| Dean Learner | |
| First: | Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight |
| Creator: | Richard Ayoade Matthew Holness |
| Portrayer: | Richard Ayoade |
| Occupation: | Publisher |
| Gender: | Male |
| Nationality: | British |
Dean Learner is a fictional character created and performed by British comedian Richard Ayoade in stage shows and television shows. Learner is a famous publisher, mostly of pornography, but also of the books of the fictional horror writer Garth Marenghi (played by Matthew Holness).
Ayoade first played Learner in the Edinburgh Fringe stage shows, Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight and Garth Marenghi's Netherhead in 2000 and 2001 respectively. In 2004, he appeared in Channel 4's spoof horror comedy Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, and in 2006 in his own TV show, Man to Man with Dean Learner, which aired on Channel 4 from October 2006. It was recorded at Teddington Studios in April–May 2006 in front of a live audience and featured Learner interviewing celebrity guests – all of whom happened to be his clients (and played by Ayoade's writing partner Matthew Holness) – including Marenghi.
The character is Garth Marenghi's publisher, and regards Marenghi and his (highly dubious) talents with a respect that sometimes borders on worship (he has been known to assault small children for criticising Marenghi's writing). No matter how tatty or ridiculous Marenghi's output is, Learner is forever in awe of Marenghi's gifts. Marenghi, of course, accepts Learner's praise without question, although he doesn't seem to have any great fondness for Learner in return.
A more famous quote from one of the episodes sees Learner praise Marenghi's talents: "Garth is the most significant artist I've ever worked with, and I've worked with Lulu and four other people. So, er, we're talking crème-de-la-crème."
Learner's attempts to first sell Darkplace were fruitless; he took of 60 episodes of the show to Channel 4, whom he expected to take the footage and air it, no questions asked. However, the channel told him they did not ask him to make the show, which Learner had no idea they needed to do. Eventually the show enjoyed a brief stint in Peru, with Learner declaring: "Thank God for the Peruvian market!"In the Garth Marenghi's Darkplace show within the show, Learner plays Thornton Reed, a camp hospital administrator who bears a trademark shotgun and cigar and answers to hospital boss "Won Ton." He is known in this respect for his brilliant but sometimes pathetic attempts at comedy, one of them being "If Won Ton hears about this, my arse is grass, and he's got a lawnmower!" (from Darkplace episode 4). This was not Learner and Marenghi's first major creative collaboration. Learner directed the seventies film adaptation of Marenghi's novel Bitch Killer, and also appears as Reed in Marenghi's 2006 movie, War of the Wasps. Clips of both projects were shown on Learner's chat show.
In addition to publishing Marenghi's books, featuring in Marenghi's TV shows and films, and releasing various gentlemen's titles, Learner is involved in several other side projects. One notable venture is his management of the Formula Five motor racing team, "The Dean Team," which achieved significant success with driver Steve Pising winning four world titles. However, after departing The Dean Team, Pising experienced a major crash in his inaugural race with a new team, prompting speculation about Learner's potential involvement.
After a hiatus, Pising collaborated with Learner again on a new TV show, "The Learner," where they conducted auditions for a position at Pising Parts, now under Learner's ownership. Additionally, Dean has authored his autobiography, titled "I Have A Dean," available at a special low price of £90.
Ayoade portrays Learner as a notably sleazy and unscrupulous individual. The character appears devoid of emotion or the capacity to empathize with others, which may contribute to his perceived lack of acting prowess. For instance, in the Darkplace special features, when questioned about the fate of "Ahmed," the original financial backer of Darkplace, Learner callously states, "Ahmed very sadly died. He was shot dead in his flat," all while conspicuously looking away from the camera. In another interview, Learner hints that when Marenghi partnered with another manager in the '80s, that manager swiftly met an untimely demise, leading Marenghi to return to Learner. Furthermore, there are implications that Learner possesses knowledge regarding the disappearance of Darkplace co-star Madeleine Wool, who portrayed Liz Asher. He also makes reference to an incident in which he punches one of the child actors in the head. Although Dean seems to be genuinely friendly with Garth and, to a lesser extent, character actor Todd Rivers (played by Matt Berry), his relationship with other clients, colleagues and business associates of his (such as Steve Pising and folk singer Merriman Weir) are shown in Man to Man as being somewhat colder and more manipulative, culminating in the final episode of the series in which Dean and his cadre are shown as being primarily responsible for the woes of widely hated actor Randolph Caer.
Despite Learner's camp dress sense, he denies being homosexual. He has also been involved in pornography, including Channel Ladykiss.