Artistes of the Month

Also featured: Dara O'Briain, Paul Zenon

Previous months

Richard Dunwoody

Richard Dunwoody was bred into the Sport of Kings. His father George rode and trained many winners in his native Ireland, while his grandfather Dick Thrale also trained at Epsom. Amongst his many successes, he sent out Indigenous to win at his local course under Lester Piggott in 1960. The horse still holds the world record he set that day for five furlongs.

After the family moved to Newmarket, Richard rode out for Paul Kelleway from the age of 12 until, after leaving school in 1981, he joined Tim Forster's yard at Letcombe Bassett in Oxfordshire. As an amateur jockey, he rode his first winner on Game Trust at Cheltenham in May 1983, and the following spring rode a four timer at Hereford as a 7lb claimer. He turned professional at the start of the 1984-85 season and found himself partnering the favourite of the Grand National, West Tip, nine months later.

They parted company at Beechers Brook, the 22nd fence, when travelling ominously well, but were able to atone for that mishap when winning the National twelve months later. Richard also became stable jockey to the late David Nicholson, "The Duke" in 1986. It was the start of an extremely successful partnership; numerous big race wins were crowned by Charter Party taking the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1988.

Success was also to follow on the Michael Stoute trained Kribensis in the Champion Hurdle in 1990, the season he took the ride on the great Desert Orchid. The partnership won seven races including two King George VI Chases and an Irish Grand National.

Richard became Champion Jockey for the first time in 1993 and that coincided with a move to Champion Trainer, Martin Pipe. He retained the championship twice more and landed a second Grand National when partnering Martin's Miinnehoma in 1994.

Turning freelance in 1995 Richard continued to ride for many of the leading yards in England and Ireland, including those of Dermot Weld, Edward O'Grady, Willie Mullins, Phillip Hobbs, Paul Nicholls, Jenny Pitman and Gordon Richards. He rode One Man to win two more King George's at Kempton and won the Hennessey Gold Cup at Leopardstown on both Dorans Pride and Florida Pearl. An injury to his neck forced Richard's retirement in 1999 having clocked up almost 1,900 winners worldwide and having surpassed Peter Scudamore's record for all time jumps wins.

Richard has undertaken various expeditions since hanging up his boots, including a 350-mile cross-country ski race to the Magnetic North Pole. In the past couple of years he has worked as a consultant for the Stow based trainer Richard Phillips and the British Racing School at Newmarket, where he coaches young and up and coming jockeys.

Click here for Richard's online video showreel

Previous months

Dara O'Briain

The smash hit show, in which Dara muses on subjects as diverse as driving lessons, baguettes and the Milky Bar Kid, can now be bought on DVD for the first time, and has exclusive extra clips including Dara’s storming set on BAFTA nominated, Jack Dee Live at the Apollo, a drunken commentary between fellow comedian Ed Byrne and Dara himself as well as an interview with a former Milky Bar Kid.

Following the sell out tour earlier in the year, Dara has been extremely busy. Most recently he has been hosting Turn Back Time on BBC 2 and is currently the hugely popular host of Mock the Week which is now in its third series on BBC 2. He also appeared in the BBC 2 re-creation of Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, which featured Gryf Rhys Jones and Rory McGrath and received record ratings of 4 million viewers. Other television appearances include a memorable debut on Parkinson (ITV1), Friday night with Jonathan Ross (BBC1), a fourth hilarious appearance as guest host on Have I Got News For You (BBC 1) and presenter of the Last Laugh for BBC 3 - (the largest comedy script writing competition in history).

Previous months

Paul Zenon

Britain's oldest juvenile delinquent, Zenon has spent a lifetime dedicated to deceit, pulling off his first sting aged just eight by selling fake raffle tickets to the residents of his street for a non-existent prize. He skived off school to make his first stage appearance aged eleven, his first TV appearance aged fifteen and, as a teenager, he spent every summer working in a Blackpool joke and magic shop, the House of Secrets, with his lifelong friend and mentor Bill Thompson. Evenings were spent performing in promenade hotels and guest houses, and this seaside period probably accounts for his fascination with bizarre entertainments; sideshows, freakshows and the like, and a dress sense reminiscent of a fairground waltzer operator.

Aged eighteen, Paul travelled the Greek Islands for six months working as street magician, fire-eater and phony fortune-teller ("I can see travel over water…", etc). He returned to the UK after a short spell working as a casino croupier in Scandinavia where he was fired for cheating (allegedly), and began performing in summer season shows and comedy clubs including the renowned London Comedy Store. He went on to host tours (acting as deterrent) for the British and U.S. Forces in locations as far afield as Belize, Bosnia, Croatia, Germany, Gibraltar and the Falkland and Ascension Islands, performing in venues ranging from tents and tin huts to the backs of lorries and the hold of an aircraft carrier.

In the early Nineties, Paul presented four series of children's programmes - Tricky Business and Tricks 'n' Tracks - on BBC1, was a regular guest on shows including What's Up Doc? on ITV, produced and presented Magic You Can Do, a teach-yourself-magic videotape, and he was the creator, writer and associate producer of Crazy Cottage, an ITV gameshow which reached number one in the ratings in each of its three series. Like most ex-children's presenters, he now hates kids.

In the late Nineties Zenon pioneered what has now become known as 'street magic' in a series of ground-breaking TV shows (some of which were among Channel 4's highest-ever rating specials), where he honed a cutting-edge contemporary style, the influence of which is readily apparent in the current crop of magic-based television shows. He continues to appear in various guises on numerous television shows across every genre, including as regular special guest in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's Countdown. Other recent shows have included The Story of Light Entertainment on BBC2, and Paul Zenon's Revenge Squad and White Magic with Paul Zenon, both screened on ITV1. In recent years, Paul's shows have had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh, Brighton, Adelaide, Melbourne and Auckland festivals, where he has also been a regular in the celebrated burlesque show La Clique at the Famous Spiegeltent.
The majority of Paul's live work for many years now has been in the corporate sector, where he is widely acknowledged as one of the leading after-dinner entertainers, performing and presenting at prestigious conferences and events worldwide. During the past few years, in addition to Europe, he has appeared in Australia, Argentina, Dubai, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Manila, Mauritius, Marrakesh, New Zealand and Tokyo.

Paul is the author of the best-selling 100 Hundred Ways to Win a Tenner (available in the US as 100 Ways to Win a Ten-Spot), Paul Zenon's Dirty Tricks and Street Magic, all published by Carlton Books. He is an experienced pundit and dedicated sceptic with regard to matters 'paranormal' (ghosts, astrology, crop circles, UFOs, psychics, faith healing, cryptozoology, etc.) and also a leading expert on the subject of scams, swindles and conmen, pranks and hoaxes.

Paul is the founder of The Wonderbus,a not-for-profit organisation, the intention of which is to take older people on days out to see live entertainment, whether they want to or not.

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Further Information

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