,The Messenger inMuch Ado About Nothingand Simon Merriel inHaunted.
On radio, Lowe has appeared onAbsolute Power,15 Minute Musical,Not Today, Thank You,The Laxian KeyandThe Scarifyers;he plays Brian inClare in the CommunityforBBC Radio 4.Lowe has also appeared twice onLoose Endson BBC Radio 4 with Iain Lee, Big Brother's Big Mouth and Sam Delaney'sStupid Telly(as Barry from Watford). From 2001 to 2003 he hosted Download This forXFM Londonon Sunday mornings from 10am to midday.
On 12 October 2008, he reprised his role asClinton BaptisteinPeter Kay'sBritain's Got The Pop Factor... And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice,a spoof on talent show programmes.
On 22 May 2009, he appeared onBBC Radio 2'sSteve Wright in the Afternoonshow, talking about his life. He also talked about being a lifestyle guru. He became a regular weekly contributor to the programme.
In April 2010 he recorded a comedy pilot forBBC Radio 2The Alex Lowe Double Actwith impressionistAlistair McGowan.It was broadcast on 15 May 2010.
In 2011 and 2012 he wrote for BBC TV'sWatson and Oliversketch show and appeared in Channel 4 sketch showThe Anna and Katy Showas various characters.
Lowe played Adam Wrent on the Framley Examiner podcast on the Framley Examiner website.
Since 2009, he has also appeared in severalBig Finish Productionsaudio plays.
Recently he has appeared on the Christian O'Connell breakfast show on Absolute Radio. He portrays celebrities ranging from US President Barack Obama, Tom Cruise and more recently Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones. Through March to June 2014, he played the role of Jimmy inFatal Attraction,at theTheatre Royal Haymarket.[4]
In Feb 2015 he reprised his role as Clinton Baptiste for Peter Kay'sPhoenix Nights Liveat the Manchester Arena
In 2015 Lowe appeared as a policeman in the BBC TV mini-seriesThe Casual Vacancy.
In March 2015 he appeared as The Doctor inPompidoufor BBC2.
Between 2015 and 2018 he regularly appeared onSam Delaney's News ThingasJeremy Corbyn.
Lowe voiced major character King Hunnybun in theNickelodeon UKseriesTinkershrimp & Dutch,which premiered in January 2016.
In December 2018, Lowe reprised the role of Clinton Baptiste for a 6 part podcast seriesClinton Baptiste's paranormal podcast.A second series has been announced for release in 2019. As of 2023, this is now on series 6..
Lowe appeared onThe Chris Moyles ShowonRadio Xas Clinton Baptiste, initially to promote the podcast series but since has become a semi-regular guest on the show. He also appeared as Baptiste in December 2024 to promote his upcoming tour appearances in 2025/26.
Lowe has also recently started his own YouTube channel - with 1.2k subscribers - where the seriesMystic Hunttakes place. Currently, on episode 2 (as of January 2021), the series sees Lowe posing as Clinton Baptiste investigating paranormal activities.
References
edit- ^Shearer, Harry(12 October 2008)."le Show".HarryShearer.com. Archived fromthe originalon 7 December 2008.Retrieved5 January2009.
- ^Shearer, Harry(4 January 2009)."le Show".HarryShearer.com. Archived fromthe originalon 28 April 2009.Retrieved5 January2009.
- ^Guide, British Comedy (21 February 2014)."Digital comedy station FUBAR Radio launches".British Comedy Guide.
- ^"Sex and the City's Kristin Davis makes West End debut in Fatal Attraction".whatsonstage.com.Whats On Stage. 28 January 2014.Retrieved28 January2014.
