Dom Joly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dom Joly |
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Joly in May 2011
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| Birth name | Dominic John Joly |
| Born | 15 November 1967 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Medium | Television, books, stand-up |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Genres | Character comedy, improvisational comedy, physical comedy |
| Spouse | Stacey MacDougall |
| Children | 2 |
Dominic John Romulus Joly (born 15 November 1967) is an English comedian, writer, and TV star. He is most famous for his hidden camera show, Trigger Happy TV. In the show, he played pranks on the public. It was a huge hit and was shown in over 70 countries.
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Early Life and Education
Dominic Joly was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to British parents, John and Yvonne Joly. His family had a business in Lebanon that his great-grandfather once owned.
Joly went to school in Lebanon before moving to England. In England, he attended the Dragon School in Oxford and Haileybury College. Later, he studied politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Joly is good with languages and can speak Arabic, Czech, and French, as well as English.
Career in Entertainment
Before becoming a comedian, Joly worked as a diplomat in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
Television Shows
Joly is best known for his work on television, especially his prank shows.
Trigger Happy TV
This was Joly's breakout show, which first aired on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2003. The show featured Joly in silly costumes, like a giant snail, surprising people on the street. One of his most famous gags involved him shouting "Hello!" very loudly into a giant mobile phone.
An American version of the show was made in 2003, but Joly was not the main star and did not like how it turned out. After the success of Trigger Happy TV, Joly signed a big contract with the BBC.
Other Famous Shows
- This is Dom Joly: In 2003, he hosted a funny talk show on BBC Three where he made fun of typical chat shows.
- World Shut Your Mouth: This was another hidden camera show that aired on BBC One in 2005.
- Dom Joly's Happy Hour: In 2006, Joly travelled the world with a friend to try unique local drinks in different countries.
- Fool Britannia: From 2012 to 2013, he starred in this prank show on ITV1, which also used hidden cameras to capture funny reactions.
- Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls: In 2016, Joly took part in this survival show, where he had to live on a deserted island for two weeks.
- Pilgrimage: In 2020, Joly walked a historic route called the Sultans Trail from Belgrade, Serbia to Istanbul, Turkey for a BBC One series.
Writing Career
Joly is also a successful writer. For many years, he wrote a regular column for The Independent on Sunday newspaper.
He also secretly wrote a funny column for The Independent newspaper as a character named Cooper Brown, an over-the-top American showbiz person. He later admitted in his autobiography that he was the real writer.
Travel Books
Joly has written several popular books about his travels to unusual places.
- The Dark Tourist: In this 2010 book, Joly explored "dark tourism," which means visiting places known for sad or tragic events. He travelled to places like Chernobyl in Ukraine, North Korea, and his childhood home of Lebanon.
- Scary Monsters and Super Creeps: Published in 2012, this book follows Joly as he travels the world searching for mythical creatures, or cryptids, like Bigfoot and the Yeti.
- The ... Hiking Club: In 2019, he wrote about a hiking trip he took with two friends across Lebanon.
- The Conspiracy Tourist: In his 2023 book, Joly investigated popular conspiracy theories. He met people who believe in them, hunted for UFOs in Roswell, and even tried to prove that Finland exists.
Political Prank
Joly has a great sense of humour about politics. In the 1997 UK general election, he decided to run for a seat in Parliament against a famous politician named Alan Clark.
As a joke, Joly rented hundreds of teddy bear costumes and staged funny protests. He didn't win, but he came fifth out of nine candidates, showing his unique way of getting attention.
Podcast
In 2018, Joly started a comedy podcast called Earworm. A second series of the podcast was later released on Audible.
Personal Life
Joly is married to Stacey MacDougall, a graphic designer from Canada. They used to live in London but later moved to the countryside in Gloucestershire to raise their two children.
Joly has been open about his personal challenges with anxiety, sharing his experiences to help others.
