Katy Brand

Katherine Frances "Katy" Brand (born 13 January 1979) is an English actress, comedian and writer, known for her ITV2 series Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and for Comedy Lab Slap on Channel 4.

Early life

Brand was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. She is an alumna of St. Clement Danes School, where she was in the house of Clement. Following a summer holiday in Cornwall at 13 with friends who were evangelical Christians she embraced their faith and attended church five times a week. Motivated to read theology at Keble College, Oxford, she then lost her religious beliefs while a student. Interviewed for the Evening Standard in 2007, she commented: "After about a year, I realised it was mostly rubbish and that things are never as simple as they seem when you are 13".

Career

After graduation, Brand did not work as a performer, gaining employment in television production instead, but her social encounters with university contemporaries ultimately convinced her to try working as a comedian.

List of Mongrels episodes

Mongrels, formerly known under the working titles of We Are Mongrels and The Un-Natural World, is a British puppet-based situation comedy series first broadcast on BBC Three between 22 June and 10 August 2010, with a making-of documentary entitled "Mongrels Uncovered" broadcast on 11 August 2010. The series revolves around the lives of five anthropomorphic animals who hang around the back of a pub in the Isle of Dogs, London. The characters are Nelson, a metrosexual fox (voiced by Rufus Jones, performed by Andy Heath); Destiny, an Afghan hound (voiced by Lucy Montgomery, performed by Richard Coombs); Marion, a "borderline-retarded" cat (voiced by Dan Tetsell, performed by Warrick Brownlow-Pike); Kali, a grudge-bearing pigeon (voiced by Katy Brand, performed by Iestyn Evans); and Vince, a sociopathic foul-mouthed fox (voiced by Paul Kaye, performed by various puppeteers).

Mongrels originally began as an unbroadcast pilot when it was known as We Are Mongrels. Differences between the pilot and the series included a different voice actor and puppet to portray Marion (Ray Panthaki), Destiny and Kali are also portrayed by different puppets, Vince doesn't swear constantly and the appearance of a sixth character, Debbie the suicidal chicken, who was eventually dropped from the show. Following from this pilot a full series was commissioned. The first series consisted of eight episodes and the making-of special. A second series was also commissioned. On 18 January 2012 it was announced via Twitter that Mongrels had not been renewed for a third series by the BBC due to Zai Bennett. The series was created and directed by Adam Miller. The producer for the series is Stephen McCrum.

Mongrels (TV series)

Mongrels is a British puppet-based situation comedy series first broadcast on BBC Three between 22 June and 10 August 2010, with a making-of documentary entitled "Mongrels Uncovered" broadcast on 11 August 2010. A second and final series of Mongrels began airing on 7 November 2011.

The series revolves around the lives of five anthropomorphic animals who hang around the back of a pub in Millwall, the Isle of Dogs, London. The characters are Nelson, a metrosexual fox (voiced by Rufus Jones, performed by Andy Heath); Destiny, an Afghan hound (voiced by Lucy Montgomery, performed by Richard Coombs and Sue Beattie); Marion, a "borderline-retarded"cat (voiced by Dan Tetsell, performed by Warrick Brownlow-Pike); Kali, a grudge-bearing pigeon (voiced by Katy Brand, performed by Iestyn Evans); and Vince, Nelson's friend, a sociopathic foul-mouthed fox (voiced by Paul Kaye, performed by various puppeteers).

The show is aimed at an adult audience, features "neutering, incontinence, cannibalism and catnip overdoses" and humour styles such as slapstick and farce. For example, the first episode begins with a scene in which Marion, portrayed as desperately trying to revive his deceased owner, learns she has actually been dead for four months, whereupon he casually gives his cat friends permission to eat her.Mongrels has attracted accusations of plagiarism, with claims that Mongrels stole ideas from a similar Channel 4 show called Pets.

Rufus Jones (actor)

Rufus Jones (born 17 May 1975) is an English actor and writer.

Early life

Jones was born in London, and educated at Latymer Upper School and the University of Cambridge.

Career

Jones played Doctor Foggerty in Julia Davis's BAFTA nominated Hunderby and Terry Jones in BBC Four's BAFTA-nominated Holy Flying Circus. He has co-written and starred in William & Sinclair for Sky Atlantic's Common Ground season. He has also recently filmed Marple for ITV, as well as It's Kevin, The Wrong Mans and W1A for the BBC. In 2015, Jones filmed a second series of Hunderby, Stag (a comedy thriller for BBC2), Camping (a new Julia Davis project for Sky Atlantic) and is currently filming an untitled Martin Campbell movie.

Other credits include Fresh Meat (series 2), Toast of London, Mongrels (in which he voiced Nelson The Fox), Extras, Lead Balloon, Peep Show, Crooked House, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Love Soup, Katy Brand's Big Ass Show, Green Green Grass, My Family, Losing It, Secret Smile and White Teeth. In 2011, Jones starred in the one-off BBC Christmas show Lapland.

Lucy Montgomery (actress)

Lucy Montgomery (born 24 January 1975) is an English comedienne, actress and writer, best known for her radio and television work.

Career

While at Cambridge University, Montgomery was a member of Footlights, an amateur theatrical club. Subsequently, she studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Montgomery built her career as one third of Comedy Theatre Company Population 3, along with James Bachman and Barunka O'Shaughnessy, and she appeared as a roving reporter for the comic television programme The Friday Night Project. Other television work has included Bo' Selecta!, The Mighty Boosh, and The IT Crowd.

Montgomery has been heard in several Radio 4 programmes, including the radio phone-in spoof Down the Line, Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends, The Way We Live Right Now, The Museum of Everything, The Department, Another Case of Milton Jones, The Party Line, Harry Hill's Ghost of a Christmas Present, The Pits, the Torchwood story "Lost Souls" and Lucy Montgomery's Variety Pack (2010). She was also the voice of Jeanine and other female characters in the Animated Puppetoon children's television series A Town Called Panic.