Get to know Jazz Family Trees presenter Marcus Brigstocke

Find out more about the stand-up comedian before listening to his new show.

Author: Poppy DavenportPublished 27th Jan 2021

Jazz FM presenter Marcus Brigstocke has returned to the airwaves for his programme,Jazz Family Trees, on Sundays from 9pm. So, let's find out a little more about who he is.

Where is Marcus Brigstocke from?

Marcus Brigstocke is originally from Surrey, England. He then went on to study Drama at Bristol University before leaving to pursue his comedy career.

How did he come to fame?

Marcus started his stand-up career during his time at Bristol University, helping lead to being crowned BBC New Comedian of the Year in 1996.

During his time in Bristol, Marcus formed part of a comedy trio, Club Seals, which later made the transition into a television series called 'We Are History'.

Marcus Brigstocke played dubious historian David Oxley, who would attempt to 'recreate' a number of historical events in a modern setting. In one episode, he recreated the Viking invasion of Britain in "the last bastion of Viking control" - an IKEA store

Foreseeing his future at Jazz FM, it was in 2003 that we saw Marcus Brigstocke play the role of a Radio DJ in the hit film, Love Actually, interviewing a bedraggled Bill Nighy. He also featured in various comedy programmes on BBC Radio 4.

What films and TV shows has he been in?

As mentioned, Marcus starred as radio DJ Mikey in the Richard Curtis film, Love Actually (2003), but he has also starred in a variety of films including Beyond The Sea (2004), Picadilly Jim (2004), Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008) and Blinded by the Light (2019).

On TV, he has also featured on 'Have I Got News For You', 'Live at the Apollo', 'QI', 'Question Time', 'Blinded By The Light', 'Would I lie To You?', CBBC's 'Stupid' and took part in the first series of 'The Jump'.

Who is Marcus Brigstocke married to?

Marcus is married to fellow stand-up comedian Rachel Parris. She too has appeared in large number of TV shows including; Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo, The IT Crowd, QI, Richard Osman's House of Games among many more.

She is best known for The Mash Report on BBC Two of which she was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance.

When is he on the radio?

You can hear Marcus on Jazz FM on Sundays from 9pm for his show Jazz Family Trees.

What is Jazz Family Trees?

In the second series of the show, Marcus takes an artist and then - much like the game ‘six degrees of separation’ - discovers their web of connections within the music world, before returning to the original artist. Having covered the jazz connections of figures such as Art Blakey, Miles Davis and Blossom Dearie, the 6-part series will showcase the connections of more pivotal figures from the jazz world.

Catch up with Jazz Family Trees

You can listen to the each episode so far here.

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