Russell Kane

Kane was born to David and Julie Grineau in Enfield, North London and brought up in Essex, where he still lives. He studied English at Middlesex University and graduated with a degree in Media Writing.

In 2004, Kane won the Laughing Horse New Act of The Year, and in 2005 he came second in So You Think You're Funny. He joined Ray Peacock, Russell Howard and Reginald D Hunter on the national Paramount Edinburgh and Beyond tour in October 2005. In November 2005, he filmed the World Comedy Tour in Australia. He was also asked to be the face of one-off live music event Guerrilla Gig which aired on BBC Three in March 2006. He has appeared on various comedy panels, and filmed four other live stand-up performances to date. In July 2006, British terrestrial station Five decided to launch Five US, for which Kane was selected to write and present travelogues.

In August 2006, he took his debut comedy show The Theory of Pretension to the Edinburgh Fringe, where he received an Edinburgh Comedy award nomination. In 2006–07 he appeared in Fakespeare Shortcuts on the UK's Paramount Comedy Channel, also starring his longtime girlfriend Sadie Hasler. He presented Big Brother's Big Mouth on E4 and Channel 4 from 26 to 29 June 2007. He again toured with The Edinburgh and Beyond Tour in autumn/winter 2007.

He was the host of BBC Radio 2's Out to Lunch from series 4 onwards. He presents a Sunday afternoon show on the relaunched Q Radio digital radio station. In August 2008 he took a stand-up show Gaping Flaws to the Edinburgh Festival. It was nominated for the 2008 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. He also took his hour-long play, The Lamentable Tragedie of Yates's Wine Lodge, which transferred for one night to the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon. It was performed on the Courtyard Theatre's main stage on 31 August 2008.

On 20 November 2008, Kane performed at the Hammersmith Apollo, London, for the BBC's popular comedy programme Live at the Apollo. It was broadcast on 5 December on BBC1, replacing Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. In 2009, he returned to Edinburgh with two new shows one entitled Fakespeare which is a play, and his new Stand up show Human Dressage. His Fakespeare play, a sell-out success, went on tour in February 2010. Human Dressage saw him nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for the third time, and toured from October 2009 to January 2010.

He appeared on the presenting team of the 2009 ITV2 Show – I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now, a role which he reprised for the 2010 and 2011 edition of the show, where he co-hosted with Laura Whitmore and Joe Swash.

In April 2010, Kane, while appearing on the Australian TV show Good News Week, made a joke centred on autistic children, prompting an apology from the network and criticism from the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities.

Kane presented Freak Like Me on BBC Three during the winter of 2010. This programme displayed the strange habits of various members of society. He appeared periodically throughout the programme as the narrator and presenter.

In November 2011, he won a Children in Need edition of Celebrity Mastermind, with the specialist subject "The Life and Novels of Evelyn Waugh". On 5 July 2011 and 27 March 2012, he presented Geordie Shore: The Reunion for MTV (UK and Ireland). His debut novel, The Humorist, was published by Simon & Schuster in April 2012. In 2012, he co-presented Britain Unzipped with Greg James on BBC Three, which was renamed Unzipped for series 2. He also presents Live at the Electric on Thursdays on BBC Three which has had 2 series. The 3rd series started broadcasting on 10 January 2014. His newest chat show with Greg James, Staying In, premiered September 2013.

He led the travel series Stupid Man, Smart Phone in May–June 2016.

In January 2018, Russell participated in And They're Off! in aid of Sport Relief.

• 2004 Laughing Horse New Act of Year: Winner
• 2004 So You Think You're Funny: 2nd Place
• 2006 If.comeddies Nominee (formerly The Perrier)
• 2008 If.comeddies Nominee (formerly The Perrier)
• 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee (formerly The Perrier)
• 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner
• 2011 Barry Award (for comedy) Winner

Kane currently resides in Woodford Green with his cat Keith Wayne and pug Captain Colin. In 2010, he married comedian Sadie Hasler, whom he met at school and with whom he attended Middlesex University. They divorced nine months later.

In 2011 he began a relationship with model Charlotte Austin after doing a magazine photo shoot together. He later began a relationship with a fan, hair and makeup artist Lindsey Cole. They met on the front row of a gig of his in Manchester. In June 2013, Kane proposed and the couple got engaged. They married in May 2014, in a family only ceremony, in Andalusia.

• Smokescreens & Castles Live (7 November 2011)
• Live (30 November 2015)