Seann Walsh Explained

Seann Walsh
Birth Name:Sean Christopher Walsh
Birth Date:2 December 1985
Birth Place:Camden, London, England
Medium:Stand-up, podcast
Active:2006–present
Subject:British culture, pop culture, self-deprecation, recreational drug use, drinking culture
Domesticpartner:Rebecca Humphries (2013–2018)
Grace Adderley (2019–present)
Notable Work:Mock the Week (2009–2013)
Virtually Famous (2014–2017)
Strictly Come Dancing (2018)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here (2022)

Sean Christopher Walsh (born 2 December 1985), known professionally as Seann Walsh, is an English stand-up comedian.

Early life

Walsh was born in Camden in London, but was brought up in Brighton.[1] He left school with one GCSE examination pass, in Drama.[2]

Career

Walsh is a graduate of Jill Edwards'[3] comedy workshops and performed his first gig in November 2006. He won several awards early in his career including Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year (2009)[4] and Chortle Best Newcomer (2009).[5] Walsh supported Stephen K. Amos on his 2008/09 Find the Funny and 2009/10 The Feelgood Factor tours, as well as at the 2010 Reading and Leeds Festival.

Walsh was resident host at Komedia's Comic Boom in Brighton and has also been an 'audience wrangler' (a more recent version of the traditional warm-up comedian) for QI.

Walsh performed his 2012 show Seann to Be Wild[6] at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and toured the country with it. He has performed shows with fellow comedian Josh Widdicombe named "Ying and Young". His 2013 Edinburgh Fringe show The Lie-In King received good press.

Walsh's stand-up style has been described as "impressively universal, gag-heavy, observational".[7]

Walsh also presents a weekly show on FUBAR Radio with his friend, Mark Simmons.[8]

From 8 September 2018, Walsh participated in the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional dance partner Katya Jones. Early in the series, it was reported that he had become romantically involved with Jones despite both of them being in long-term relationships, and his popularity suffered as a result.[9] Walsh and Jones did an interview with Zoe Ball following the controversy, where after a televised grilling from Ball, Walsh apologised.[10] The couple was voted out in Week 6.[11] [12]

Seann hosted Flinch, a physical gameshow for Netflix,[13] alongside Lloyd Griffith, and Desiree Burch.[14] The show is produced by Stellify Media.

In 2022, Walsh participated in Series 22 of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on ITV1, and finished in 5th place on 25 November 2022.[15]

Personal life

Walsh's relationship with actress Rebecca Humphries ended in October 2018 after a video and photos of him kissing his Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones were published. It was later reported that Katya and her husband Neil Jones had separated as an indirect result of the incident.[16] In a now-viral tweet, Humphries stated that Walsh had called her “mental” and “psycho” for voicing her suspicions about his relationship with Jones in the weeks leading up to the incident.[17] In her 2022 memoir Why Did You Stay? Humphries alleged that Walsh had reacted similarly when confronted about other instances of inappropriate behaviour throughout their five-year relationship. Humphries described Walsh as an emotionally abusive, controlling, and aggressive partner, and stated that several women had come forward following the Strictly scandal to reveal Walsh’s numerous past affairs.[18] Walsh subsequently incorporated his experiences on Strictly into his standup act. During an interview with Ellie Calnan, in March 2022, Walsh described how the incident was still "trauma" for him and how he underwent treatment for depression and anxiety, to help him cope with the fallout.[19]

Walsh has been in a relationship with dance teacher Grace Adderley since 2019. They live in a Victorian terraced house in Shepherd's Bush, London and welcomed their first child, a daughter, in February 2023.[20] [21] He is a Queens Park Rangers fan.[22] [23]

Appearances

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009–2013 Mock the Week Panelist 5 appearances[24]
2010 Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow Himself Episode 5- Bristol[25]
2011–2014 Never Mind the Buzzcocks Panelist 4 appearances[26]
2011–13 Stand Up for the Week Himself 25 episodes (including 1 guest appearance)
2011, 2013, 2016 Live at the Apollo Himself 3 appearances[27]
2013 Seann Walsh World Presenter 6 episodes[28]
2013 Eggman Sitcom for Comedy Central[29]
2015, 2016 8 Out of 10 Cats Panelist 3 appearances
2014–2017 Virtually Famous Team Captain 4 series for E4[30]
2015 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Panelist 2 appearances
2015 Play to the Whistle Scorekeeper 7 episodes
2017–2018 Bad Move Grizzo Sitcom for ITV 2[31]
2018 Strictly Come Dancing Contestant Series 16[32]
2019 The Jonathan Ross Show Himself [33]
2019 Flinch Himself 6 episodes for Netflix[34]
2022The Lovebox in Your Living RoomVarious
2022 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! 5th Place Series 22[35]

Radio

Tours

YearTitleShowsNotes
2012–2013 Seann To Be Wild 80 dates DVD release[37]
2016 One for the Road 64 dates [38]
2019 After This One, I'm Going Home 88 shows [39]
2022 Seann Walsh is Dead. Happy Now? 63 shows Debut at Edinburgh Fringe[40]
2023–2024 Back from the Bed TBC [41]

Online releases

ShowRelease DatePlatformNotes
Kiss 27 March 2022 [42]
Seann Walsh is Dead, Happy Now? 7 April 2024

