Alex Lowe

Alex Lowe (born 15 January 1968) is an English actor, comedian, and voice artist. He is the creator and performer of the character Barry from Watford, who first appeared on Steve Wright's BBC Radio 2 show and later on Iain Lee's shows. He also created the character Clinton Baptiste, originally seen in *Phoenix Nights*, and has since toured in that role.

Lowe made his television debut in 1981 in Thames Television's *Theatre Box*. On stage, he played Wharton in *Another Country* at the Queen's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London. In 1983, he played Young Edmond Bertram in BBC 1's *Mansfield Park*. His career has included diverse roles across serious drama and character comedy. He has worked as both a writer and actor in many different areas of media.

In 1990, Lowe appeared in *The Hypochondriac* at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won a First. In 1991, having trained at The Studio School in North London and Leicester School of Performing Arts, he played PC Corman in *Minder* alongside George Cole. Lowe has appeared in a variety of different television programmes, including *Three Men in a Boat*, *The Rise and Fall of Rome*, *The Fast Show*, *Fun at the Funeral Parlour*, *The Big Impression Christmas Special*, and *Bremner, Bird and Fortune*. He appeared in four episodes of Simon Day's comedy series *Grass* as precocious child star Crispin Winterville's father, Roland. He played Clinton Baptiste in Peter Kay's *Phoenix Nights* and Sparky in *That Peter Kay Thing*. He starred with Lee on *The 11 O'Clock Show* on Channel Four in the late 1990s, usually appearing as a reporter. In 2007, he wrote and performed for Ronni Ancona and Co. for BBC One and performed in *The Peter Serafinowicz Show* on BBC 2.

In the cinema, Lowe played Paul in *Peter's Friends*, The Messenger in *Much Ado About Nothing*, and Simon Merriel in *Haunted*.

On radio, Lowe has appeared on *Absolute Power*, *15 Minute Musical*, *Not Today, Thank You*, *The Laxian Key*, and *The Scarifyers*; he plays Brian in *Clare in the Community* for BBC Radio 4. Lowe has also appeared twice on *Loose Ends* on BBC Radio 4 with Iain Lee, *Big Brother's Big Mouth*, and Sam Delaney's *Stupid Telly* (as Barry from Watford). From 2001 to 2003, he hosted *Download This* for XFM London on Sunday mornings from 10 am to midday.