Julian Clary
Encyclopedia
Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English
comedian
and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp
style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo
and double entendre
.
, Surrey
, to probation officer Brenda (née McDonald) and policeman Peter J. Clary. He was brought up in Teddington with two older sisters. By his own words, he was conceived in broad daylight in Clacton-on-Sea in autumn 1958. His paternal great-grandfather and his maternal great-parents were Germans who immigrated to England at the end of the 19th century. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic.
Clary was educated at the independent Catholic St Benedict's School
, in Ealing
, London, and later studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths' College, University of London.
for pop band Thinkman (a recording project conceived by Rupert Hine
). He entered the alternative comedy
scene in the early 1980s, first as Gillian Pieface, and later as The Joan Collins Fanclub. He wore heavy glam
make-up and dressed in outrageous clothes, usually involving leather and hinting at bondage
. His pet dog "Fanny the Wonder Dog", a whippet
, also featured in performances.
Since then, Clary has undertaken several successful tours of his stage act, two of which have been released on video: The Mincing Machine Tour (1989) and My Glittering Passage (1993). Clary's most recent UK tour, Lord of the Mince, ran from autumn 2009 to April 2010 and played at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. The tour was further extended to run from September to November 2010 with a DVD released in November 2010.
gameshow, Sticky Moments with Julian Clary. More a vehicle for Clary's brand of humour than a genuine gameshow, Sticky Moments was a light-hearted "non-quiz" satire, with Clary often awarding points because he liked the contestants, rather than because they possessed a particular skill or aptitude. He later starred in the 1992 audience participation sitcom Terry and Julian
with Lee Simpson
, again for Channel 4. His next series was the BBC's studio-based All Rise for Julian Clary in 1996, in which he played a judge in a mock courtroom setting.
In 1992, he played a cameo guest star part in the BBC drama, Virtual Murder
. In his episode, "A Dream of Dracula", he played an undertaker, alongside other guest stars including Alfred Marks
, Jill Gascoine
, Ronald Fraser
and Peggy Mount
. The same year he also played a role in Carry On Columbus
, an unsuccessful revival of the Carry On films (see below). He also appeared in an episode of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?
. In 1993 he appeared at the British Comedy Awards where he made a, now infamous, joke comparing the set to Hampstead Heath
and stating that he had been fisting
the then Chancellor of the Exchequer
Norman Lamont
. Although the joke was met with uproarious laughter from the audience he was criticized by the tabloid press, particularly the Daily Mail
and also Garry Bushell
from The Sun
who started an unsuccessful campaign for him to be banned from television. From 1998 to 2001 he hosted three series of the Sky TV show Prickly Heat, the first two series with Davina McCall
, the last one with Denise van Outen
.
Clary is one of the recurring and most popular performers in the ITV Panto
s. He played the 'The 1st Henchman' & 'Tim' in 1998's 'Jack and The Beanstalk'; 'The Good Fairy' in 2000's 'Cinderella'; 'The Genie Of The Lamp' in 2000's 'Aladdin'; And possibly his most favourite character as 'Chris the Cat' in 2002's 'Dick Whittington'.
In 1999, he became a team captain on the quiz show It's Only TV... But I Like It along with Phill Jupitus
and Jonathan Ross
.
In 2004, Clary took part in the BBC
series Strictly Come Dancing
, finishing third with his partner Erin Boag
.
In 2005, Clary hosted Come and Have A Go for the National Lottery
.
On 1 February 2006, he appeared on the BBC 2 programme Who Do You Think You Are?, a genealogy
series which traced his ancestor
s to a World War I
flight engineer
and German
immigrants among both his mother's and father's forebears. In May 2006, Clary hosted the topical quiz show Have I Got News for You
.
In September 2006, Clary returned to primetime TV as presenter and judge on Channel 5's brand new celebrity performance programme The All Star Talent Show
. He was joined by two guest judges every week to assess celebrity performances and co-presented with Myleene Klass
and Andi Peters
. He also voices the Channel 5 children's series The Little Princess with Jane Horrocks
.
