Paul Sinha
Sinha in 2015 holding the Fighting Talk Champion of Champions Trophy
Born
Supriya Kumar Sinha

(1970-05-28) 28 May 1970 (age 53)
Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Other names
  • The Sinnerman/Sinhaman
  • Sarcasm in a Suit
  • The Smiling Assassin
EducationSt George's, University of London
Occupations
Years active1996–Present
Spouse
Oliver Levy
​
(m. 2019)​
AwardsRose d'Or winner (2016)
Websitewww.paulsinha.com

Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is an English professional quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on BBC Radio 4 Extra, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show The Chase.

Early life

Supriya Kumar Sinha was born on 28 May 1970 to Indian parents. He was educated at Dulwich College and St George's Hospital Medical School.[1] Sinha is a former general practitioner,[2] qualifying in the 1990s.[3] While at medical school he developed a taste for the stage in St George's annual revue and refined his comedy as co-editor of the medical school newsletter, popularly known as the Slag Mag.[4]

Career

Stand-up comedy

Sinha began performing stand-up while working as a junior doctor in hospitals in London and King's Lynn. His early material drew on his sexuality and ethnicity, with heavy use of puns.[1] In 1999, he came third in the final of the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year.

After several years of combining touring with his nascent medical career, Sinha's breakthrough came with his second solo Edinburgh show, Saint or Sinha?, which earned him an if.comeddie nomination in 2006.[5][6]

Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows

Radio

Sinha has performed many times on BBC Radio 4, on shows including The News Quiz, The Now Show, Loose Ends, 28 Acts in 28 Minutes, Shappi Talk and Just a Minute. His interest in football (he is a Liverpool F.C. fan)[12] and cricket has led to appearances on BBC Radio 5 Live,[7] most notably on Fighting Talk, where he has won the Champion of Champions finale twice. He has also appeared on Talksport.[7]

He has appeared as a guest on Midweek, Woman's Hour, Broadcasting House and as a political pundit on PM.[13][14][15]

In March 2011, Sinha presented his own BBC Radio 4 programme, Paul Sinha's Quiz Culture, in which he explored the world of competitive quizzing. His second documentary, The Sinha Test, aired on 14 July 2011 and examined patriotism and sporting allegiance.[16][17] In July 2012, he wrote and presented a programme called The Sinha Games on BBC Radio 4 about the Olympic Games and his experience as a Londoner.[18]

In December 2014, Sinha wrote and performed his first series on BBC Radio 4, Paul Sinha's History Revision.[19] A second series followed in May 2016, winning the Rose d'Or for Radio Comedy.[20][21] The follow-up, Paul Sinha's General Knowledge, has completed its third series.[22] In 2022, Paul Sinha wrote and starred in Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz.

Sinha is a regular panellist on Round Britain Quiz, representing the South of England with Marcus Berkmann.[23]

Quizzing

After an appearance on The Weakest Link (where he was voted off fourth), Sinha made appearances on University Challenge: The Professionals (lost), Are You an Egghead? (lost in first round), Mastermind (fourth) and Brain of Britain (third). Sinha was ranked seventh in the National Quiz Rankings (as of 30 May 2017),[24] and placed 11th in the 2018 World Quizzing Championships.[25]

Sinha also plays in the Quiz League of London for the Gray Monks and in the Online Quiz League for Quiz Machine Kills Fascists.[26]

The Chase

Main article: The Chase

In 2011, Sinha joined the ITV quiz series The Chase as the fourth "Chaser",[11] with the nicknames "The Sinnerman", "The Smiling Assassin" and "Sarcasm in a Suit".[27] His first episode was broadcast in the fourth series on 8 September 2011. He also appears in celebrity and family editions of the show.

He has said he is more famous overseas (particularly in New Zealand) than in Britain, where The Chase is screened at 5pm before people are home from work.[28]

Television

In 2019, he appeared on Series 8 of Taskmaster, finishing in last place with 136 points.

In January 2021, Sinha began hosting his own quiz show for ITV, called Paul Sinha's TV Showdown, featuring celebrities who go head to head together in a bid to answer as many questions as they can on TV knowledge. The show commenced on 9 January 2021,[29] and concluded on 13 February 2021. A second series was commissioned and premiered 19 February 2022, releasing weekly until 2 April 2022.

Personal life

Sinha was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in May 2019.[30]

Sinha is gay, and married Oliver Levy on 14 December 2019.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b Pendreigh, Brian (11 August 2011). "Interview: Paul Sinha, comedian". Edinburgh Festivals: Festival Previews. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012.
  2. ^ Pollack, David (2 October 2008). "Profile - Paul Sinha". The List.
  3. ^ "Paul Sinha". doncaster-chamber.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Paul Sinha's London". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  5. ^ Logan, Brian (13 August 2007). "A man walks into a doctor's office ..." The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Edinburgh Comedy Awards – past winners". comedyawards.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  7. ^ a b c Pollock, David (2 October 2008). "Profile - Paul Sinha". list.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Paul Sinha". 11 August 2009.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio Scotland Programmes – The Comedy Café, 15/07/2011". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  10. ^ "Outstanding Tickets". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  11. ^ a b Semple, Ross (12 August 2015). "Interview: Chaser Paul Sinha on being a gay comic sports fan and selfies with Joey Essex". pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Paul Sinha Interview". asianchic.co.uk/. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Midweek 28 Feb 2007". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  14. ^ "Woman's Hour 26 May 2008". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  15. ^ "Comedian's Joke Advice for Brown". bbc.co.uk. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  16. ^ "Paul Sinha's Quiz Culture". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  17. ^ "The Sinha Test". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  18. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - The Sinha Games". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  19. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Paul Sinha's History Revision, Series 1". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Rose d'Or Radio Comedy". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Rose d'Or Comedy Winners". British Comedy Guide. 13 September 2016.
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Paul Sinha's General Knowledge - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Round Britain Quiz". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  24. ^ "Current Order of Merit standings, and 'All Time' Rankings". British Quiz Association. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  25. ^ "Results - World Quizzing Championships 2018". Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  26. ^ "QLL – team". Quiz League of London. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  27. ^ "The Chase: 10 Things You Never Knew About The Chasers". Yahoo! News. 30 June 2016.
  28. ^ "Paul Sinha, famous in small towns". Stuff.co.nz. 9 January 2018.
  29. ^ "Paul Sinha's TV Showdown Episode 1". Press Centre. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Paul Sinha from The Chase reveals he is battling Parkinson's disease in 'devastating' blog post". Evening Standard. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  31. ^ Kay, Adam (2020). "Paul Sinha". Dear NHS 100 Stories to say Thank You.

External links

Preceded byJustin Moorhouse BBC Radio Five LiveFighting Talk Champion of Champions 2014/15 and 2015/16 Succeeded byRichard Osman
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