Desiree Burch

Desiree Burch
Burch (left) accepting the Funny Women 2015 Award
Born
Desiree Lea Burch

(1979-01-26) January 26, 1979 (age 45)
Diamond Bar, California, US
Occupation(s)Comedian, actress, television presenter, voice actress
Years active2005–Present
Known for
Notable workNeo-Futurists
Websitedesireeburch.net

Desiree Lea Burch[1] (born January 26, 1979) is an American comedian, actress, television presenter, and voice actress. Originally from Diamond Bar, California,[2] Burch has also lived in New York,[3] Streatham, Croydon and Peckham, having moved to London to live with her boyfriend Samy Ouarkoub in 2014.[4]

She won the Funny Women title in 2015 having completed an arduous series of gigs around the UK.[5] She followed up this success with five-star reviews and a Fringe First Award for her one-woman, self written show, Tar Baby at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Early life and education

Burch was born in Diamond Bar, California and attended Yale University where she earned a bachelor's degree majoring in Theatre Studies. After university, she moved to New York City where she became a founding member of the New York Neo-Futurists, and performed regularly as a stand-up comedian and actress on the New York comedy circuit.

In 2014 she moved to London, where she achieved wider acclaim in television following her win in the annual Funny Women competition in the following year,[6] and Fringe First Award for her self written, one-woman show, Tar Baby. She later became the founding Artistic Director of Degenerate Fox Theatre with Kate Jones.[7]

Career

Desiree Burch, comedian, at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Burch at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Burch has appeared on Live at the Apollo,[8] Have I Got News for You,[9] QI,[10] The Mash Report,[11] The Russell Howard Hour,[12] The Fake News Show,[13] Chris Ramsey's Stand Up Central,[14] Frankie Boyle's New World Order,[15] Mock the Week,[16] American Autopsy,[17] Richard Osman's House of Games[18] and Would I Lie to You?.[19] She also plays Pamela Winchell, the former Mayor of Night Vale and current Head of Emergency Press Conferences, in Welcome to Night Vale.[20][21] In 2021, Desiree Burch was set to co-star with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Kartoon Channel series Superhero Kindergarten. Later that same year, she was in the Netflix movie A Castle for Christmas starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes.

Burch hosts Flinch, a physical game show on Netflix,[22] alongside Seann Walsh, and Lloyd Griffith,[23] which debuted in May 2019.[3]

Desiree's Coming Early was a 31-date UK tour in October and November 2019 with support from comedian Ingrid Dahle.[24][25]

In 2020, she became the narrator for Netflix's reality television dating show Too Hot to Handle.[26]

In May 2020 Burch appeared as a contestant in BBC’s I'll Get This, in which participants play games during dinner to avoid paying the bill. In January 2021 she was a contestant on the BBC Best Home Cook show. Burch appeared on Series 12 of Channel 4's Taskmaster as a contestant.[27][28]

Personal life

Burch identifies as bisexual.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Series 2, Episode 2". Celebability. ITV2. June 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "Series 3, Episode 8". Don't Hate the Playaz. December 8, 2020. ITV2.
  3. ^ a b "Series 14, Episode 5". The Jonathan Ross Show. ITV. March 30, 2019.
  4. ^ Dessau, Bruce (October 29, 2019). "Desiree Burch interview: 'My style is highbrow and lowbrow – I'm intellectual and filthy'". Evening Standard. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Jones, Alice (October 2, 2015). "Funny Women Awards 2015: Desiree Burch leads the charge for next crop of comediennes". The Independent. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  6. ^ Guide, British Comedy (April 18, 2016). "Funny Women Awards". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "Degenerate Fox". Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Series 13, Episode 6". Live at the Apollo. BBC Two. January 4, 2018.
  9. ^ "Series 54, Episode 8". Have I Got News for You. BBC One. December 4, 2017.
  10. ^ "Series 15, Episode 16". QI. BBC Two. February 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "Series 2, Episode 4". The Mash Report. BBC Two. February 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "Series 1, Episode 3". The Russell Howard Hour. Sky One. October 5, 2017.
  13. ^ "Series 1, Episode 3". The Fake News Show. Channel 4. October 5, 2017.
  14. ^ "Series 3, Episode 1". Chris Ramsey's Stand Up Central. Comedy Central. September 27, 2017.
  15. ^ "Series 1, Episode 4". Frankie Boyle's New World Order. BBC Two. July 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "Series 17, Episode 4". Mock the Week. BBC Two. June 28, 2018.
  17. ^ Frankie Boyle's American Autopsy. BBC Two. November 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "Series 2, Week 9". Richard Osman's House of Games. BBC Two. December 3–8, 2018.
  19. ^ "Series 16, Episode 7". Would I Lie to You?. BBC One. February 7, 2023.
  20. ^ "Live Shows". Welcome to Night Vale.
  21. ^ "Desiree Burch — Transcript Archive". Night Vale Presents. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  22. ^ White, Peter (November 9, 2017). "Netflix Orders 'Jackass'-Meets-'Wipeout' Format 'Flinch' From Sony's Stellify". Deadline. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  23. ^ Bennett, Steve (August 23, 2018). "Comedians to host Netflix gameshow". Chortle. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Ingrid Dahle Announced as Desiree Burch Support Act at Kettering Arts Centre". Kettering Arts Centre. October 17, 2019.
  25. ^ "Desiree's Coming Early!". Desiree Burch. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  26. ^ Smail, Gretchen (April 17, 2020). "'Too Hot To Handle' Narrator Desiree Burch Is The Perfect Person For The Job". Bustle. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  27. ^ "Taskmaster Series 12 Line Up Revealed". YouTube. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  28. ^ Morris, Lauren (September 23, 2021). "Taskmaster series 12 | Release date, cast, trailer and news about the Channel 4 show". Radio Times. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  29. ^ "Dom-ing with Desiree Burch". Unexpected Fluids. May 19, 2019. BBC Radio 1. Retrieved October 15, 2021.