In November 2006, Clary joined the panel of QI
, a panel game
/comedy
show hosted by Stephen Fry
and also appeared on an episode of The New Paul O'Grady Show.
In 2007, he made a cameo appearance in the Australia
n soap opera, Neighbours
, in scenes filmed in London
with Natalie Bassingthwaighte
.
From 20 March 2007, Clary presented a brand new show for the BBC
called The Underdog Show. Celebrities and children were paired up with rescue dogs. They then commenced training and competed against each other in obedience and agility trials in a live arena. The show ran until 26 April 2007 Some of the celebrities let viewers adopt the dog which they rescued, while others kept their dog because they couldn't let them go.
In Spring 2007, Clary did a theatre tour of the UK with his show An Evening with... Julian Clary
. From 2nd October 2007, he played the much coveted role of 'Emcee', in Rufus Norris
’s Olivier Award winning production of Cabaret
, which was in its second year in the West End of London
. Clary was with the show until 19 April 2008.
Clary also appeared on television regularly in 2008, starting in January when he was drafted in as a relief presenter for This Morning
, co-presenting alongside Fern Britton
and Ruth Langsford
during Phillip Schofield
's absence. In April, he once again fronted the BBC 1 series Have I Got News For You
, and he filmed an episode of Celebrity Bargain Hunt
in May. He was also a short-notice guest on The Paul O'Grady Show
in October 2008, after Peter Andre
and Katie Price couldn't appear (Clary and O'Grady are friends and neighbours).
Clary took part in the Strictly Come Dancing
Tour in January and February 2009 with Lilia Kopylova
and dancing a Quickstep
and a Samba
.
From December 2009 to January 2010, Clary starred as Dandini in the pantomime
Cinderella at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley
, West Sussex
. The following season, he co-starred alongside Joan Collins
and Nigel Havers
in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome
from December 2010 - January 2011. Ironically, Collins had issued a cease and desist order to prevent Clary using her name in his comedy stage act in the 1980s.
(1992), an unsuccessful attempt to revive the "Carry On
" series of films. It was widely panned by critics, but was more financially profitable than the two other 'Columbus' films released the same year: 1492: Conquest of Paradise
and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
Clary returned to film in 2001 in the film The Baby Juice Express which starred Lisa Faulkner
, Samantha Janus
, Ruth Jones
and David Seaman
, about a prisoner who is desperate to find some way of conceiving with his wife whilst he is prison, but the sperm ends up getting hijacked. It was released on DVD in 2004.
). It originally aired on BBC Radio 1
for two series; the pilot and 6-part first series have since been repeated on BBC Radio 7 a number of times.
Clary had also appeared regularly in The Big Fun Show in 1988. He has also often been a guest on Just a Minute
, the Radio 4 comedy show.
Between 2005 and 2008, Clary wrote a fortnightly column for New Statesman
magazine. He has also published an autobiography, A Young Man's Passage, which covers his life and career up to the 1993 "Norman Lamont incident" at the British Comedy Awards (see below). In 2007, Clary released his first novel, Murder Most Fab, published by Ebury Press. His second novel, Devil in Disguise, was published in 2009.
, formerly owned by Noël Coward
. His neighbour is Paul O'Grady
. He owns a whippet-mongrel dog called Valerie who starred alongside Clary in The Underdog Show.
Clary is a close friend of fellow comedian Paul Merton
, who was one of the writers for his 1989 show Sticky Moments, before Merton earned fame on Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(Clary has appeared as a guest on an episode of W.L.I.I.A? and Merton is one of the regular panellists for Have I Got News For You
). Clary also appeared on an episode of Room 101
. For this episode, he was allowed to sit on the left, in Merton's usual spot, so that the right side of his face was facing the camera; he nominated his left side, which he believes to be un-photogenic, for Room 101.
On 7 September 2005, Goldsmiths College
made Clary an honorary fellow
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo
Innuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
and double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
.
