Julian Clary born 25 May 1959Julian Clary (born as Paul Ross McNamara) is an English comedian who is known for his camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.
Clary was born in Teddington, Middlesex and went to St Benedict's School, a Catholic school in Ealing, London. He studied English and Drama at Goldsmith's College, part of the University of London.
Clary's comedy career started on the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s as The Joan Collins Fanclub. He wore heavy draggish make-up and dressed in outrageous fashions, usually involving leather and hinting at bondage. His pet dog 'Fanny the Wonder Dog' featured in performances.
After a number of appearances on Friday Night Live, he presented the gameshow Sticky Moments with Julian Clary. This was a light-hearted gameshow, with Clary often awarding points because he liked the contestants rather than for any particular skill or aptitude. He later featured in the sitcom Terry and Julian with June Whitfield, and in the studio-based All Rise for Julian Clary in which he played a judge in a mock courtroom setting.
Clary appeared in the film Carry on Columbus (1992), an unsuccessful attempt to revive the Carry On series of films. It was widely panned by critics.
Clary was cast into the show business wilderness after making a sexually explicit joke about politician Norman Lamont ("I've just been fisting Norman Lamont") during a live broadcast of the 1993 British Comedy Awards ceremony, before the 9 o'clock watershed. The audience reaction was sufficiently raucous that his intended punchline ("Talk about a red box!") was almost entirely drowned out. His career was adversely affected by this event as he was no longer trusted on live television, but he has been largely rehabilitated in recent years.
In 1999, he became a team captain on the quiz show It's Only TV... But I Like It along with Phil Jupitus and Jonathan Ross.
In 2004, Clary took part in the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing, finishing third with his partner Erin Boag.
In 2005, Clary hosted Come and Have A Go for the National Lottery.
On 1 February 2006, he appeared on the BBC 2 programme Who Do You Think You Are? a genealogy series which traced his ancestors to a World War I flight engineer and a German immigrant. In May 2006 Clary hosted the topical quiz show Have I Got News For You.
In November 2006, Clary joined the panel of QI, a panel game/comedy show hosted by Stephen Fry, and also appeared on an episode of The New Paul O'Grady Show.
In 2007, he made a cameo appearance in the Australian soap opera, Neighbours, in scenes filmed in London. In March and April 2007 Clary presented a brand new show for the BBC called Underdogs, which paired up celebrities with rescued mongrels and set them training and obedience challenges.
Since 2005, Clary has written a fortnightly column for New Statesman magazine - 'A look at the week through the eyes of a camp comic and renowned homosexual.'
Clary published an autobiography in 2005 A Young Man's Passage, which covers his life and career up until the Norman Lamont incident.
His first novel Murder Most Fab was published in 2007 and he has also narrated a selection of childrens books. His second novel Devil In Disguise was published in 2009
From October 2007 to April 2008, Clary played the much coveted role of 'Emcee', in Rufus Norris’s Olivier Award winning production of Cabaret, now in its second year in the West End of London.
In January 2008, Clary was drafted in as a relief presenter for This Morning, co-presenting alongside Fern Britton and Ruth Langsford during Phillip Schofield's absence. Both he and Michael Ball appeared throughout 2008 year when Schofield was on holiday.
His career continues to be a varied mix of presenting, guest appearances, acting, stand-up and writing.