Des McLean is a Scottish stand-up comedian,[1] actor,[2] and a presenter for radio and television[3] from Glasgow. Billy Connolly has cited McLean as his favourite comedian.
Comedy
McLean started working in comedy in 2000, and was a finalist in both the BBC New Comedy Awards and the Channel 4 programme So You Think You’re Funny?. In 2002 McLean made his debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his one-man show Des McLean 5 Stars and appeared on the BBC series Live Floor Show. The following year he performed at the Glasgow International and New York comedy festivals.
While still hosting daily radio shows McLean starred as The Tin Man in the Glasgow Pavilion Theatre pantomime Wizard of Oz in 2008 and Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio in 2009. His flair for more serious acting won him the lead role in the theatre drama Two Tales of Love and Loss.
McLean's live stand-up comedy DVDs became top sellers in Scotland, Live At Glasgow City Halls in 2007, Talkin' Aboot Live in 2009, and Is This The Way To Armadillo? in 2010, his stand-up show at The Clyde Auditorium was recorded as a television special for STV.
McLean left Radio Clyde in 2010 and has worked since on television as a presenter for The One Show on BBC One. He has also hosted various STV programmes including Hogmanay, The Hour and Too Good to Waste.
Streetcast, McLean's comedy podcast, has also received rave reviews and his many YouTube sketches have over a million views. In October 2011 McLean completed a tour of New Zealand playing venues such as The Vector Arena and Hawkes Bay Opera House.
In June 2013 McLean performed his stand up at the "Top of the Riv" in the iconic Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.
In 2014 Des McLean announced a new nationwide tour and released a live DVD, Des Mclean's A-Z of Scotland. He then took the production on the road in 2015, including a tour of Canada.
2016 saw Des embark on a brand new stand up tour, simply titled Des McLean Live. Then extra dates were added and the tour was extended onto 2017.
In 2019 McLean took The Glasgow Trip: Stand Up Special on a nationwide comedy tour, with fellow comedian Gary Little.
2020 and the beginning of lockdown saw Des create Comedy Club in Your Front Room with Zoom, an innovative, online comedy show which ran up to Christmas 2022. It featured acts all over the world, and was regarded by many as the best digitally based comedy production in the UK.
In 2022 through 2024, Des hosted the Des McLean Comedy Stage at the music festival Party at the Palace.
Comedy Clubs
As well as this, Des compares 9 recurring comedy clubs under the "Des McLean & Friends" brand.
In 2017 Des created the online TV series The Glasgow Trip with fellow Glasgow comedian Gary Little.[4] They recorded twelve episodes and in 2019 the show was nominated for best online comedy at the Scottish Comedy Awards.
In 2005 McLean was sought by Radio Clyde to provide sketches for the Bowie at Breakfast programme on Clyde 1. He soon became the co-host on the breakfast show with George Bowie, with the two men winning Sony Radio Academy Awards in the Best Breakfast and Entertainment Categories. McLean recorded a series of wind-up telephone calls for the programme, fooling stars that included Sean Connery, Rod Stewart and Joan Rivers. The daily calls became a series of four top selling CD releases, The Best of The 8.10 Sketches. McLean went on to host his own comedy sketch shows Friday Night Comedy and Des McLean's Sunday Sketch. In 2020 Des joined Nation radio hosting the morning and weekend shows with Suzie McGuire.
In January 2012 it was reported that McLean would be playing politician Tommy Sheridan, who was convicted of perjury during 2010, in a new play I, Tommy, written by Rab C. Nesbitt creator Ian Pattison. Mclean's performance as Sheridan achieved critical acclaim from both critics and leading actors. David Hayman on BBC2 Review show described Des' performance as "Extraordinary." The Times called it "Pitch Perfect" and The Scotsman "devastatingly accurate". The play was one of the most successful productions at The Edinburgh Fringe, and after a national tour of Scotland it finished the year at the Kings Theatre, Glasgow. There was a further run of I, Tommy in late 2013 in the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow with Rosie Kane playing herself.[5]
Bend it like Bertie
Des, in addition to continuing to compere and perform at comedy clubs the length and breadth of Scotland, took to the stage to play the part of Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld in the hilarious and heartwarming play Bend it like Bertie at Websters Theatre in Glasgow. The show, written by Glasgow playwright Jim Orr, was such a hit with theatre goers it embarked on a 2022 Scottish National tour performing in various locations. After seeing Des midway through the tour, the Auld family presented Des with Bertie Auld's Lisbon Lion blazer.[6]
In 2023, 'Bend it Like Bertie' played a smash-hit run at the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow in February and Des returned to Las Vegas to perform the play at the iconic Westgate International Theater in June. In 2024 Bend it like Bertie will return to the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow.
^The Glasgow Trip (Comedy), Gary Little, Des McLean, Barry Grant, Sorepaw Productions, 1 June 2017, retrieved 11 August 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
