Tim Key

Tim Key (born 2 September 1976 in Cambridgeshire) is an English actor, writer, and performance poet. In 2009, he was the winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award and was also nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality.

Early life

Tim Key attended secondary school at Histon and Impington Village College; Hills Road Sixth Form College and subsequently the University of Sheffield, where he studied Russian. Following graduation he returned to his native Cambridge where he eventually joined the Cambridge Footlights. Through The Footlights, Key met future colleagues Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski and Lloyd Woolf; with whom he formed sketch group Cowards.

Edinburgh Fringe

Key was first noticed in the stage production Far Too Happy with the Cambridge Footlights (although not attending Cambridge University itself) which was at the Edinburgh Fringe and was nominated for a Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. This show also featured comedian Mark Watson and actress Sophie Winkleman.

In 2003, Key returned to Edinburgh directing (with Mark Watson) a sketch show - "Non-Sexual Kissing"; and performing in Alex Horne's "Making Fish Laugh". The latter was nominated for a Perrier Best Newcomer Award.