Wikipedia

Limmy

Brian Limond (born 20 October 1974), known as Limmy, is a Scottish comedian, author, and Twitch streamer.

Limmy
Limmy at tour event, 2019
Born
Brian Limond

(1974-10-20) 20 October 1974 (age 50)
Glasgow, Scotland
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • streamer
  • writer
  • web designer
Years active2006–present
TelevisionLimmy's Show, Limmy's Homemade Show, Limmy's Other Stuff, Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe
PartnerLynn McGowan (2000–2022; separated)
Children1
AwardsTwo BAFTA Scotland Awards
Twitch information
Channel
Followers479,700
(October 2024)
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2008–present
Subscribers528,000[1]
Total views110.7 million[1]
100,000 subscribers
Last updated: 22 October 2024

While working as a website designer and Flash developer, Limmy began releasing comedy on his website and blog, Limmy.com, which contained various Flash-based projects.[2] In late 2006, he released a daily podcast called Limmy's World of Glasgow, which received interest from the mainstream British media.[3][4]

After continuing his comedy work for several years, Limmy was commissioned by BBC Scotland to create a sketch show, Limmy's Show. It ran for three series and a Christmas special between 2010 and 2013, and won two BAFTA Scotland awards.[5][6] Limmy returned to BBC Scotland with another sketch comedy show, Limmy's Homemade Show, with a one-off episode in 2018 and a full series in 2020.[7] Limmy has also engaged in various other pursuits, such as writing several books and performing live shows. He is a prolific user of online media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Twitch and formerly Vine.

Early life

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Brian Limond was born on 20 October 1974 to Jessie and Billy Limond in Glasgow, and grew up in the Carnwadric area of the city.[2] He studied multimedia technology at Glasgow Caledonian University, graduating in 1996.[8] He found success as a website designer and Flash developer after starting work at Glasgow-based new media company Black ID.[9] In the summer of 2000, employees of Black ID created a rival company called Flammable Jam, where Limmy was a director.[9][10] During his time there, he was asked to contribute to the book New Masters of Flash: The 2002 Annual, a resource for Macromedia Flash developers.[11] In 2001, he co-founded the company Chunk Ideas, selling his stake in the company to co-founder Donnie Kerrigan in 2006, so he could concentrate on his comedy career.[9][12][13][14]

Career

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Scottish culture magazine The List listed Limmy at No. 14 on their "Hot 100" list in 2006, which celebrated the people who made the biggest impact on cultural life in Scotland over that year.[15] In March 2007, Limmy took to the stage for two sold-out appearances at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival. In 2007, he played a character called Zack Eastwood in Consolevania and VideoGaiden. In June 2009, the BBC commissioned a six-episode series of Limmy's Show, a sketch show which premiered on BBC Scotland in January 2010.[16] The BBC commissioned a second series of Limmy's Show, which premiered on BBC Scotland in February 2011. Limmy wrote a pilot for a sitcom based around Falconhoof, a recurring Limmy's Show character, but the show was turned down by BBC Scotland.[17] He made a cameo appearance in The IT Crowd, playing a window cleaner with an unintelligible Glaswegian accent in the episode "The Final Countdown", which aired in July 2010.[18]

In 2014, Limmy had a regular segment in the second series of the Charlie Brooker news satire show Weekly Wipe. He is also known for his live webcam chats, in which he interacts with fans and makes music.[19] In 2015, Limmy wrote his first book titled Daft Wee Stories, published by Random House.[20][21] To promote the book, Limmy embarked on a UK book reading tour. Three of the stories were also published in The Scotsman newspaper.[22][23]

In January 2016, Limmy performed four nights at the Clyde Auditorium and one night at the Hammersmith Apollo, adapting material from this TV shows to become Limmy Live![24] On 1 May 2017, he released his second book of short stories, That's Your Lot, embarking on a similar UK book reading tour to his first.[25][26]

Limmy appeared on Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast in 2015,[27] 2017,[28] and 2020.[29] He also appeared on The Blindboy Podcast in 2020.[30]

Limmy has been noted for the parody tributes he often tweets on the announcement of a celebrity's death; he invariably posts that he "had the pleasure of meeting [them] at a charity do once. [They were] surprisingly down to earth, and VERY funny". Following the death of nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow, his tweet was mistakenly reported as a genuine tribute by Sky News.[31]

In 2017, the BBC commissioned what was then a one-off special of Limmy's Homemade Show, which was broadcast in April 2018.[7] Originally intended to be a web series before being picked up by the BBC, the show is produced, performed, directed, filmed, and edited by Limmy alone, and takes place in or around his home.[32] A follow-up series was commissioned by the BBC and began airing in April 2020.[33][34] After the airing of his one-off commentary Limmy's Other Stuff in October 2020, Limmy announced his retirement from television, citing his mental health, as doing TV work made him "fucking suicidal".[35] Since 2018, Limmy has been livestreaming almost daily on the website Twitch, where he plays video games, chats to fans and tells improvised comedy stories.[36]

Personal life

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Limmy has struggled with depression, suicidal thoughts and alcoholism, and has discussed this on social media and in interviews.[37][38] He has been teetotal since 2004.[39] Limmy was in a relationship with Lynn McGowan from 2000;[40] in January 2022, she announced they had separated.[41] They have a son.[42][43] Limmy is an atheist[44][45] and supports Scottish independence.[46]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Consolevania Zack Eastwood
2007 VideoGaiden Zack Eastwood
2010 The IT Crowd Window cleaner Series 4, episode 2: "The Final Countdown"
2010–2013 Limmy's Show Various characters[37] 20 episodes
Creator, writer, director, animator
2011 Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe Himself
2014 Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe Himself Five episodes
2015 Pompidou Handyman
2018–2020 Limmy's Homemade Show Various characters Creator, writer, director, producer, editor
2020 Limmy's Other Stuff Himself Creator, writer, director, producer, editor