Awards

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Interview: Seann Walsh. The Brighton Source. 9 February 2012.
  2. Web site: Interview: Seann Walsh. Jonathan Watson. JP Watson. 26 July 2013. 4 August 2013.
  3. Web site: Jill. Edwards . Three Jill Edwards comedy course graduates return to where it all began . 7 May 2014. 10 July 2022. Jill Edwards Comedy Workshops.
  4. News: Seann takes comedian of year title. Leicester Mercury. 16 February 2009. 15 March 2011.
  5. Web site: Chortle Awards. Chortle. 15 March 2011.
  6. Web site: Seann Walsh: Seann to be Wild. https://web.archive.org/web/20120917045613/http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/seann-walsh-seann-to-be-wild . 17 September 2012. August 2012. Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
  7. News: Living in Seann Walsh World means having it both ways. James Kettle. The Guardian. 4 August 2013.
  8. News: News-ish with Seann Walsh and Mark Simmons. FUBAR Radio. 27 September 2017. en-GB.
  9. Web site: Seann Walsh review – standup steps back into his Strictly scandal. 7 June 2019. Brian Logan. The Guardian. 18 December 2019.
  10. Web site: Strictly Come Dancing's Seann Walsh and Katya Jones address kiss scandal on It Takes Two . . 10 October 2018 .
  11. Web site: BBC One – Strictly Come Dancing, Series 16, Launch. BBC One. 8 September 2018. 8 September 2018.
  12. News: Strictly Come Dancing 2018 Hallowe'en results: scandal-hit couple Seann Walsh and Katya Jones get sent home. Michael. Hogan. The Telegraph . 28 October 2018. www.telegraph.co.uk.
  13. https://deadline.com/2017/11/netflix-orders-jackass-meets-wipeout-format-flinch-from-sonys-stellify-1202204815/ Netflix Orders ‘Jackass’-Meets-‘Wipeout’ Format ‘Flinch’ From Sony’s Stellify | Deadline
  14. https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2018/08/23/41044/comedians_to_host_netflix_gameshow Comedians to host Netflix gameshow : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide
  15. Web site: 2022-11-25 . Seventh contestant is eliminated from I'm a Celebrity . 2022-12-04 . The Independent . en.
  16. Web site: Strictly's Neil and Katya Jones found it 'impossible to get back on track' after Seann Walsh kiss. 20 August 2019. Louise Griffin. Metro. 18 December 2019.
  17. Web site: https://twitter.com/beckshumps/status/1049378454028861441 . 2023-01-20 . Twitter . en.
  18. Web site: Rebecca Humphries on life after that Strictly debacle: 'I felt as if I had a voice again. Maybe one that mattered' Autobiography and memoir The Guardian . 2023-01-20 . amp.theguardian.com.
  19. Web site: Seann Walsh on surviving Strictly scandal: 'I was the only one to sympathise with Matt Hancock' . 16 March 2022 .
  20. Web site: Exclusive: Seann Walsh and his pregnant girlfriend Grace Adderley reveal birth plans for the first time . Robey . Belinda . hellomagazine.com . 11 December 2022 . 19 December 2022.
  21. Web site: Avery . Rachel . 25 November 2022 . I'm a celebrity's Seann Walsh's vibrant home to raise first child with girlfriend Grace Adderley . hellomagazine.com . 29 December 2022.
  22. Web site: Seann Walsh. Sky Sports. 17 October 2011. 12 October 2011.
  23. Web site: Ian. Taylor. Seann Walsh. The Inside'R. 1 June 2013. 16 June 2013. 25 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130925175601/http://view.vcab.com/?vcabid=gheSelgegScjlrjjl. dead.
  24. Web site: Mock the Week. BBC.
  25. Web site: Seann Walsh – Airport Travelators. BBC.
  26. Web site: Never Mind the Buzzcocks. BBC.
  27. Web site: Live at the Apollo. BBC.
  28. News: Living in Seann Walsh World means having it both ways. The Guardian. 2 August 2013. Kettle. James.
  29. News: Seann Walsh's shambling ways don't hide his success. Richardson. Jay. The Scotsman. 24 October 2013.
  30. Web site: Virtually Famous. Channel 4.
  31. News: Jack Dee's Bad Move gets a second series. Radio Times. Harrison. Ellie. 7 November 2017.
  32. News: Strictly Come Dancing 2018 line-up: All the series 16 couples as Ashley Roberts and Steps star Faye Tozer meet their partners. Evening Standard. Sporn. Natasha. 8 September 2018.
  33. News: Seann Walsh apologises for Katya kiss scandal on The Jonathan Ross Show: 'I will always be sorry'. Radio Times. 3 March 2019. Harrison. Ellie.
  34. News: 'Why am I being punished!' Is Flinch the most sadistic game show ever?. Heritage. Stuart. 7 May 2019. The Guardian.
  35. News: Seann Walsh shares why he is taking part in ITV I'm A Celebrity years after BBC Strictly scandal. Manchester Evening News. Sansome. Jessica. 9 November 2022.
  36. Web site: Clown with Seann Walsh. Chortle. 20 December 2021.
  37. Web site: Seann Walsh: Seann To Be Wild. Chortle.
  38. Web site: Seann Walsh: One for the Road. BBC.
  39. Web site: Seann Walsh: After This One I'm Going Home. Chortle. Bennett. Steve. 16 March 2019.
  40. Web site: Seann Walsh: Is Dead. Happy Now?. Chortle. 24 August 2022.
  41. Web site: Seann Walsh: Back from the Bed. Chortle.
  42. Web site: Seann Walsh: Kiss. Seann Walsh (YouTube).