Iain's Stirling's rise to fame: The comedian's career history, from stand-up to Love Island

The comedian has had quite the career...
Rex Features
Isobel Frodsham13 January 2020
The Weekender

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With Love Island back on our screens, our favourite Scottish comedian is entertaining us once more with hilarious one liners and sassy comments.

Ever since the show returned to our screens in 2015, Iain Stirling has been the voice of the show, adding some much-needed quirky takes in the midst of the grafting, pieing off and cracking on.

But how did the 31-year-old land the job? And what else has he been up to in years gone by?

Take a look back at his career so far...

Love Island 2020: Islanders - in pictures

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What is Iain Stirling's background?

Born in Edinburgh in 1988, Stirling studied law at Edinburgh University after failing to get in to Oxford University. He later said he felt “a real wave of classism” at the university and that he “didn’t fit in” there.

When did he start doing comedy?

Stirling began his foray into the comedic world during his final year at Edinburgh University.

His timing and quick wit soon paid off as he was a finalist in Scottish Comedian Of The Year competition in 2008 and runner-up for the Chortle Student Comedy Award a year later.

When did he start his career in television?

2010 marked Stirling’s first appearance on our screens in the CBBC children’s television programme, Scoop. He later presented the CBBC channel alongside puppet sidekick Hacker T. Dog – who now “co-presents” with Strictly Come Dancing runner-up Karim Zeroual – and went on to front several other CBBC shows including Help! My Supply Teacher's Magic, 12 Again and All Over the Place.

While presenting, he continued to tour with stand-up comedians – such as Russell Kane – and headline his own shows.

In 2014 he was nominated for a Bafta for hos work on the children’s series, The Dog Ate My Homework. He scooped the award in 2016 after his fourth nomination.

How did he join Love Island?

According to Stirling, it was quite an easy process.

Speaking to the Evening Standard in 2018, he said: “I didn’t even audition.

“I’d done the voiceover for a show called Who Let the Dogs Out with Ashley and Pudsey, who were on Britain’s Got Talent. They taught children and their dogs to do tricks.

"That’s the clip that got sent to ITV to get me this job, insanely enough. I thought about not taking it because I wanted to get my Edinburgh show in shape. Imagine — I’d be a very bitter man right now.”

What is he doing now?

When he’s not in the villa, Stirling does stints on radio shows – such as filling in for Chris Stark on Scott Mills’ show in 2017 – and is a regular on panel shows including Taskmaster.

2018 saw him publish his first book, Not Ready to Adult Yet, which is the same title as his accompanying podcast.

He also presents ITV2’s physical comedy entertainment show, CelebAbility and this year will see him embark on his biggest comedy tour to date, with his show Failing Upwards, which will be recoded for an Amazon Prime Video comedy special.

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