Bibliography

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  • Daft Wee Stories (2015) ISBN 978-1780893754
  • That's Your Lot (2017) ISBN 978-0008172602
  • Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny (2019) ISBN 978-0008294663

Awards

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  • 2011 British Academy Scotland Award (Limmy's Show)[5][37]
  • 2013 British Academy Scotland Award for Best Comedy/Entertainment Programme (Limmy's Show)[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "About Limmy". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Limmy (2019). Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny: My Autobiography. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-829466-3. OCLC 1091996487.
  3. ^ "Welcome to the world of Limmy". The Scotsman. 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. ^ Eighteen, Stephen (21 December 2016). "Limmy to perform in Dundee to promote his new book". Evening Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b "British Academy Scotland Awards Winners in 2011". BAFTA Scotland. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b "British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2013". BAFTA Scotland. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Limmy's Homemade Show". BBC. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Degrees day at Glasgow Caledonian University". Herald Scotland. 15 November 1996. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Brian Limond: How I got there and where to next". The Drum. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  10. ^ ltd, company check. "FLAMMABLE JAM LIMITED. Free business summary taken from official companies house information. Free alerts. Registered as SC207350". Company Check. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  11. ^ New Masters of Flash: The 2002 Annual. Gay, Jonathan. Birmingham: Friends of ED. 2001. ISBN 1903450365. OCLC 47439878.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ "Flammable Jam directors split but agency goes on". The Drum. 28 November 2001. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  13. ^ ltd, company check. "CHUNK IDEAS LIMITED. Free business summary taken from official companies house information. Free alerts. Registered as SC220894". Company Check. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  14. ^ Ranscombe, Peter (11 December 2011). "Game maker cracks combination with tie-in for Bank Job TV show". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  15. ^ Apter, Kelly (12 December 2006). "Pick of 2006 - Hot 100 - Pick of 2006". The List. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  16. ^ "BBC Two Programmes - Limmy's Show". Bbc.co.uk. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  17. ^ Eames, Tom (9 June 2016). "Limmy's Falconhoof sitcom was turned down and he has no plans for new Limmy's Show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  18. ^ Laverde, Jake (2 July 2010). "The IT Crowd series 4 episode 2 review #2". Den of Geek!. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  19. ^ "LimmyLive on USTREAM: Hiya, welcome to the webcam show of Brian "Limmy" Limond!. Blog". Ustream.tv. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  20. ^ "Limmy to write new book, titled 'Daft Wee Stories'". The Scotsman. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  21. ^ Daft Wee Stories. Retrieved 6 February 2016. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  22. ^ Limmy [@DaftLimmy] (2 June 2015). "Come along to my first live thing since 2008 and my very first book reading for my very first book, Daft Wee Stories!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "The Write Stuff: Three tales from Limmy's Daft Wee Stories". The Scotsman. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  24. ^ Mullen, Scott (28 January 2016). "Review: Limmy Live! Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow". The Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Limmy: That's Your Lot". Time Out. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  26. ^ "Limmy interview: 'The one thing that makes me happy is accepting people are stupid'". The Daily Telegraph. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast: RHLSTP 80 - Limmy". British Comedy Guide. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast: RHLSTP 146 - Limmy". British Comedy Guide. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  29. ^ "Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast: RHLSTP 274 - Limmy". British Comedy Guide. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  30. ^ "Limmy | The Blindboy Podcast". acast. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Limmy's parody tribute makes it onto Sky News' Peter Stringfellow segment - NME". NME. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  32. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Limmy returns to the BBC : News 2017 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  33. ^ "Limmy's Homemade Show gets series". British Comedy Guide. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  34. ^ Rowat, Alison (11 April 2020). "Limmy's Homemade Show, series one, episode one, review". Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  35. ^ Richardson, Jay (5 September 2020). "Limmy to quit TV with final special – News – British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  36. ^ Richardson, Jay (3 April 2020). "Limmy's Homemade Show is back - and he is living his dream". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  37. ^ a b c Ross, Peter (12 November 2012). "Limmy on how nothing is funnier than unhappiness". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  38. ^ Godfrey, Alex (19 May 2014). "Comedian Limmy opens up about depression". www.gq-magazine.co.uk. GQ. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  39. ^ Crooks, Lauren (8 April 2010). "Limmy: Drink fight was no joke". The Glaswegian. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013.
  40. ^ "Limmy on taking Daft Wee Stories to Edinburgh Fringe and why marriage isn't for him". Daily Record. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  41. ^ ""Myself & @DaftLimmy thought it was about time we let everyone know that we have separated, we separated quite a long time ago & have just been getting used to it, ourselves, before saying anything. We remain best of pals and still live together with our brilliant wee boy, Daniel."". Twitter. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  42. ^ "twitch.tv/Limmy on Twitter: "By Daniel McGowan Limond, aged 9."". Twitter. 24 December 2019. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  43. ^ English, Paul (17 November 2010). "Limmy: Fatherhood's made me more responsible - but it won't change my dark style of comedy". Daily Record. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  44. ^ Limond, Brian (9 November 2012). "Limmy's Show: Confessions of an internet troll". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 24 December 2020. For example, I enjoy trolling atheists. I'm an atheist myself, but arguing with the religious is infuriating, draining and it actually hurts my head. Atheists always seem to come out of religious arguments worse, in terms of how much it ruins their day.
  45. ^ "I'm an atheist, but I've no doubt they'd let me in upstairs. I never sold oot. God will say "WAIT. I like this kid. He's got balls"". Limmy on Twitter. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  46. ^ English, Paul. "Limmy: I think self-destructive Scots will vote no". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
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