Alex Horne
Horne in 2018
Born
Alexander James Jeffery Horne

1978 (age 45–46)
Chichester, West Sussex, England
Alma materSidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)Comedian, writer
Years active2000–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2005)​
Children3
Websitealexhorne.com

Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 1978) is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies.[1] He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.[1]

Early life

Alexander James Jeffery Horne[2] was born in Chichester, West Sussex, England[3] in 1978.[4] He was educated at independent Lancing College (1991–1996)[5] and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he studied classics and graduated in 2001.[6][7] While at Cambridge, he was a member of the Footlights.[8]

Career

Horne made his first appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2000 in the show "How to Avoid Huge Ships".[9] His 2003 Edinburgh show "Making Fish Laugh", was nominated for a Perrier Award for Best Newcomer.[10] In 2004, he won a Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act. In 2004 and 2005, he performed "Every Body Talks" and "When in Rome", in which Tim Key played his personal assistant and he used Microsoft PowerPoint for presentation.[11][12][13] In early 2006, Horne performed "When in Rome" on a tour exclusively visiting Roman towns in Britain.[14][15]

As a solo performer, Horne wrote and performed "Birdwatching" at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival[16] and "Wordwatching" at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival.[17] He wrote a book entitled Birdwatchingwatching in 2009 as well as Wordwatching in early 2010.[18][19]

On 18 January 2007, Horne became the first comedian to perform in Second Life for a feature on Sky News. Between 24 October 2006 and 24 October 2007, he worked alongside fellow comedian Owen Powell in an attempt to find a person from every nationality living in London. After a year's search, they finally managed to meet people from 189 of the UN's 192 countries, and hence suggested there is nobody in the city from Tuvalu, Palau, or the Marshall Islands.[20]

The Horne Section performing in 2019

Since 2010, Horne has been performing with his band The Horne Section as the compere of comedy variety shows.[21] Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (2012–14) ran for three series on BBC Radio 4,[22] and The Horne Section Podcast launched in 2018.[23]

Horne, along with Tim Key and Mark Watson, created the YouTube series No More Jockeys during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown in the UK,[24] itself based upon their earlier BBC web series No More Women. Horne also hosts the YouTube channel Bad Golf with John Robins.[25]

Television work

This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.Find sources: "Alex Horne" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Horne appeared as a contestant on Countdown in August 2008, winning three matches before being defeated.[26]

In 2011, Horne appeared on BBC One's Celebrity Mastermind; his specialist subject was the comedian Ken Dodd and he finished in 2nd place with a score of 25. During Comic Relief 2011's 24 Hour Panel People marathon, Horne appeared on the Call My Bluff segment, on a team with Tim Key and Roisin Conaty. Horne also appeared in the TV show on BBC Three called Britain in Bed in 2011. He appeared as a guest on The Matt Lucas Awards on 16 April 2013 where he won "The Bravest Guest" Award. He has appeared eight times on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, seven as a Dictionary Corner guest, and once as a replacement for Joe Wilkinson. He has appeared twice as a contestant on The Chase on ITV.[27]

Since 2015, Horne has served as co-host alongside Greg Davies in the series Taskmaster, which he created. The series was originally broadcast on Dave, and transferred to Channel 4 in 2020. In 2018, Horne co-hosted the US remake of the show, which carried a shorter but similar format to the UK series. Versions of the programme have also been made in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Finland and New Zealand. The show was awarded with a BAFTA.[28]

In April 2018, Horne voiced a talking Button in the BBC One's game show The Button.[29]

In May 2018, Horne presented The Horne Section Television Programme, a one-off musical comedy stage show based on his BBC Radio 4 show, The Horne Section. The show was recorded for UKTV in front of a live audience at the London Palladium and aired on Dave on 24 May. The show featured his band, The Horne Section, as well as performances from comedians Sue Perkins, Sara Pascoe and Joe Wilkinson, drag act and opera singer Le Gateau Chocolat, and Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle.[30]

A six-episode Channel 4 series The Horne Section TV Show was released on 3 November 2022.[31] It is scripted and combines elements of musical comedy, talk show and sitcom.[32][33] A second six-episode series was ordered and is scheduled for production in 2023.[34]

Personal life

Horne is married to former BBC business journalist Rachel Horne.[8] The couple have three sons.[35][8]

He is a birdwatcher, which he describes as the perfect activity "for someone who likes sport but is getting too old to play, likes the outdoors and is slightly anal".[36]

He is a supporter of Liverpool F.C.[37] and is a director of his local team Chesham United F.C.[38]