Early life and education
Clary was born in SurbitonSurbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, to probation officer Brenda (née McDonald) and policeman Peter J. Clary. He was brought up in Teddington with two older sisters. By his own words, he was conceived in broad daylight in Clacton-on-Sea in autumn 1958. His paternal great-grandfather and his maternal great-parents were Germans who immigrated to England at the end of the 19th century. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic.
Clary was educated at the independent Catholic St Benedict's School
St Benedict's School
St Benedict's School is a co-educational independent Roman Catholic school situated in Ealing, West London. The school is part of Ealing Abbey and is governed by the Abbot and monks of Ealing. As the only day school of the English Houses of the English Benedictine Congregation, the school does not...
, in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, London, and later studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths' College, University of London.
Stand-up comedy
Clary began his career under the name Leo Hurll, a fake keyboardistKeyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
for pop band Thinkman (a recording project conceived by Rupert Hine
Rupert Hine
Rupert Neville Hine is an English musician, songwriter and prolific record producer, having produced albums for artists including Kevin Ayers, Tina Turner, Howard Jones, Saga, The Fixx, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Stevie Nicks, Chris de Burgh, Suzanne Vega, Rush, Underworld, Duncan Sheik, and ...
). He entered the alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
scene in the early 1980s, first as Gillian Pieface, and later as The Joan Collins Fanclub. He wore heavy glam
Glamour (presentation)
Glamour originally was a magical-occult spell cast on somebody to make them believe that something or somebody was attractive. In the late 19th century terminology a non magical item used to help create a more attractive appearance gradually became 'a glamour'...
make-up and dressed in outrageous clothes, usually involving leather and hinting at bondage
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
. His pet dog "Fanny the Wonder Dog", a whippet
Whippet
The Whippet is a breed of dog in the sighthound family. They are active and playful and are physically similar to a small Greyhound.- Description :...
, also featured in performances.
Since then, Clary has undertaken several successful tours of his stage act, two of which have been released on video: The Mincing Machine Tour (1989) and My Glittering Passage (1993). Clary's most recent UK tour, Lord of the Mince, ran from autumn 2009 to April 2010 and played at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. The tour was further extended to run from September to November 2010 with a DVD released in November 2010.
Television and theatre
After a number of mid-1980s appearances on Friday Night Live, he co-hosted the short-lived ITV game show Trick Or Treat (1989) with Mike Smith, before achieving greater success later that year with his own high-camp Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
gameshow, Sticky Moments with Julian Clary. More a vehicle for Clary's brand of humour than a genuine gameshow, Sticky Moments was a light-hearted "non-quiz" satire, with Clary often awarding points because he liked the contestants, rather than because they possessed a particular skill or aptitude. He later starred in the 1992 audience participation sitcom Terry and Julian
Terry and Julian
Terry and Julian is a British sitcom that aired on Channel 4 in 1992. Starring Julian Clary, it was written by Clary, Paul Merton and John Henderson...
with Lee Simpson
Lee Simpson
Lee Simpson is a British actor and comedian best known as a member of the improvisational group The Comedy Store Players.He has appeared in a number of roles, including the sitcoms Terry and Julian and Drop The Dead Donkey, the films Paper Mask and Nuns On The Run, and played a key role in...
, again for Channel 4. His next series was the BBC's studio-based All Rise for Julian Clary in 1996, in which he played a judge in a mock courtroom setting.
In 1992, he played a cameo guest star part in the BBC drama, Virtual Murder
Virtual Murder
Virtual Murder was an unusual investigative drama series shown on BBC television in 1992. It starred Nicholas Clay as Dr John Cornelius, a psychology lecturer at a provincial university, and Kim Thomson as his vivacious, red-headed partner, Samantha Valentine.- Subject matter and cast :Virtual...
. In his episode, "A Dream of Dracula", he played an undertaker, alongside other guest stars including Alfred Marks
Alfred Marks
Alfred Edward Marks OBE was a comic actor and comedian.-Biography:Marks was born as Ruchel Kutchinsky in Holborn, London. He left Bell Lane School at 14 and started in entertainment at the Windmill Theatre. He then served in the RAF as a Flight Sergeant in the Middle East where he arranged...
