Mark Thomas
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Mark Clifford Thomas (born 1963) is an British comedian, presenter and reporter from south London. He first came to light as a support comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s.
Prior to his most renowned vehicle, The Mark Thomas Comedy Product, Mark was the resident stand up comic on Saturday Zoo (Channel 4) and presented the highly successful BBC Radio 1 talk show 'Loose Talk'. He is also a founder member of the London Comedy Store's hard hitting 'Cutting Edge' show.
His political comedy shows, The Mark Thomas Comedy Product and The Mark Thomas Product on Channel 4 earned him criticism from politicians but was seen by critics as a crucial investigative tool. Leaving Channel 4 was a mutual decision, following a series of disputes over how far the Channel would go in its broadcasting, one of which concerned the Channel's reluctance to support actions concerning corporate accountability and corporate manslaughter laws - a cause he had campaigned for - which coincided with Queen Mother's funeral.
Mark Thomas has appeared at numerous comedy benefit nights, and is a well established stand up comedian in the UK. He is the Chairman of the Ilisu Dam Campaign, a campaign which was successful in blocking the development of a large-scale hydro-electric dam in Southeast Turkey that would have led to the displacement of up to 78,000 people, mostly Kurds, without adequate compensation or consultation, as well as to environmental and cultural destruction.
In recent months Mark has been working with War On Want in India and investigating and filming human rights violations in Colombia where trade unions are targeted by militia allegedly controlled by the government. He continues to write a column for the New Statesman.
Mark is married with a son and daughter called Charlie and Whizz.
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Television programmes featuring Mark Thomas
- Mark Thomas Comedy Product (later renamed Mark Thomas product) (1996-2000)
- Secret Map of Britain (2002)
- Mark Thomas: Debt Collector (2003)
- Mark Thomas: Weapons Inspector (2003)
Discography
- The Night War Broke Out (2004)
Trivia
- His left ear is pierced twice - but he no longer wears the jewellery
- He gave out the mobile phone number of former MI6 Agent David Shayler at a demonstration at the US Spybase Menwith Hill in February 2001.
External links
- Mark Thomas Product (http://www.mtcp.co.uk/) "The 'unofficially official' repository of all things Mark Thomas."
- http://www.fnord.demon.co.uk/mt/markt.html
- Mark Thomas: Taking comedy seriously (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1106167.stm) BBC website
- Mark Thomas: method and madness of a TV comic (http://www.unesco.org/courier/1999_05/uk/dires/txt1.htm) - Interview