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Producer · Actor · Writer

1967-09-01 · Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK · Male

42 series in the catalog

Steven James Pemberton (born 1 September 1967) is a British actor, comedian, director and writer. He was a writer and actor for BBC Television's The League of Gentlemen with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also co-wrote and starred in the television black comedy Psychoville and the anthology series Inside No. 9. His other notable television performance credits include Doctor Who, Benidorm, Blackpool, Shameless, Whitechapel, Happy Valley and Mapp & Lucia. He also appeared in feature films such as Lassie, The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Mr. Bean's Holiday and Better Man.

Pemberton has won four awards for the series Inside No. 9.

Early life

Steve Pemberton was born in Blackburn, Lancashire on 1 September 1967 and grew up around Chorley, attending Saint Michael's Church of England High School in the town. He trained as an actor at Bretton Hall College of Education where he met Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith.

Film and television

Pemberton's television performance credits include Whitechapel, Doctor Who, Benidorm, Under the Greenwood Tree, Hotel Babylon, The Last Detective, Randall and Hopkirk, Blackpool and Shameless. In 2004, he portrayed Dr Bessner in Death on the Nile and Harry Secombe in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He also appeared in the film Lassie (2005).

Pemberton is best known as being a member of the sketch comedy team The League of Gentlemen, along with fellow performers Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, and co-writer Jeremy Dyson, all of whom he met at Bretton Hall College in his late teens. The League of Gentlemen initially began as a stage act in 1995, then transferred to BBC Radio 4 as On the Town with the League of Gentlemen in 1997, and finally arrived on television on BBC Two in 1999. The latter has seen Pemberton and his colleagues awarded a British Academy Television Award, a Royal Television Society Award, and a Golden Rose of Montreux.

From 2007 to 2015, Pemberton appeared as Mick Garvey in Benidorm. Pemberton appeared in 43 episodes.

In the 2008 English language DVD re-release of the cult 2006 Norwegian animated film Free Jimmy, Pemberton voiced Mattis, a heavy-set and bizarrely-dressed biker member of the Lappish Mafia. In June 2009, Psychoville aired and marked Pemberton's return to BBC Two. It was co-written by Pemberton and his fellow League of Gentlemen member, Reece Shearsmith. Both of them play numerous characters in the series, similar to the format of The League of Gentlemen.

Pemberton portrayed Rufus Drumknott in 2010's Terry Pratchett's Going Postal. He appeared as Vice Principal Douglas Panch in the Donmar's 2011 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In 2014, he played Georgie Pillson in an adaptation of E. F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia. He also wrote the adaptation, which featured his League of Gentlemen colleague Mark Gatiss. It was broadcast during Christmas 2014. Since 2014, he has starred as various characters in the dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9, which he co-created with Shearsmith, airing on BBC Two. The series ran for 10 years ending with series 9 on 12 June 2024 with a documentary aired on 22 December 2024 titled "The Party's Over".

Pemberton reunited with his The League of Gentlemen colleagues in 2017 for three special episodes, transmitted in December 2017 on BBC2. He appeared as himself in the 2018 short film To Trend on Twitter in aid of young people with cancer charity CLIC Sargent with fellow comedians David Baddiel, Reece Shearsmith, Helen Lederer and actor Jason Flemyng.

In October 2021, Pemberton was nominated for Best Outstanding Comedy Actor at the inaugural National Comedy Awards for Stand Up to Cancer for his appearances in series 6 of Inside No. 9.

Pemberton was a contestant on the seventeenth series of the Channel 4 show Taskmaster in 2024.

Pemberton portrayed Peter Williams, the father of Robbie Williams in the singer's musical biopic film Better Man, directed by Michael Gracey which was released in late 2024.

Theatre

Pemberton's early work centred mainly around fringe theatre; he was a founding member of the 606 Theatre with Gordon Anderson, Tom Hadley, and producer Shane Walter. He has produced, performed in, and directed various stage productions.

In 2020 it was announced that Pemberton would join Aaron Taylor-Johnson on West End stage in Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, directed by Matthew Dunster. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, the run was postponed until 2021. Pemberton said, "It's been a dark time for the performing arts and I can't wait to have the theatres open again. Unfortunately, The Pillowman has to be put to bed for now, but I very much hope that we'll be able to bring Martin's dazzling play to the West End before too long." The play was staged from 10 June 2023 to 2 September 2023 at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End with Lily Allen, Paul Kaye, Pemberton, and Matthew Tennison. The Guardian praised Pemberton's performance as "unfailingly excellent", although other reviews of the play were mixed.

On 3 May 2024, it was announced that Pemberton and Shearsmith would write and star in a stage adaptation of Inside No. 9 called Stage/Fright which opened at the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End from 18 January 2025 for a limited run until 5 April, directed by Simon Evans. Tickets for the 85 shows were released on 8 May 2024. Due to the success of the London run, the show toured the UK in autumn 2025.

Other

Pemberton has written for Variety and was the assistant editor of the International Film Guide from 1991 to 1998.

Personal life

Pemberton lives in North London, with his partner, Alison Rowles, and their three children: Lucas, Madeline, and Adam.

He also speaks German and French.

The University of Huddersfield awarded Pemberton an Honorary Doctorate of letters in 2003 alongside Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson. In July 2024 he received two Honorary Fellowships which are from the University of Lancashire and University of York (alongside Reece Shearsmith).

Pemberton is a football fan and a supporter of Blackburn Rovers F.C.