Mark Steel
About Mark Steel
Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in The Guardian, The Independent and Daily Mirror. He presents The Mark Steel Lectures, The Mark Steel Solution, Mark Steel's in Town and the podcast What the Fuck Is Going On? He was born in Swanley, Kent, and was adopted 10 days after he was born; his adoptive father worked in insurance and his mother supplemented the family income through factory work and working as a lollipop lady.
Steel later traced his biological mother, who said she did not want to know him and died soon after; he learned she was from a Scottish working-class family with an active involvement in left-wing politics. His biological father, Joe Dwek, was an Egyptian Sephardic Jew who became a multi-millionaire Wall Street trader and a professional backgammon player. Steel documented his early life, adoption and quest to find his birth parents in an Audible audio book, Who Do I Think I Am?, released in December 2021.
Steel had various early jobs including a stint as a milkman, and acknowledges Alexei Sayle as an influence. In 1992 he presented the satirical radio show The Mark Steel Solution on BBC Radio 5, which ran to four series. His comic autobiography It's Not a Runner Bean (1996) led to a column in The Guardian. He has appeared frequently on Have I Got News For You, Room 101, Mock the Week and the Graham Norton Show. Mark Steel's in Town has won a Sony Award, Writers' Guild Award and Chortle Awards, and in 2014 he won the British Press Award for Broadsheet Columnist for his column in The Independent.
Videos (51)
Videos 1 to 24 of 51.
55:25Ep 178 with Miles Jupp (Part 1) : This was without a doubt my worst gig!
27.6K views
49:43Ep 185 with Nick Hancock Pt 1: The World Cup Is Going To Be A F***ing Circus!
21.9K views
48:25Ep 178 with Miles Jupp (Part 2): We Haven't Mentioned The News Once
11.2K views
50:32Ep 194 with Isy Suttie Pt 1: My Airbnb asked for my CV!
9.4K views
1:02:51Ep 193 with Paul Holden Pt 1: The McSweeney Project and the Labour Purge
7.9K views
49:50Ep 193 with Paul Holden Pt 2: Keir Starmer, Dark Money and Russian Spy Smears
7.3K views
51:25Ep 192 with Russell Warfield Pt 1:The Green Threat and the Rise of Polanski
7.2K views
39:37Ep 185 with Nick Hancock Pt 2: Football now feels manufactured
5.7K views
1:09:36Ep 182: What The F Is Going On With Peter Mandelson?
5.7K views
46:35Ep 184 with Alan Davies Pt 2: I Spent Years Pretending I Was Fine
4.8K views
59:05Ep 189 with Sophie Willan (Live in London)
4.5K views
47:33Ep 184 with Alan Davies Pt 1: Comedy Became My Family
4.4K views
50:04Ep 186 with Susie Mccabe Pt 2 : Scottish people can’t relate to posh Etonians
3.3K views
45:12Ep 181 with Mothin Ali (Part 1): They Tried To Brand Me A Terrorist
3K views
1:23Isy Suttie's AirBnb story
2.4K views
54:49Ep 191: Ask Me Anything with Mark Steel
2.4K views
1:13The Only thing this war with Iran has achieved
2.3K views
51:30Ep 183 with Rachel Millward (Part 1): Labour Came FOURTH!
2.2K views
1:10:20What the F is going on in Iran? With Ali Milani
2.1K views
53:56Ep 194 with Isy Suttie pt 2 : It Was So Much Fun Filming This Scene
1.8K views
42:44Ep 186 with Susie Mccabe Pt 1: I am unapologetically Glaswegian!
1.7K views
41:24Ep 188 with Andy Parsons Pt 2: Mock The Week Changed Comedy
1.6K views
1:06Swearing in Alma's not normal
1.6K views
1:27Alan Davies' problem with councils
1.4K viewsGuest appearances (6)
Videos on other comedians' channels featuring Mark Steel.
Guest appearances 1 to 6 of 6.
1:13:30"The Left Used to Believe in Winning People Over" - Mark Steel
Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin
87.3K views
1:16:25Mark Steel - Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast
Richard Herring
49.1K views
15:28GROOMING GANG U-TURN & DOOMY G7 | Geoff Norcott & Mark Steel
Geoffrey Frank Norcott
7.1K views
44:20KEIR STARMER WITH A GUITAR? | Feat. Mark Steel
Geoffrey Frank Norcott
3.8K views
3:55Mark Steel on his voice's recovery after cancer treatment - from RHLSTP Book Club 131
Richard Herring
3.7K views
13:10LABOUR’S LOWEST EVER POLL | Geoff Norcott & Mark Steel
Geoffrey Frank Norcott
3.1K viewsChannels on this page: Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin, Richard Herring, Geoffrey Frank Norcott
Frequently asked questions
Who is Mark Steel?
Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist who has written columns for The Guardian, The Independent and Daily Mirror.
What radio and TV shows is Mark Steel known for?
He presents The Mark Steel Lectures, The Mark Steel Solution and Mark Steel's in Town, and has appeared frequently on Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week and the Graham Norton Show.
What awards has Mark Steel won?
Mark Steel's in Town has won a Sony Award, Writers' Guild Award and Chortle Awards, and in 2014 he won the British Press Award for Broadsheet Columnist.
What did Mark Steel reveal about his family background?
Steel was adopted 10 days after birth; he later traced his biological parents, learning his mother came from a left-wing Scottish working-class family and his father, Joe Dwek, was a Wall Street trader and backgammon player.
What books has Mark Steel written?
His books include the autobiographies It's Not a Runner Bean and Reasons to Be Cheerful, and Vive la Revolution, an account of the French Revolution.
Comedians similar to Mark Steel
Same comedic style, across countries
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