, Jill Gascoine
Jill Gascoine
Jill Gascoine is a British actress and novelist. She is most widely known for her role as Detective Inspector Maggie Forbes in the 1980s television series The Gentle Touch and its spin-off series C.A.T.S. Eyes...
, Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser
Ronald Fraser was an English character actor, who appeared in numerous British films of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s whilst also appearing in many popular TV shows.-Background:...
and Peggy Mount
Peggy Mount
Margaret Rose "Peggy" Mount OBE, was an English actress of stage and screen. She was perhaps best known for playing battleaxe characters, though her real personality was said to have been far removed from such roles. She was also well-known for her distinctive voice.- Early life :Mount was born in...
. The same year he also played a role in Carry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus is the 31st and last film in the Carry On series, following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. The only main series regulars present are Jim Dale , Bernard Cribbins , Leslie Phillips , Jon Pertwee and June Whitfield...
, an unsuccessful revival of the Carry On films (see below). He also appeared in an episode of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
. In 1993 he appeared at the British Comedy Awards where he made a, now infamous, joke comparing the set to Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
and stating that he had been fisting
Fisting
Fisting is a sexual activity that involves inserting a hand into the vagina or rectum. Once insertion is complete, the fingers either naturally clench into a fist or remain straight. In more vigorous forms of fisting, such as "punching", a fully clenched fist may be inserted and withdrawn slowly...
the then Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
Norman Lamont
Norman Lamont
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, PC is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He is best-known for his period serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1990 until 1993...
. Although the joke was met with uproarious laughter from the audience he was criticized by the tabloid press, particularly the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
and also Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
from The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
who started an unsuccessful campaign for him to be banned from television. From 1998 to 2001 he hosted three series of the Sky TV show Prickly Heat, the first two series with Davina McCall
Davina McCall
Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
, the last one with Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
.
Clary is one of the recurring and most popular performers in the ITV Panto
ITV Panto
The ITV Panto was a series of pantomimes originally broadcast on ITV in 1998, 2000, and 2002. All written by Simon Nye, they included an array of celebrities playing the lead roles. There were only four shows recorded; Dick Whittington in 2002 having been the final in the series.The recordings are...
s. He played the 'The 1st Henchman' & 'Tim' in 1998's 'Jack and The Beanstalk'; 'The Good Fairy' in 2000's 'Cinderella'; 'The Genie Of The Lamp' in 2000's 'Aladdin'; And possibly his most favourite character as 'Chris the Cat' in 2002's 'Dick Whittington'.
In 1999, he became a team captain on the quiz show It's Only TV... But I Like It along with Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
and Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011...
.
In 2004, Clary took part in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
, finishing third with his partner Erin Boag
Erin Boag
Erin Boag is a professional ballroom dancer. She has danced from the age of three, originally starting ballet and later moving into ballroom, Latin and jazz...
.
In 2005, Clary hosted Come and Have A Go for the National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
.
On 1 February 2006, he appeared on the BBC 2 programme Who Do You Think You Are?, a genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
series which traced his ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
s to a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
flight engineer
Flight engineer
Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
immigrants among both his mother's and father's forebears. In May 2006, Clary hosted the topical quiz show Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
.
In September 2006, Clary returned to primetime TV as presenter and judge on Channel 5's brand new celebrity performance programme The All Star Talent Show
The All Star Talent Show
The All Star Talent Show is a 2006, television programme which aires on Five. It is presented by Andi Peters and Myleene Klass, with Julian Clary making up the judging panel alongside 2 guest judges. Each 6 celebrities perform with the winner at the end of each episode going into the final at the...
. He was joined by two guest judges every week to assess celebrity performances and co-presented with Myleene Klass
Myleene Klass
Myleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...
and Andi Peters
Andi Peters
Andi Eleazu Peters is an English television presenter and television producer.-Education:Peters was educated at Emanuel School, a co-educational independent school in Battersea, in south-west London.-Life and career:...
