Tom Binns is the star and co-writer of the BBC 1 Friday Night Comedy Series Hospital People.
He is also an award-winning and critical acclaimed character comedian working the International Comedy Festivals and the UK Stand Up Comedy Circuit.
Widely regarded as THREE of the best headliners working in British Comedy, Tom’s ventriloquist act, alter egos Hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury and psychic Ian D Montfort has won him over 30 five star reviews and many awards nationally and internationally.
Amongst his multiple nominations and awards, Tom has received a Fosters Comedy God, Best International Comedian, Best International Act at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe (twice), Nottingham International Comedy Festival and 3 Sony Gold Awards.
He’s been in BBC Shows Alan Partridge, Lee and Herring, Friday/Saturday Night Armistice and Channel 4 shows IT Crowd Drifters and Eight out of Ten Cats do Countdown and the feature films Going to Mecca and Eaten by Lions.
Kevin Keegan is a Liverpool and footballing legend. With his crazy hair styles and fantastic football, Kevin is never without something to talk about in his after dinner speeches.
Kevin started out playing for the town of Scunthorpe and got his lucky break with Liverpool under Bill Shankly. Kevin has been both England Player of the Year and European Player of the Year. He is also one of the very few players who has both captained for and managed England. After an impressive football career and taking the managerial position at both Newcastle and England, Kevin retired from management.
He now shares his enthusiasms and experiences through his coaching and his after dinner speaking. He has the ability to tailor his presentations to his audience and is an undeniable gentleman on all occasions. A truly fantastic speaker and character.
Geoff, having scored an impressive 14,000 runs and taking over 1,000 first class wickets is a well known cricket name. He has now been appointed Chairman of Selectors for English Cricket. Throughout his 20 years as a cricket star he played for Derbyshire, Essex, England and Natal. Geoff also had the off pitch quality of making people laugh, his dry Northern humour has his team mates in stitches. This attribute is something Geoff now brings to the after dinner circuit in his interesting and witty speeches and is able to amuse any audience, sporting or not.
Billy Foster began as a full time caddy in 1983 and has since proved himself as a world class performer, working with some of the game most illustrious professionals none more so than the legendary Seve Ballesteros. Foster has amassed a stunning total of 30 tournament victories, including 8 wins with Seve Ballesteros, 12 with Darren Clarke, 4 with Gordon Brand Junior and 1 each with Sergio Garcia, Sam Torrance and HJ Baiocchi.
Among many career highlights, Foster has caddied in 10 Ryder Cups and is immensely proud to have been part of some of golf’s special moments including Seve’s victories in the 1991 PGA Championship and of course Darren Clarke’s victory over Tiger Woods in the final of the 2000 WGC Accenture World Match Play. Following 6 years with Darren Clarke and 2 with Sergio Garcia, Billy recently caddied for 2009 Race to Dubai winner and World No.1 Lee Westwood – a partnership which proved very formidable.
A quiet Yorkshireman, Billy Foster is recognised throughout golf as a world class caddie and Tiger Woods “borrowed” him from Clarke for the Presidents Cup in 2005 when his caddie, Steve Williams was unavailable due to the arrival of his firstborn.
Tiger said, “I like his personality it’s very competitive. Very feisty!”
An extremely popular figure on Tour, Foster famously walked ‘with the tour bag on his back’ the 90 miles from Loch Lomond to Turnberry last year in aid of charity. Unsurprisingly Foster was rewarded the HSBC Caddie of the Year Award in 2009.
In 2018 Billy took on the bag for the young golfer Matt Fitzpatrick.
Dr Kevin Jones is a hugely successful practising consultant ‘mirthologist’, firmly established on the international after-dinner speaking circuit. Dr Jones proves that a doctor can both cure and entertain thousands each and every year.
He qualified in medicine from Liverpool University in 1977 and during his career has worked on the heart-lung transplant team at Papworth Hospital and at St Bart’s Hospital. He is now a leading consultant chest physician.
In 1988, he spent one year at The University of Colorado in Denver; during that time he successfully avoided developing even the faintest trace of an American accent and found time to research lung transplantation. He is the author of an MD thesis: Clinical and Experimental Studies into the Effect of Prostacyclin On The Pulmonary Vasculature, a ‘critical’ objective for any reading list.
In his spare time he has been medical officer to Huyton Rugby League FC and medical officer to Salford RLFC.
Dr. Kevin Jones has been entertaining audiences with tales of medical practice for over 15 years; his stories come from the world of medicine and transplantation, dealing with death, illness and dying and other less light-hearted topics!
His carefully delivered ‘black humour’ has never offended. Kevin also talks about his experiences in the world of Rugby League.
In 2018 Kevin took his show “Telling the Wrong Man He Had Cancer and Other Hilarious Stories” to the Edinburgh Fringe and sold out each of his 5 night performances to fantastic acclaim.
Inept hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury is the creation of Tom Binns, a former breakfast radio host on London’s XFM as well as a comedian in his own right.
As himself, Binns won the Jongleurs new act of the year, piloted his own chat show on Five called Tom Binns Munchies, and was one of the presenters on Channel 4 breakfast show RI:SE. He’s also appeared on Knowing Me Knowing Yule With Alan Partridge, Friday Night Armistice and Fist Of Fun as a comic actor.
He created Brakenbury relatively early in his career. However, Brakenbury was resurrected for the Edinburgh Fringe 2007, where he was nominated for the if.comedy prize for the best show, and his roadshow, complete with inappropriate records and bungled cues, is now a regular fixture on the live circuit.
Former World Snooker Champion in 1985 who made television history playing the epic match against Steve Davis.
A regular television personality, having appeared on Question of Sport several times, Strictly Come Dancing and BBC Sport.
Dennis is a natural after dinner speaker, bringing his Irish background into the act and with stories relayed with the emphasis firmly on humour.
Mark Watson is just a normal person living a normal life in a normal world. He gets a little bit worried and a little bit flustered and he’ll tell you all about it. Mark grew up in Bristol before going to Cambridge University where he became a member of the Cambridge Footlights.
He started his professional comedy career in 2002 and that same year won the last ever Daily Telegraph Open Mic competition and presumably was allowed to keep the trophy. He has been nominated for the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer and won the first ever Panel Prize at the if.commedies in 2006. That year he was also won the Time Out Critic’s Choice award.
Edinburgh Festival Award Winner and Time Out Critic’s Choice, Mark’s recent TV credits include Taskmaster (Dave) and Bear Grylls’ Celebrity Island (Channel 4).
Mark has been the face of shows such as BBC Four’s We Need Answers and BBC Radio 4’s Mark Watson Makes The World Substantially Better. He has also appeared on Mock The Week, Celebrity Pointless, Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You?, Live At The Apollo and Channel 4’s Comedy Gala. He is currently recording another series of his hit Radio 4 show Mark Watson Talks A Bit About Life.
In August 2016, Mark performed his latest show I’m Not Here at the Edinburgh Festival, and then went on to tour it around the UK from September – December 2016. The show has received 4 & 5 star reviews.
Not only a Stand-Up, Mark has written six novels: Bullet Points (2004), A Light-Hearted Look At Murder (2007), Eleven (2010), The Knot (2012), Hotel Alpha (2014), and The Place That Didn’t Exist (2016).
