Talk:Stephen Merchant

Sacked?
I'm not sure he was ever sacked from XFM (although i think he was from radio 1) wasn't he 'made redundant?'

yeah, they took voluntary redundancy- think they jumped before they were pushed! will amend now......

Stevesie left before Xfm was taken over. He's said so in interviews, usually in reference to Gervais' professional incompetence.

Youth / personal life
More about his youth would be good!


 * Likwise who he is beyond the office, is he gay/bi? Prot/Cath/Jew? Single/married?


 * Stephen is currently single and an Atheist.


 * Steve is straight, as he frequently mentions his disappointment at failing to chat up women on the podcasts.

Birth year
There's a bit of dispute as to whether he was born in 1974 or 1976. I've got something of a lead - Mr Merchant made a guest appearance on this morning's Breakfast in which Bill Turnbull mentioned when introducing him that he was "not even 31". Bill later said during the interview (when concerning Stephen's early days and how long he'd "been on the planet") "...not long as you're only 30". As Mr Merchant made no attempts to correct him (I know I would if someone said I was 2 years older than I actually was) I'm inclined to believe that 1974 is the correct year (and, for what it's worth, the Arts Telegraph article linked via his wikipedia page also says he was born in '74). Crisso 13:38, 1 November 2005 (UTC)
 * He started as an undergrad at Warwick Uni in 1993 so it's 1974, or 1975 at the latest. He was enormously tall even then! Stevecov 01:04, 8 March 2006 (UTC)


 * It definitely is 1974. He confirmed his age while he was on the radio with Ricky Gervais last Christmas. The 1976 date apparently came from an article whilch incorrectly said Merchant was 15 years younger than Gervais. Crisso 14:15, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Living arrangement
I think Steve does still live with Dan Warren, per his comments on his BBC 6music radio show as recently as a few weeks ago. One recent magazine article listed him as living with his girlfriend but from Steve himself he lives with Dan. My guess is the girlfriend moved in with Steve but Dan is still there. Until we hear otherwise on the Steve Show, I see no reason to remove Dan from Steve's wiki as his housemate. Also regarding Swiss Cottage vs. Hampstead, the aforementioned article also lists Hampstead but I think it is Swiss Cottage but near the Hampstead line. Steve has said he lives in Swiss Cottage. He moved house in November 2002 per the Xfm shows. He made it clear when he bought his house that it was because it was near the supermarket and the tube, and references using Finchley Rd tube station on the Xfm radio shows only a couple years ago. The Finchley Rd tube station is in Swiss Cottage. It's possible he's moved house since then but it seems unlikely as he also said on the Steve Show (which has just run since January) he hadn't raised Dan's rent in 4 years. -10 april 1007 MJCwiki

Sexual orientation
After playing Bruce Springsteen music on his bbc Radio Show, Stephen expressed a desire to have sex with the musician, inspired by the music. Would this mean he is gay/bi ? Xb2u7Zjzc32 (talk) 04:15, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

No, it means he is a comedian. CheckSumFail (talk) 22:09, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Oh Snap!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.158.240.10 (talk) 03:55, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Smerch BCAs.jpg image
I can say that neither know of nor can find another image currently available online of Stephen Merchant DURING the 2006 British Comedy Awards and that I feel this particular image is among the most relevant for informing the user about Stephen Merchant via an image. This is a period in which Merchant is lauded and receiving accolades for many of his accomplishments, which this image more greatly explains testifies to than another image of him in another setting might. He is here among his peers about to be honored. This particular screengrab was taken just shortly before he beat his friend and cowriter Ricky Gervais in receiving the Best Comedy Actor award, which also gives this particular evening marked significance in presenting a full and current picture of Merchant.

Please assess as necessary and do accept my remorse if I have violated any type of law or policy unwittingly.MJCwiki 13:40, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
 * I think it's fine. It falls under the fair use guideline and it has the corresponding fair use rationale. I think it's fine to go ahead and remove the replaceable fair use tag (we probably should add another fair use rationale like this image is irreplaceable because most of the images of him come from copyrighted sources not covered under fair use or are not illustrative of what he actually looks like (I found many images of him being even more goofy or they have another person in them with him)Flickr images for one are mostly copyrighted images that are neither covered in promotional or screenshots. --Kolrobie 23:40, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Height?
Is it really necessary to have his height in the article? I have never seen this feature in other articles. I'll remove it in a few days if there are no objections. --Andrewjd 22:55, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
 * It's pretty notable, and is one of the things he's most known for. ArtVandelay13 22:59, 16 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree, in fact I came to his page on Wikipedia specifically to find out what his height was! Noosentaal (talk) 12:52, 21 October 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.17.163.82 (talk)

Dance criticism in the Daily Mail
The "appearance" section of the article describes criticism levelled at Merchant by a Daily Mail journalist who described his style of dance in an unflattering light. I think it is fair to mention too that Merchant claims that, while he attended the bar where the journalist claims to have seen him dance, he never took to the dancefloor when he was there. In short - the Mail were making it up. Tefalstar disagrees with me and doesn't think it is relevant to mention Merchant's response to the Daily Mail article and has removed it from the article.