. He also voices the Channel 5 children's series The Little Princess with Jane Horrocks
Jane Horrocks
Barbara Jane Horrocks is an English voice, stage, screen and television actress, voice artist, musician, and singer. She is best known for her role as "Bubble" in the TV series Absolutely Fabulous as well as her distinctive voice....
.
In November 2006, Clary joined the panel of QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
, a panel game
Panel game
A panel game or panel show is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Panelists may compete with each other, such as on The News Quiz; facilitate play by guest contestants, such as on Match Game/Blankety Blank; or do both, such as on Wait Wait.....
/comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
show hosted by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
and also appeared on an episode of The New Paul O'Grady Show.
In 2007, he made a cameo appearance in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n soap opera, Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, in scenes filmed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Natalie Bassingthwaighte is an Australian actress, singer-songwriter and television personality. She began her career as an actress on the television series All Saints. She then starred in the American television movie Counterstrike...
.
From 20 March 2007, Clary presented a brand new show for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
called The Underdog Show. Celebrities and children were paired up with rescue dogs. They then commenced training and competed against each other in obedience and agility trials in a live arena. The show ran until 26 April 2007 Some of the celebrities let viewers adopt the dog which they rescued, while others kept their dog because they couldn't let them go.
In Spring 2007, Clary did a theatre tour of the UK with his show An Evening with... Julian Clary
An Evening with...
Established in 2003 by The One Night Booking Company for Marc Sinden Productions, An Evening with... is a series of productions that presents celebrity-led anthologies and recitals nationally and internationally on 'One Night Stands' or longer....
. From 2nd October 2007, he played the much coveted role of 'Emcee', in Rufus Norris
Rufus Norris
Rufus Norris is an award-winning British theatre director who trained as an actor at RADA before turning to directing.In 2001 he won the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his production of Afore Night Came at the Young Vic....
’s Olivier Award winning production of Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, which was in its second year in the West End of London
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. Clary was with the show until 19 April 2008.
Clary also appeared on television regularly in 2008, starting in January when he was drafted in as a relief presenter for This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
, co-presenting alongside Fern Britton
Fern Britton
Fern Britton is an English television presenter, known as the former main co-presenter on the ITV magazine programme This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She left the show on 17 July 2009, her 52nd birthday.- Early life :...
and Ruth Langsford
Ruth Langsford
Ruth Langsford is an English television presenter.Langsford began her career as a continuity announcer and newscaster with ITV regional station TSW in the South West of England...
during Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...
's absence. In April, he once again fronted the BBC 1 series Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, and he filmed an episode of Celebrity Bargain Hunt
Bargain Hunt
Bargain Hunt is a British television programme in which two pairs of contestants are challenged to buy antiques at a fair and then sell them in an auction for a profit. It has aired on BBC One since 13 March 2000 in a daytime version and from 22 August 2002 to 13 November 2004 in a primetime version...
in May. He was also a short-notice guest on The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
in October 2008, after Peter Andre
Peter André
Peter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
and Katie Price couldn't appear (Clary and O'Grady are friends and neighbours).
Clary took part in the Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
Tour in January and February 2009 with Lilia Kopylova
Lilia Kopylova
Lilia Andreyevna Kopylova , born 18 June 1978 in Moscow, Soviet Union, is a professional dancer.With her husband Darren Bennett she has been competing as an amateur since July 1997 and as a professional since May 2003...
and dancing a Quickstep
Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events...
and a Samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
.
From December 2009 to January 2010, Clary starred as Dandini in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Cinderella at The Hawth Theatre in Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. The following season, he co-starred alongside Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
and Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome
Birmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End...
from December 2010 - January 2011. Ironically, Collins had issued a cease and desist order to prevent Clary using her name in his comedy stage act in the 1980s.
