Lee Cornes
Cornes at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Born
Hayes, West London, England
OccupationsActor, comedian, writer, teacher
Years active1980–present
Known forGrange Hill
Blackadder
Bottom
Red Dwarf
The WOW show

Lee Cornes is an English television actor and writer born in Hayes.[citation needed]

A stand up comedian since 1980, he was a regular compere at London's Comedy Store throughout the 1980s and won best Stand Up Comedian at the Charrington London Fringe Awards in 1987.[citation needed]

Cornes appeared in three series of Blackadder, in two episodes of The Young Ones and as barman 'Dick Head' in the TV show Bottom. He made an appearance in the first episode of Filthy, Rich & Catflap as a binman. Appeared in the Comic Strip episode "Slags". Appearances on Saturday Night Live. Cornes also starred in children's drama Grange Hill as Mr. Jeff Hankin (1990–2002); provided voices for characters in the children's television series TUGS, and featured in the Doctor Who story "Kinda" as the Trickster (1982). He appeared in Red Dwarf as Paranoia in the series one episode "Confidence and Paranoia". He also appeared several times in the BBC Scotland sitcom Rab C. Nesbitt, once as a DSS Clerk and again as a barman in a Highland pub.

He played a major role as the harassed talent agent Dickie Valentino in the 1994 partially-improvised comedy film There's No Business..., alongside comedy duos Raw Sex (Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron) and The Oblivion Boys (Stephen Frost and Mark Arden).

He appeared in the 2002 S Club Juniors video "One Step Closer." In November 2010 he appeared as Dave in Episode 6 of E4 comedy Phoneshop. He appeared as the Tooting Flasher in Matt Berry's Toast of London pilot. Appeared in Hustle. Also appearances in French and Saunders, The Lenny Henry Show, The Detectives, After You've Gone, and My Family.

Stage appearances include Ken Campbell's The Warp at the Liverpool Everyman, several roles at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond. Figaro at The Watford Palace Theatre, as well as pantomime roles. Co-writer and performer The WOW Show at the Wyndham's Theatre. He toured Britain with Neal from the Young Ones.[clarification needed]

Cornes was one of the lead writers for Mr Bean, The Animated Series, and a writer on Cavegirl and Channel 4's Gophers!. He was a co-writer of Channel 4's animation series The Bird, and writer/storyliner on What's Up Doc?, a writer and performer on Thames TV's After Hours and joint writer on two series of The WOW Show on Radio 4. He has appeared in various children's television shows such as My Parents are Aliens, Bear Behaving Badly, Jackanory.

In a 2010 interview in The Times, Cornes was cited as one of fellow comedian Sean Lock's biggest comedic influences. Lock said: "He’s not very well known but he is my main influence — he used to compere at the Comedy Store. He’s the comedians’ comedian. He used to be very unpredictable, which is a great skill in a comedian, not knowing where to go next. He also used to play the physics teacher in Grange Hill."[1]

Filmography

[edit]
Film/TV
Year Title Role Notes
1980 The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist Barney 3 episodes
1982 Doctor Who Trickster "Kinda" Parts 2 and 3
Uliisses Unknown Film
1984 The Comic Strip Presents... Arch Crippledick 1 episode ("Slags")
The Young Ones MC
Spasspecker
2 episodes ("Cash", "Time")
1985 The Lenny Henry Show Various 1 episode (Episode #2.5)
Up Our Street 4 episodes
1986 Blackadder II 2nd Guard 1 episode ("Chains")
Lenny Henry Tonite Unknown 1 episode ("Neighbourhood Watch")
1987 The Love Child Man in Supermarket Film
Filthy Rich & Catflap Dustman 1 episode ("Dead Milkmen")
Blackadder the Third Shelley 1 episode ("Ink and Incapability")
1988 Red Dwarf Paranoia 1 episode ("Confidence and Paranoia")
Knowhow Tobias Trumble 1 episode
1988-1990 Colin's Sandwich Graham 8 episodes
1989 Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors Cooper 3 1 episode ("Nightmare")
Tugs Grampus
Billy Shoepack
Boomer
Fuel Depot
Voice
Close to Home Parrot 1 episode ("Father and Family"), voice
Blackadder Goes Forth Private Fraser 1 episode ("Corporal Punishment")
Mornin' Sarge Oily 2 episodes
1990-2002 Grange Hill Mr. Hankin
1990-1993 Rab C. Nesbitt D.S.S. Clerk
Barman
3 episodes
1991 Screen One Preston Scott 1 episode ("Filipina Dreamgirls")
Performance Marty Feldman 1 episode ("The Trials of Oz")
1991-1995 Bottom Dick Head 3 episodes ("Smells", "Parade", "Dough")
1993 French and Saunders Dickie Valentino 1 episode ("In Bed With French and Saunders")
I, Lovett Bingley 1 episode ("Imagine")
The Full Monty Various
1994 The All New Alexei Sayle Show 1 episode
There's No Business Dickie Valentino
1995 Jack & Jeremy's Police 4 Detective TV Movie
Spot's Magical Christmas Deer 2 Voice, UK version
Eleven Men Against Eleven Journalist TV Movie
Drunk and Disorderly Unknown
1996-1997 Detectives Dr. Pete 2 episodes
1996 Saturday Live Various 1 episode
Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives 4 episodes
1997 Loved by You Gary 1 episode
Like It or Lump It Unknown
Does China Exist? TV Movie
1998 Adam's Family Tree Jack 1 episode ("The Irate Pirate")
2002-2004 15 Storeys High Unknown 2 episodes
2005 Hustle Ray Bond 1 episode ("The Lesson")
2006 Jam & Jerusalem Patient 1 episode ("Sudden Death")
2008 Teenage Kicks Tim Bennet 1 episode ("Goodbye Cruel Worm")
After You've Gone Mr. Deakin 1 episode ("There Will Be Pud")
2009 Bear Behaving Badly Todd 1 episode ("Bird Brain")
2010 My Family Council Official 1 episode ("Wheelie Ben")
PhoneShop Dave 1 episode ("Soldier, Swinger, Shelley, Shelley")
2012 Toast of London Flasher 1 episode ("The Flasher of London")
2016 The National Union of Space People News Reader Film
2024 Bottom: Exposed Self Documentary
Writing Credits
Year Title Notes
1990 Gophers! 2 episodes
1994 What's Up Doc? 14 episodes
2002-2003 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series 7 episodes

References

[edit]
Citations
  1. ^ Hayles, David (20 February 2010). "The world according to Sean Lock". Times Newspapers Ltd. Times Online. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
Sources
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