Mark Dolan
Dolan performing in June 2019
Born (1974-03-17) 17 March 1974
London, England
Occupation(s)Comedian, writer, presenter
Years active2000–present
Children2
Websitemarkdolan.com

Mark Dolan (born 17 March 1974) is an English presenter, writer and comedian. He hosts Mark Dolan Tonight and Friday Night Live on GB News. He was the host of the Channel 4 game show Balls of Steel from 2005 until 2008.

Early life

Dolan grew up above the Sir Robert Peel public house in Kentish Town, with his landlord father, mother Diane, brother and two sisters. Dolan is proud of his heritage and often refers to this period of his life on his GB News show.[1]

Dolan attended University College School and the University of Edinburgh, where he received an MA in politics. Whilst an undergraduate at Edinburgh, he performed in the improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts.[2]

Career

Stand-up comedy

Dolan started as a stand-up comedian in 2000. He has toured the world as a live comic.

Radio

Dolan's career in media began as a radio producer, working for the female-only Viva Radio, 963 Liberty and the original incarnation of talkRADIO and then talkSPORT. He was the producer of the Nick Ferrari and David Banks-fronted Big Boys' Breakfast.

In 2017 Dolan returned to radio, presenting a breakfast show on Fubar Radio, an online radio station based in London.[3]

In 2019, Dolan joined talkRADIO, where he presented Drivetime from 4pm to 7 Monday to Friday, Saturday nights 10pm to 1am and Sundays 8pm to 10pm. He left the station in July 2021 to join rivals, GB News.

In September 2020, at a time in the COVID-19 pandemic when the wearing of face coverings was compulsory in shops and on public transport in the United Kingdom, Dolan cut up a face mask during a talkRADIO broadcast,[4] calling the masks "wretched, godawful, damned, blinking, uncomfortable, scientifically empty, and useless".[5] Dolan's fellow talkRADIO host Jamie East quit the station when Dolan went unpunished by station bosses.[6] Presenter Piers Morgan and doctor Hilary Jones criticised his actions on Good Morning Britain as behaviour that could "cost lives".[7] The next month Dolan clarified that he followed all government rules on mask wearing, but considered the science around them to be "flaky".[8]

Television

Dolan first came to the public's attention in 2002 after writing and performing in a Comedy Lab entitled 'The Richard Taylor Interviews'.[9]

Dolan was the host of Channel 4 show Balls of Steel, which he presented from 2005 to 2008. He was also the presenter of the TV documentary series The World's ...And Me. The show ran to three series and twelve one-hour films and led to the release of the book The World's Most Extraordinary People and Me, published by HarperCollins.

In 2006, Dolan helped launch More4 as the host of The Last Word, a nightly topical discussion show. He has also fronted shows for E4, including its launch comedy series, Show Me The Funny, and provides his voice as presenter of a new series for Five called Urban Legends. For five years, Dolan was the presenter of Sky Movies' weekly movie-news show 35mm[10] and Channel 4's The Mad Bad Ad Show.

In February 2013, Dolan took part in the fifth series of Let's Dance for Comic Relief as a member of "Destiny's Dad" alongside fellow stand-up comedians Hal Cruttenden and Shaun Keaveny.[11]

In 2015, Dolan co-hosted If Katie Hopkins Ruled the World with British reality TV personality Katie Hopkins.[12]

In 2016, he won the Celebrity Come Dine with Me Christmas Special, with a Dickensian themed meal of pea soup, three bird roast and plum duff as dessert. He also appeared in the fourth and final series of the Channel 4 wintersports entertainment show The Jump, alongside Bradley Wiggins, Robbie Fowler, and Jason Robinson.[13]

Dolan joined GB News on 23 July 2021,[14] presenting Mark Dolan Tonight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings berween 9pm and 11pm. In November 2023, Patrick Christys took over the Tonight show on Friday evenings, with Dolan presenting a new programme, Friday Night Live, between 8pm and 9pm.[15] He has also presented the paper review show Headliners on the channel.

References

  1. ↑ Mark Dolan's Take at 10 | How do we save the great British pub?, retrieved 15 July 2023
  2. ↑ "Fringe Q&As: Mark Dolan on his new stand up show Life Hacks". The Herald. Glasgow. 2 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Mark Dolan Eats the News". Fubar Radio. 17 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Mask use in the context of COVID-19". WHO. 1 December 2020.
  5. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Mark Dolan cuts up his face mask live on air: "Wearing a mask is the new woke"" – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Tobitt, Charlotte (28 September 2020). "Talkradio host quits after fellow presenter cut up face mask on air". Press Gazette.
  7. ↑ Ellie Harrison, ed. (30 September 2020). "Piers Morgan condemns talkRADIO host Mark Dolan for cutting up face mask: 'People may die because he did that'". The Independent. London.
  8. ↑ Fordy, Tom (1 October 2020). "Mark Dolan's war on Covid tyranny: 'Wearing a mask is an act of virtue signalling'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "The Richard Taylor Interviews". IMDb. 15 January 2003.
  10. ↑ "35mm". Archived from the original on 8 December 2009.
  11. ↑ "Desiny's Dad".
  12. ↑ "If Katie Hopkins Rule the World, TLC, review: 'a mixed bag'". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  13. ↑ Fullerton, Huw. "Mark Dolan on The Jump 2017's improved calibre: "Last series half the group weren't even signed off to do the jump!"". Radio Times.
  14. ↑ "Andrew Neil considers quitting GB News amid power struggle with boss". 12 August 2021.
  15. ↑ TVZone (14 November 2023). "GB NEWS ANNOUNCES NEW PRIMETIME SHOW AND SCHEDULE CHANGES". TV Zone UK. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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