Justin Lee Collins

Justin Lee Collins is an entertainer and presenter born on July 28, 1974, in Bristol, England. He is an only child, with his father, Danny Collins, working as a self-employed electrician. Leaving school at age 15 without qualifications, he attended Filton College and briefly worked as a warehouseman at Marks & Spencer before pursuing a career in comedy. Early on, he also held the role of a double-glazing window demonstrator while establishing himself.

Collins began his career as a stand-up comedian in the 1990s, quickly gaining recognition. At the Glastonbury Festival in 1997, he received the Best New Comedy Act prize, and also made it to the final round of the BBC New Comedy Awards during that year. From 2003 to 2005, he hosted a radio show on XFM, with a brief return in 2011. He co-presented The Sunday Night Project (previously The Friday Night Project) alongside Alan Carr and presented The Games: Live at Trackside on E4 from 2005 to 2006. His work also includes hosting Channel 4's The Convention-Crasher, appearing on Top Gear in 2008, and attempting to become a professional darts player in Justin Lee Collins: 180. He hosted The Justin Lee Collins Show on ITV2 from March to May 2009, and Oops TV on Sky One later that year.

Collins has also ventured into theatre, appearing in the West End production of Chicago as Amos Hart in 2008 and playing Dennis Dupree in Rock of Ages from August 2011 to September 2012. He starred in the comedy horror film The Hatching in 2014 and had a small role in Time Slips in 2015. He hosted a radio show on Fubar Radio from 2014 to 2016. Anna Larke, his former girlfriend, was harassed by him, resulting in a 2012 conviction. The court imposed a sentence of 140 hours of unpaid work after evidence revealed a pattern of emotional and domestic abuse throughout their relationship, which included the creation of a file detailing her past sexual history. He denied the charge, claiming she was a compulsive liar. Domestic violence charity Refuge considered the sentence ‘derisory’. Collins was ordered to pay £3,500 in prosecution costs.