Jack Whitehall – Bad Influence

Nineteen years old, already road-tested on the London circuit, and Edinburgh never saw the punchline coming.

At just 19, Jack Whitehall performed his first solo Edinburgh Fringe show. He had already been doing stand-up on the London circuit since his late teens, honing material at clubs while studying (briefly) at the University of Manchester. The Fringe run announced a new voice in British comedy: posh, self-deprecating, and sharper than the accent suggested.

A Best Newcomer nomination in 2009, just two years into his Fringe career, and television came knocking almost immediately.

Whitehall was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly the Perrier Award) for Best Newcomer in 2009, cementing his reputation as one of the most promising young comics in the country. The nomination came just two years into his Fringe career and opened doors to television work almost immediately.

Three consecutive King of Comedy titles; not bad for a man playing Britain's worst teacher.

In 2011, Whitehall won the King of Comedy award at the British Comedy Awards, the first of three consecutive wins. The same year saw the debut of Bad Education on BBC Three, a sitcom he co-wrote and starred in as the worst teacher in Britain. The show ran for three series and spawned a feature film in 2015.

Father and son, genuine exasperation intact; the stage act that quietly became a Netflix hit.

Jack began performing live with his father Michael Whitehall, the theatrical agent turned reluctant comedy partner. Their on-stage chemistry, built on genuine exasperation and affection in roughly equal measure, would later become the foundation for one of Netflix's most popular travel series. The dynamic works because neither is acting: Michael really is that difficult.

Five seasons, 190 countries, and one very patient father; Whitehall's gap year became a global phenomenon.

Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father launched on Netflix in September 2017, following Jack and Michael on a gap year across South East Asia. The series ran for five seasons through to 2023, taking the pair to Europe, the American South, and Australia. It transformed Whitehall from a British comedy star into a globally recognised name, with the show streaming in over 190 countries.

From theatres to sold-out O2 nights; Whitehall's At Large tour confirmed his place among Britain's biggest live draws.

The At Large tour marked Whitehall's graduation from theatres to arenas. He sold out multiple nights at the O2 Arena in London and toured major venues across the UK, establishing himself as one of the biggest live draws in British comedy. The Netflix special of the same name, filmed at Wembley Arena, reached audiences worldwide.

The first British comedian of his generation to headline both the arena circuit and the Hollywood studio system.

Whitehall appeared in two major Hollywood releases in 2021: Disney's Jungle Cruise alongside Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. The roles marked his transition into mainstream film acting, though he continued to prioritise live stand-up as his primary craft. He became the first British comedian of his generation to straddle both the arena circuit and the Hollywood studio system.

Two decades of stand-up, and Whitehall still fills the O2 for nights on end.

Whitehall's Settle Down tour launched in 2024, drawing on new material about impending fatherhood and the slow, reluctant process of growing up. The tour sold out arenas across the UK, including multiple nights at the O2 Arena. At 36, Whitehall had been performing stand-up for nearly two decades and showed no sign of slowing down, with the tour extending into 2025.