In January 2024, Horne was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Warwick.[39]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Brain Candy Himself Four episodes: "Families", "Shopping", "Exercise", "Surreal"
2008 Countdown Himself, contestant Four episodes
2009–2010 We Need Answers Host Also creator, writer
2009–2010 No More Women Commentator, contestant
2010 The Games That Time Forgot Presenter TV movie documentary
2011 Celebrity Mastermind Self 1 episode
2011 Call My Bluff Self Comic Relief Special
2012–2013 Dara Ó Briain: School of Hard Sums Self, special guest 4 episodes
2013–present 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Self, guest
2014 Live at the Electric Himself 1 episode
2015 Drunk History Self, drunk storyteller 1 episode
2015–present Taskmaster Self, host, The Taskmaster's assistant Also producer, creator, writer
2018 The Button The Button Also producer
2018 Taskmaster (US) Self, The Taskmaster's assistant, umpire American adaptation of Taskmaster
2018–present The Last Leg Self, house band With The Horne Section
2019 Taskmastermind Self, host Interviews with Taskmaster contestants
2019 Richard Osman's House of Games Self, contestant 5 episodes
2019–present Bad Golf Self, presenter Web series
2020 Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer Self, host
2020–present No More Jockeys Self, presenter, contestant Web series, started in lockdown
2021 Crouchy's Year-Late Euros: Live Self, host
2022 The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C Self 1 episode
2022–present The Horne Section TV Show Self, host 6 episodes[31]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b Graves, Kieran (13 June 2022). "Alex Horne's quiet life in Chichester away from Channel 4's Taskmaster". sussexlive. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  2. ^ Horne, Alex (2009). Birdwatchingwatching: One Year, Two Men, Three Rules, Ten Thousand Birds. Virgin Books. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7535-1576-1. But Alexander James Jeffery Horne is who I am.
  3. ^ Armstrong, Stephen (11 October 2020). "Alex Horne on how to win at Taskmaster". The Times. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. ^ Williams, Holly (14 March 2012). "My Secret Life: Alex Horne, 33, comedian". The Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Field's | Lancing College | Independent Senior School & Sixth Form | Woodard | West Sussex | South of London". www.lancingcollege.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Classics: Alex Horne". willamette.edu. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Reporter 11/7/01: Congregations of the Regent House on 28, 29, and 30 June 2001". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "Tim Key and Alex Horne: How we met". The Independent. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  9. ^ "How To Avoid Huge Ships : Reviews 2000". Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide.
  10. ^ Armstrong, Stephen (28 September 2003). "Comedy: The Critical List". The Times.
  11. ^ Bennett, Steve (2005). "Alex Horne: When In Rome". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  12. ^ Bennett, Steve (2004). "Alex Horne: Every Body Talks". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  13. ^ Bowie, Adam. "Alex Horne: When In Rome". Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Live Comedy in Manchester". www.prideofmanchester.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Alex Horne". Comedy CV. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Alex Horne: Birdwatching : Reviews 2007 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  17. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Alex Horne: Word Watching : Reviews 2008 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  18. ^ Horne, Alex (14 January 2010). "Wordwatching". Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  19. ^ Horne, Alex (6 August 2009). "Birdwatchingwatching".
  20. ^ Horne, Alex (24 October 2007). "The End of the World (in One City)". The World in One City. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  21. ^ Logan, Brian (16 February 2011). "The Horne Section – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section – Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  23. ^ Nelson, Alex (8 February 2018). "9 recommended podcasts to listen to this week". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  24. ^ Moloney, Ciara (5 November 2020). "Taskmaster's Alex Horne actually fronts another show". Digital Spy.
  25. ^ "Bad Golf". Retrieved 29 May 2020 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ Brown, Mike. "Series 59". The Countdown Page. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  27. ^ "The Chase Celebrity Special – S6 – Episode 1". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 August 2019.. "The Chase Celebrity Special – S8 – Episode 4". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  28. ^ Morris, Lauren (31 July 2020). "Taskmaster stars Greg Davies and Alex Horne say BAFTA TV Award 2020 win is 'perfect way to start a new era' on Channel 4". Radio Times.
  29. ^ "The Button review: A simple, silly yet surprisingly good new game show on BBC1". Radio Times. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  30. ^ "The Horne Section website". Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  31. ^ a b "The Horne Section TV Show | All 4". www.channel4.com. Channel Four Television Corporation. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  32. ^ Tinson, Emma (14 April 2022). "Taskmaster's Alex Horne confirms new Channel 4 show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  33. ^ Kemp, Ella (14 April 2022). "'Taskmaster''s Alex Horne reveals new comedy series". NME. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  34. ^ Guide, British Comedy (25 June 2023). "The Horne Section TV Show returning to Channel 4 for Series 2". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  35. ^ "My Secret Life: Alex Horne, 33, comedian". The Independent. 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  36. ^ Kellaway, Kate (22 November 2009). "To a birdwatcher, one glimpse, one moment is happiness enough". The Observer. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  37. ^ Price, Glenn (28 March 2021). "'Virgil van Dijk would be great on Taskmaster!'". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  38. ^ Richings, James (30 September 2022). "Popular comedian and musician becomes club director at Chesham United". Bucks Free Press. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  39. ^ "Taskmaster's Horne gets honorary University of Warwick doctorate". 16 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

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