Editing Rory Bremner (section)

==Career==
While studying at [[King's College London]], he worked on the [[cabaret]] circuit in the evenings and was also active in a student drama club.<ref>{{cite news|title=News & views – KCL Alumni Online: Rory Bremner|url=https://alumni.kcl.ac.uk/sslpage.aspx?pid=544|publisher=23 March 2010}}</ref> He first came into the limelight in 1985, when his single, "N-N-Nineteen Not Out" (released under the name of the Commentators) became a hit in the British charts. It was a parody of [[Paul Hardcastle]]'s number one hit, "[[19 (song)|19]]", with Bremner impersonating cricket [[Sports commentator|commentators]], including [[Richie Benaud]], [[John Arlott]], and [[Brian Johnston]],{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} and replacing references to the [[Vietnam War]] with references to the England cricket team's disastrous [[West Indian cricket team in England in 1984|1984 home series against the West Indies]], in which the [[England cricket team|England]] captain [[David Gower]] had averaged 19.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1980S/1984/WI_IN_ENG/WI_IN_ENG_1984_TEST_AVS.html |title=West Indies in England, 1984 – Test Averages
|publisher=[[Cricinfo]] |access-date=2009-02-02}}</ref> An uncredited Hardcastle himself played all the instruments.

Bremner contributed to ''[[And There's More]]'', ''[[Spitting Image]]'', and ''[[Week Ending]]'', and by 1987 he had his own [[BBC 2]]<!-- style change occurred in 1997. --> sketch show, ''Now – Something Else''. In 1993 he moved to [[Channel 4]], teaming up with comedy veterans [[John Bird (actor)|John Bird]] and [[John Fortune]] for ''[[Bremner, Bird and Fortune|Rory Bremner...Who Else?]]'' where his output became more satirical and the sporting commentators gradually came to represent a smaller proportion of his repertoire. In 1999 the show changed its name to ''[[Bremner, Bird and Fortune]]''. Over the years the show won numerous awards. Bremner became well known for his impersonations of [[Tony Blair]], [[Gordon Brown]] and various other government figures. ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune'' ended in 2010.

During the 1990s Bremner was also a semi-regular performer on the Channel 4 [[improvisational comedy]] show ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (British TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]''. In 2005 and 2006 he was a team captain for the first two series of the BBC Two satirical comedy panel show ''[[Mock the Week]]''.

Bremner has performed on ''[[Sunday AM]]'', impersonating politicians, with a review of recent political events. He has also presented a [[BBC Radio 4]] series, ''Rory Bremner's International Satirists'', in which he talks to comedians and impressionists from other European countries. In September 2009, he presented a [[BBC Four]] documentary, ''Rory Bremner and the Fighting Scots'', about the history of Scots serving in the British Army.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/08_august/21/scotland2.shtml|title=BBC – Press Office – This Is Scotland press pack|publisher=BBC}}</ref> In the run-up to the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 UK General Election]], he performed a 20-date ''Election Battlebus Tour'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/listings/production.php/44869/rory-bremner-election-battlebus-tour|title=Rory Bremner – Election Battlebus Tour|newspaper=The Stage}}</ref> his first stand-up comedy tour in five years.

Bremner has translated three operas into English: ''[[Der Silbersee]]'' by [[Kurt Weill]], ''[[Carmen]]'' by [[Georges Bizet]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/rory-bremner-making-a-new-impression-500067.html|title=Rory Bremner: Making a new impression | date=2005-07-25 | newspaper=The Independent | location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' by [[Jacques Offenbach]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.scottishopera.org.uk/11-12/orpheus-in-the-underworld | title = Orpheus in the Underworld | work = [[Scottish Opera]] | access-date = 1 April 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120306214202/http://www.scottishopera.org.uk/11-12/orpheus-in-the-underworld | archive-date = 6 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/stw/all | title = Rory Bremner, Peter Kosminsky, Iwona Blaswick, Sarah Gillespie | author = Andrew Marr | author-link = Andrew Marr | date = 21 November 2011 | work = [[Start the Week]] podcast | publisher = BBC | access-date = 25 November 2011 | archive-date = 17 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120317140506/http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/stw/all | url-status = dead }}</ref> In April 2007, he took part in ''The Big Brecht Fest'' at the [[Young Vic Theatre]] in London celebrating the work of German dramatist [[Bertolt Brecht]], where a series of newly translated versions of some of Brecht's short plays were performed. One of the plays—the short comedy of manners ''A Respectable Wedding''—was newly translated by Bremner,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060706/ai_n16516303 |title=Bremner makes an impression with translation of Brecht &#124; Independent, The (London) &#124; Find Articles at BNET |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210092849/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060706/ai_n16516303 |access-date=2021-03-16|archive-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref> who also penned the title to the series. His translation drew a positive reception from critics, although it did draw the ire of some for the removal of any [[class conflict]] edge to the play, directed by [[Joe Hill-Gibbins]] as a squirming farce that relies heavily on the comic value of embarrassment.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}

