Jack Whitehall

Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series Fresh Meat (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series Bad Education (2012–2014, 2022) and its spin-off film The Bad Education Movie (2015). He also co-wrote the latter two. From 2012 to 2018, Whitehall was a regular panellist on the game show A League of Their Own. In 2017, he appeared with his father in the Netflix comedy documentary series Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father and starred in the television series Decline and Fall. From 2018 to 2021, he hosted the BRIT Awards. Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall was born at Portland Hospital in London's West End on 7 July 1988, the son of actress Hilary Amanda Jane Whitehall (née Isbister; stage name Hilary Gish) and television producer Michael John Whitehall. He has a younger sister and brother. His father was also an agent for Judi Dench, Colin Firth, and Richard Griffiths. Whitehall is a descendant of Welsh lawyer Thomas Jones Phillips (not Mayor Thomas Phillips), who was a major opponent of the Newport Rising of 1839. He had two godfathers: actors Nigel Havers and Richard Griffiths. He attended Tower House School in London's East Sheen area, where he was a schoolmate of actor Robert Pattinson. He has often joked that he resented Pattinson for taking all the best acting roles in the school plays. Whitehall auditioned for the title character in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), but the casting director was unimpressed with him because he had not read the book. His parents sent him to boarding school at the age of eight. He was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and then Marlborough College, two independent schools. He took a gap year in which he decided to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. He attended the University of Manchester to study History of Art, dropping out after two terms. In 1997, Whitehall (then aged nine) appeared in the series Noah's Ark. In June 2008, Whitehall presented the first week of Big Brother's Big Mouth on E4, returning in August to present the twelfth week. In September 2008, Whitehall made his first appearance on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats.