Who is Strictly 2020 star Bill Bailey? – The Sun

BILL Bailey has long been delighting fans with his blend of quirky comedy and music.

The prolific comedian has been confirmed for Strictly this year, but has admitted: "I'm not really Lord of the Dance… I'm more the caretaker."

Who is Bill Bailey?

Bill Bailey, 53, is from Bath.

His birth name is actually Mark, but his nickname comes from a music teacher at school after he played jazz song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" on the guitar.

He is a classically trained musician and performed with boy band The Famous Five.

His comedy career began in the 1980s when he formed double act The Rubber Bishops with Toby Longworth.

Bill's comedy style is a blend of musical parodies and variations on classic jokes.

What TV shows has Bill Bailey been in?

Bill had his own sketch show comedy series Is It Bill Bailey? which aired on BBC Two in 1998.

He also starred in Dylan Moran's sitcom Black Books, as an assistant to a frosty bookshop owner.

In Channel 4 teen drama Skins he appeared as Maxxie's dad in series two.

Since 2003 he has frequently appeared on the intellectual panel show QI alongside hosts Stephen Fry and Sandi Toksvig.

He was also a team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks and has made several guest appearances on Have I Got News For You and Room 101.

Bill also starred in the comedy In The Long Run, written by and starring Idris Elba about the Hollywood actor's early life growing up in East London.

Bill plays the eccentric neighbour Bagpipes and former EastEnders actress Kellie Shirley is his wife Kirsty.

In The Long Run premiered on March 29 at 10pm on Sky One.

Who is Bill Bailey's wife Kristin?

Bill married his wife Kristin in 1998.

They met at one of Bill's gigs in 1987 when she was running a bar in Edinburgh.

Bill has said that he was immediately attracted to her "wild spirit".

After they first met, Bill went touring but kept in contact by writing Kristin letters every day for an entire year before they began dating in 1988.

Kristin is a former costume designer but now manages Bill's business affairs.

The couple were travelling around Asia when they spontaneously decided to get married.

He said: "We were travelling around Asia and sailed into a place called Banda, with a beautiful lagoon, and a smoking volcano on one side and a Dutch colonial fort, an old church and remains of a little town on the other.

"We decided to get married there and then."

Do Bill and Kristin have children?

The couple have a 14-year-old son Dax.

Dax, born in 2003, was named after a child Bill and Kristin met on their travels.

Bill spoke to the Guardian about his son's name: "Contrary to popular belief, Dax is not named after a Star Trek character.

"The name came from a friend of ours who married an Indonesian man.

"They had a son called Dax and we just always associated it with being in Indonesia and always said, 'If ever we have a child, that'll be in the running'."

Bill lives in Hammersmith with his son and wife.

Bill has a plant named after him, in recognition conservation work.

It is called Nepenthes x Bill Bailey.

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