Film
Clary appeared in the film Carry on ColumbusCarry On Columbus
Carry On Columbus is the 31st and last film in the Carry On series, following 1978's Carry On Emmannuelle. The only main series regulars present are Jim Dale , Bernard Cribbins , Leslie Phillips , Jon Pertwee and June Whitfield...
(1992), an unsuccessful attempt to revive the "Carry On
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
" series of films. It was widely panned by critics, but was more financially profitable than the two other 'Columbus' films released the same year: 1492: Conquest of Paradise
1492: Conquest of Paradise
1492: Conquest of Paradise is an epic 1992 European adventure/drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Roselyne Bosch, which tells the story of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus and the effect this had on the indigenous people...
and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, a 1992 film directed by James Bond alumnus John Glen, was the last project developed by the father and son production team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind. It follows the events leading up to and including the voyage of Columbus to the New World in 1492...
Clary returned to film in 2001 in the film The Baby Juice Express which starred Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Faulkner
Lisa Tamsin Faulkner is an English actress and television personality.-Early life:Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer...
, Samantha Janus
Samantha Janus
Samantha Zoe Womack is an English actress, singer and director, both on television and stage. In recent years she has been best known for playing the role of Ronnie Branning in EastEnders, but made her name in the early 1990s as Mandy Wilkins in Game On, and also represented the United Kingdom in...
, Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones is a Welsh TV actress and writer. She starred in and co-wrote the multi-award winning TV comedy Gavin & Stacey and has appeared in many other successful comedies over recent years...
and David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
, about a prisoner who is desperate to find some way of conceiving with his wife whilst he is prison, but the sperm ends up getting hijacked. It was released on DVD in 2004.
Radio
In 1992 Clary hosted a radio show for the BBC called Intimate Contact, the premise of which was for him to act as a genial 'Mr Fix-it' for a wide range of 'punter' problems. Clary attempted to solve these issues over the telephone, with the assistance of roving reporter "Hugh Jelly" (actor Philip HerbertPhilip Herbert (actor)
Philip Herbert is an English actor and mime artist, best known as his comedic alter ego, Hugh Jelly, a sidekick to gay comedian Julian Clary on the 1989 quiz show Sticky Moments with Julian Clary....
). It originally aired on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
for two series; the pilot and 6-part first series have since been repeated on BBC Radio 7 a number of times.
Clary had also appeared regularly in The Big Fun Show in 1988. He has also often been a guest on Just a Minute
Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons. Its first transmission on Radio 4 was on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The Radio 4 programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003....
, the Radio 4 comedy show.
Writing
Clary has released two large format comedy books: "My Life With Fanny The Wonder Dog" (1989) and "How To Be A Man" (1992).Between 2005 and 2008, Clary wrote a fortnightly column for New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
magazine. He has also published an autobiography, A Young Man's Passage, which covers his life and career up to the 1993 "Norman Lamont incident" at the British Comedy Awards (see below). In 2007, Clary released his first novel, Murder Most Fab, published by Ebury Press. His second novel, Devil in Disguise, was published in 2009.
Personal life
Clary owns a seven-bedroom farmhouse near Ashford, KentAshford, Kent
Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
, formerly owned by Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
. His neighbour is Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady
Paul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. He is best known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show and, more recently, Paul O'Grady Live, as well as his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, as...
. He owns a whippet-mongrel dog called Valerie who starred alongside Clary in The Underdog Show.
Clary is a close friend of fellow comedian Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
, who was one of the writers for his 1989 show Sticky Moments, before Merton earned fame on Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
(Clary has appeared as a guest on an episode of W.L.I.I.A? and Merton is one of the regular panellists for Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
). Clary also appeared on an episode of Room 101
Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
. For this episode, he was allowed to sit on the left, in Merton's usual spot, so that the right side of his face was facing the camera; he nominated his left side, which he believes to be un-photogenic, for Room 101.
On 7 September 2005, Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
made Clary an honorary fellow
Honorary title (academic)
Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties...
.
Stand-up VHS and DVDs
- The Mincing Machine Tour (1989)
- My Glittering Passage (1993)
- Live - Lord of the Mince (29 November 2010)