| Tim Reid | |
| Birth Place: | Solihull, United Kingdom |
| Occupation: | Comedy writer |
| Education: | Solihull School |
| Nationality: | English |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Notableworks: | Peter Kay's Car Share Meet the Richardsons |
Tim Reid is a British TV comedy writer. He is known for co-writing and co-creating the BBC One sitcom Peter Kay's Car Share and UKTV's Meet the Richardsons, starring comedians Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont.[1]
Reid grew up in Solihull and attended Solihull School.[2]
Reid started his career working for advertising agencies before specialising in innovation around 2006.[3] He was working as a business consultant for an innovation company when he began writing comedy with colleague Paul Coleman.[4]
After writing a script for a sitcom called Car Share, they sent it to Peter Kay, who Coleman had previously worked with, for feedback; Kay in turn pitched the sitcom to the BBC.[4] "We were just hoping he would give us some feedback and opinions - whether it was a good idea or not and whether the writing was good enough [...] It was a real thrill when he came back and said not only did he really like it but wanted to get involved too," said Reid.[5]
The series premiered on BBC iPlayer in 2015 with Kay in the lead role, becoming the first programme to be released on iPlayer before being broadcast on BBC One.[6] The series drew a peak audience of 9.4 million viewers for the first episode of its second series.[5]
In 2016 Reid and the Car Share writing team won 'Best Comedy Writing on Television' at the British Screenwriters' Awards.[7] The Car Share writing team were also nominated for 'Best Writer - Comedy' at the 2016 British Academy Television Craft Awards[8] and the 2016 Royal Television Society Awards.[9]
In 2017 he was credited as a writer on The Nightly Show.[10]
Reid co-wrote Meet the Richardsons, which follows the fictionalised life of comedians Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont, initially running on UKTV and renewed for a second series in 2020;[11] the series was later shown on BBC Two.[12] Reid also starred as himself in the show as part of a meta plot point where he was co-writing a fictional show with Beaumont.[10] Meet the Richardsons won 'Best Comedy Programme' for 2021 and 2022 at the Broadcast Digital Awards.[13] [14]
He has also served as an innovation consultant for brands including Carling and Durex[3] and is a keynote speaker on how to inspire creativity and innovation.[15]
In 2024, Reid launched the podcast Fist of Firsts, where he interviews comedians about their backstories and creative process.[16] [17]