Henry is a well-known writer as well as a comedy actor,
although he is probably best known to the general public as
Bough, Rowan Atkinson's sidekick in the Barclaycard adverts,
which ran for six years.
He started script writing in 1991 after being spotted
at University by Griff Rhys Jones. He wrote for three series of
Smith & Jones before becoming the principal writer on the
topical show Spitting Image for four years.
He has created a reputation for versatility, having
been commissioned for such diverse TV shows as The Lenny Henry
Show, Smith & Jones, Hale & Pace, Phil Cool and Noel's House
Party. He also wrote the links for MTV's first European Music
Awards, writing for Tom Jones, Helena Christiansen, Pamela
Anderson, George Michael and Prince.
Recent commissioned work includes writing for Alistair
McGowan's Big Impression, Dead Ringers and a new pilot sketch
show entitled Who Wants To Be A Billionaire. He is currently
writing a thirty-minute sitcom called Reptiles.
Henry has also been one half of Parsons & Naylor from
1992, in which time they have become one of the Edinburgh
Festivals most successful acts, performing in sell-out shows for
five consecutive years. In 1998 they spent three months doing a
critically acclaimed national tour of Australia, taking in the
Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney Comedy Festivals. They were the
support act on Smith & Jones last national tour and have
numerous TV and radio credits including Saturday Live, The
Stand-Up Show, Auntie's Sporting Bloomers plus regular
appearances on Loose Ends.
Henry's solo career is also firmly established. He has
hosted Straight-Up, a 52-part radio series about minority
sports, wrote and hosted Radio 1's House Nation - a series to
raise awareness of the homeless. In 1998 he was team captain on
5's most highly rated weekday show Food Fight.
Recently he formed the sketch troupe The Craze Brothers with
Harry Hill, and has just recorded a sketch show called The Done
Thing.
Henry Naylor
