| Ben Ashenden | |
| Birth Date: | [1] |
| Birth Place: | Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation: | Actor, comedian, writer |
| Years Active: | 2009–present |
| Alma Mater: | University of Cambridge |
Ben Ashenden is a British-Irish actor, writer and comedian. He is half of the double-act, The Pin, with Alexander Owen, with whom he has made four series for BBC Radio 4, picking up nominations at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards.[2] and Radio Academy Awards,[3] and winning the BBC Radio Award for Best Comedy.[4]
Ashenden was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and grew up in Radlett. His father is a builder and his mother is a bookseller. He has one sister. He went to the Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys[5] and performed with the Chicken Shed Theatre Company before studying English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.[6]
Ashenden met his double-act colleague, Alexander Owen, at the University of Cambridge. They co-wrote/performed (with Joey Batey, Joe Bannister, Mark Fiddaman and Simon Haines) the sketch show ‘Good Clean Men’.[7] [8] Ashenden and Owen then performed with the Cambridge Footlights, as part of the first troupe to tour America, in a show directed by Liam Williams and Daran Johnson.[9]
Upon graduation the pair took their sketch act, The Pin, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Their most recent show, The Pin: Backstage, was described by The Guardian as “one of Edinburgh’s most dazzling comedy shows”,[10] and is now in development with Sonia Friedman Productions].
As an actor, his film credits include Bridget Jones Baby, Sulphur and White, and Horrible Histories: The Movie. His TV credits include Avenue 5 (HBO), The English Game (Netflix), W1A (BBC1), Stath Lets Flats (C4), Brotherhood (Comedy Central), Plebs (ITV2) and Sky Christmas special, Cinderella: After Ever After.
As a writer, he co-created the animated series Oi, Leonardo! for BBC3, and has written for BBC1 shows Walliams and Friend and Tracey Ullman's Show, BBC3's Famalam], and Showtime’s Who is America?
In 2020 The Pin released “The Special Relationship”[11] an 8-part series on Audible, co-starring Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, Jamie Demetriou, Lolly Adefope and Kate Berlant. It largely repurposes sketches from their Radio 4 show within the context of a fictionalised attempt to break into the New York comedy scene.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Morning Has Broken | Waiter | TV film |
| 2016 | Bridget Jones's Baby | Pierce | |
| 2019 | Messenger | ||
| After Ever After | Pongo | TV film | |
| 2020 | Sulphur and White | Sean | |
| 2022 | The Bubble | Tip, the MoCap Guy | |
| Jurassic World Dominion | Tyler | ||
| What's Love Got to Do with It? | Sam | ||
| 2024 | Seize Them! | Penda the rebel | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | BBC Comedy Feeds | Episode: "Kerry" | |
| 2014 | Siblings | Michael | Episode: "Balcombe's Funeral" |
| 2015 | Drunk History | Drunk Storyteller | Episode: "The Krays/Guy Fawkes" |
| Brotherhood | Dan | Series regular | |
| 2016 | Halloween Comedy Shorts | Nick | Episode: "Jamie Demetriou's Horror: Oh God" |
| Crazyhead | Luke | Episode: "Penguin or Cow?" | |
| 2016-17 | Witless | PC Colin Naysmith | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Henry IX | Damian | 3 episodes |
| Coconut | James | 4 episodes | |
| W1A | Assistant Floor Manager | 1 episode | |
| 2017-18 | Tracey Breaks the News | Various | 3 episodes |
| Tracey Ullman's Show | Various | Series regular | |
| 2018 | Oi Leonardo | Various | Mini-series |
| Sick Note | Officer Errol | Episode: "Operation Thunderbolt" | |
| 2018-19 | Stath Lets Flats | Tristan | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Plebs | Posh Man | Episode: "The New Flat" |
| 2020 | Avenue 5 | Rick | 2 episodes |
| The English Game | Cattermole | 1 episode | |
| 2021 | Breeders | Teaching Assistant | Episode: "No Surrender" |
| Petrichor | Stuart | 1 episode | |
| 2021-23 | Ghosts | Captain of the Guards | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Deep Heat | Mike | Episode: "The 'Tour'" |
| Ten Percent | Estate Agent | 1 episode | |
| Ellie & Natasia | Various | 3 episodes | |
| 1899 | Darrel | 3 episodes | |
| 2023 | A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou | Fred | TV special |
| Intelligence | Chris Dibbs | Episode: "A Special Agent Special" | |
| Hijack | Adam | Recurring role; 5 episodes | |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Wind in the Willows | Badger | Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe | |
| Good Clean Men | Writer/Performer/Director | Corpus Playroom, Cambridge | |||
| Barry! Pull Your Finger Out | Hugo | udderBELLY, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe | ||
| Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | Amara | ADC Theatre, Cambridge | |||
| 2010 | Armageddapocalypse 2: The Explosioning | Performer | ADC Theatre, Cambridge | ||
| The Oxford Revue and Friends | Writer/Performer | Oxford Arts Theatre, Oxford | |||
| Romeo and Juliet | Gregory | Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge | |||
| Cambridge Comedy Fest | Writer/Performer | Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge | |||
| Good for You | Writer/Performer | International Tour | with Cambridge Footlights | ||
| The Pin | Writer/Performer/Director | ADC Theatre, Cambridge | |||
| 2011 | Pretty Little Panic | Writer/Performer | International Tour | with Cambridge Footlights | |
| 2015 | Ten Seconds with the Pin | Writer/Performer/Director | Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe | |
| 2020 | The Comeback | Writer/Performer | Noël Coward Theatre |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Footlights Harry Porter Award | Barry! Pull Your Finger Out | [12] | |||
| 2013 | London Sketchfest Prize | Best New Act | The Pin | [13] | ||
| 2016 | Audio and Radio Industry Awards | Best Entertainment Production | [14] | |||
| BBC Radio Awards | Best Comedy Production or Moment | [15] | ||||
| 2017 | BBC Audio Drama Awards | Best Comedy With a Live Audience | [16] | |||
| Writers' Guild Awards | Best Radio Comedy | [17] | ||||