Bremner took part in the 2011 series of ''[[Strictly Come Dancing (series 9)|Strictly Come Dancing]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14809342 | title=Strictly Come Dancing signs up Lulu and Edwina Currie | publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation | work=[[BBC News]] | date=6 September 2011 | access-date=6 September 2011}}</ref> His dance partner in the series was [[Erin Boag]] and on 23 October 2011, he was the 3rd celebrity to be eliminated.

In 2012, Bremner appeared on the [[BBC Four]] programme, ''The Story of Light Entertainment'', in an episode about [[impressionists]].

In January 2013, he began hosting a new [[Channel 4]] [[quiz show]], ''[[Face the Clock]]''.

In 2013, Bremner presented ''[[Rory Goes to Holyrood]]'', a one-off show for [[BBC Scotland]] that takes a satirical look at Scottish politics and the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|independence referendum]]. The programme was announced in March 2013, with plans for it to be aired later in the year. In a BBC press release for the show, Bremner spoke of his reasons for recording the programme. "Coming back to Scotland in the run-up to the Referendum, I realised I knew almost nothing about Scottish Politics. Time I did. And why is there so little political comedy in Scotland outside the Parliament? Time to make sense (and nonsense) of it all."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/rory-goes-to-holyrood.html |work=BBC Media Centre |title=Rory Bremner puts Scottish politics under satirical spotlight |publisher=BBC |date=27 March 2013 |access-date=30 December 2013 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904132657/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/rory-goes-to-holyrood.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The programme featured Bremner presenting a one-off stand-up routine at Edinburgh's [[General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland|Assembly Hall]], airing on 13 June 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rudden |first=Liam |url=http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/tv-radio/rory-bremner-talks-scottish-politics-in-rory-goes-to-holyrood-1-2963333 |title=Rory Bremner talks Scottish politics in Rory Goes To Holyrood |publisher=Johnston Press |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=12 June 2013 |access-date=30 December 2013}}</ref> Bremner subsequently called for there to be more satire in the referendum debate: "There's great humour to be had. There's a lot of big, different characters involved and good arguments, and there are plenty of good Scottish comedians who can have plenty of fun with it. It's far too dangerous to leave it only to the politically minded."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/tv-radio/scottish-independence-rory-bremner-in-comedy-call-1-3249299 |title=Scottish independence: Rory Bremner in comedy call |publisher=Johnston Press |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=28 December 2013 |access-date=30 December 2013}}</ref>

In 2015, he returned to TV comedy with two political satire programmes on BBC Two: "Rory Bremner's Coalition Report", a satirical summary of the previous five years in British Politics, and the "Election Report", a satire of the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 General Election]].

Bremner is patron of the London-based drama school [[Associated studios|Associated Studios]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.associatedstudios.co.uk/|title=Associated Studios – Musical Theatre Courses London}}</ref>

From 2016, Bremner has been a team captain on the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] comedy game show [[The Imitation Game (game show)|''The Imitation Game'']], a panel show hosted by [[Alexander Armstrong]] based around impressions.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

In late 2016, he featured in the [[BBC Radio 4]] miniseries ''Desolation Jests'' alongside [[David Jason]], [[Jan Ravens]] and [[John Bird (actor)|John Bird]]. The four-part show was written by [[David Renwick]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085zq0d/episodes/player |title=BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desolation Jests - Available now |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date= |access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/radio-programme/e/fgyr6j/desolation-jests-episode-guide/ |title=Desolation Jests Series and Episode Guides &#124; TV from |publisher=RadioTimes |date= |access-date=2021-03-16 |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505224212/https://www.radiotimes.com/radio-programme/e/fgyr6j/desolation-jests-episode-guide/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In September 2024, Bremner appeared live on an ABP Townhall with Captain Simon Bird.