However I think it is unfair on Merchant to leave the article as-is as it implicity agrees with (and can leave the reader with the impression that) the Mail's description of the way Merchant dances is accurate. I don't think it matters that Merchant's response to the Mail formed part of a comedy anecdote; we cannot assume that Merchant was lying in his response merely because he responded in an amusing way. Marwood 23:13, 3 November 2007 (UTC)


 * My problem with including it is that it is misleading. Many people will not listen to the podcast and assume it to be a serious complaint. Being called an albatross or grasshopper is clearly humorous and anecdotal, making it clear they were made in quite a lighthearted fashion. However, saying Merchant denied the event took place sounds like he's gone out of his way to criticize his portrayal in the media. We can't clarify the setting in which the comments were made and so it becomes misleading.

Merchant also said that if he was really attracting female attention with his dance he would have called the Mail himself. His comments were obviously in a comical vein, but we can't pick through the conversation and guess at which things he was saying seriously and which he was not. However the Mail's comments are in published, subjective media, so we can include their comments.

I see your point totally, but you must accept that the manner in which he offered his objection is dodgy at best, and misleading at worst. Regards --Tefalstar 23:24, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
 * But the citation for the "albatross" comment is the Podcast, forming part of the same anecdote as Merchant's denial. How come the Podcast anecdote is a reliable source for the Mail comments, but not Merchant's response? Marwood 12:02, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Lookalike
Does anyone else think he looks like one of Nick Park's plasticine creations? Every time I see him I think he should be on Wallace and Gromit or Creature Comforts, especially when he does that grimacey thing with his mouth. 86.134.91.217 (talk) 21:47, 28 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Haha - Merchant himself has this to say on the matter:


 * The Guardian: 'Who would play you in the film of your life?'
 * Merchant: 'Gromit from Wallace And Gromit.'


 * Reference: The Guardian Q&A, 2 November 2013. . — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.138.69.64 (talk) 11:26, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

isnt it obvious? stephen merchant's appearence was BASED ON gordon freeman of halflife fame —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.94.152.214 (talk) 02:59, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Stand-up
For the past three or four years Merchant's made slow but increasing efforts to re-enter stand up comedy. Perhaps it warrants a section, or at least a brief mention under the "other work" section? --TallBabyRobyn (talk) 01:58, 6 January 2011 (UTC)
 * A stand up section was added, but it could really be expanded upon. Especially since it only has one sentence.Meatsgains (talk) 23:44, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

"Merchant began performing stand-up comedy in the late 1990s to critical success"

Hmmm, really, Is this not a slightly brazen? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.149.212.248 (talk) 22:33, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

Golden Globes
There was no mention of Merchant's Golden Globe Awards in the opening paragraph of the article. His Baftas, British Comedy Awards and his Emmy Award were all mentioned, but his Golden Globes were omitted. I added them, as I see no reason why they should not be included.

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140221083727/http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/2011/06/08/10-questions-stephen-merchant/ to http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/2011/06/08/10-questions-stephen-merchant/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110403092514/http://www.tv.com/sammy-dobson/person/95277/appearances.html to http://www.tv.com/sammy-dobson/person/95277/appearances.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20141107002954/http://www.comedyfesteurope.com/tickets/ to http://www.comedyfesteurope.com/tickets
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130203212624/http://www.stephenmerchant.com/news/2012/11/22/i-give-it-a-year-next-year/ to http://www.stephenmerchant.com/news/2012/11/22/i-give-it-a-year-next-year

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English-American for no reason
It’s one thing changing the nationality of a famous English person to English-American if they become a US citizen, which I accept is Wikipedia fare. Even if subject has been a long-standing resident or has a bit of an American twang, I can still understand why someone might want to change nationality to English-American. But in the cause of proud Bristolian Stephen Merchant (and also with Keira Knightley a few months ago, and I’m sure there have been several others), it is utterly inexplicable as they are unquestionably English. Yes, Stephen Merchant has residency in the US, do we change every other English celebrity to English-American because they live there? It’s damaging the integrity of Wikipedia as someone reading this page at this very moment will actually believe he’s English-American, when he is not. Leave our celebrities alone. They are our national treasures, not yours! Would you like it if I changed your people to American-English? I’m beginning to question whether Wikipedia is fit for purpose, as I’ve noticed this violation for several days now without anything being done Scf1985 (talk) 08:20, 4 September 2019 (UTC)


 * English nationality does not exist by the way right now... Wisdood (talk) 10:10, 2 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I don't see addition of citizenship details "a violation". Martinevans123 (talk) 10:28, 2 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Does English citizenship exist actually ?? Wisdood (talk) 12:29, 2 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I suspect we talking about nationality: "The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a Germanic Indo-European language, and share a common history and culture." Martinevans123 (talk) 17:34, 2 May 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 19:24, 7 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Stephen Merchant on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, 22 Dec 2019.flac