Phil Ellis

Ellis was born in Preston, Lancashire. He grew up in the Fulwood and Plungington areas of Preston. He attended Archbishop Temple School in Preston, and then Runshaw College in Leyland.

His interest in comedy began as a child when he would ask his mother for comedy VHS tapes, which she would buy from the Asda where she worked, including Bottom, The Young Ones, The League of Gentlemen, and Red Dwarf. Ellis cites Rik Mayall, Bob Mortimer, Sean Lock, Lee Mack, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith among his influences.

Ellis later attended University of Staffordshire, graduating in 2002, and was awarded a third in media and production. Afterwards, he moved to Sandbach in Cheshire, and worked at an airbag factory for a number of years and at Domino’s as a pizza delivery driver.

Stand-up

Ellis "started writing down all the silly, funny and absurd thoughts I had", which led to him trying out stand up. His first gig was at the Comedy Balloon in Manchester. Deciding to pursue a career in comedy, Ellis spent most of his twenties "moving from one house share to another" in order to fund his gigs.

In autumn 2025, Ellis announced his show Bath Mat will tour from 9 December 2025 through 15 January 2027, including a 5-night run at the Soho Theatre in London.

Edinburgh Fringe

Ellis has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe every year since 2013. He won the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel prize in 2014 for Funz and Gamez, a children's game show featuring adult jokes. In his shows, he is known for making up lies about his personal life; a major premise of his 2013 show Phil Ellis: Unplanned Orphan is that his parents told him at 30 he was adopted, and in a later show he claimed to have two children. In 2023, his show Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show won the "Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality" and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award.

Ellis's 2025 show Soppy Stern won the "Malcolm Hardee Award for Act That Should Make a Million Quid" and was a joint-winner for Best Show for the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards; speaking about winning the award, Ellis said: "Winning one Malcolm Hardee award was a dream, but winning two is overwhelming. It means a lot to have so much support from people". Ellis also brought back Funz and Gamez for a two-week run entitled Funz and Gamez Rebootz, which won Best Fringe Kids Show at The List Festival Awards.

Television

In 2016, Ellis appeared as a seaman on series 2 episode 6 of Drunk History, during Joe Lycett's re-telling of the Battle of Trafalgar. In 2017, he performed stand up on an episode of Russell Howard's Good News. In 2019, Ellis appeared in Roast Battle, competing against Johnny Vegas, who ultimately won the episode. Also in 2019, he appeared as himself on Jack & Phil's Power Hour. Ellis featured on an episode of Sunday Brunch in 2025.

In July 2025, Ellis was announced as a contestant of the 20th series of Taskmaster along side Ania Magliano, Maisie Adam, Reece Shearsmith and Sanjeev Bhaskar. He initially tied for first place with Magliano and Adam, but lost a tiebreaker challenge to Adam and ultimately came joint-second.

Radio and podcast

Ellis wrote and starred in three series of his own BBC Radio 4 show, Phil Ellis is Trying, which ran for twelve episodes from 2018 to 2020. He starred as "a man trying, and failing, to make a success of his life". Written by Ellis alongside Fraser Steele, additional cast included Johnny Vegas, Lolly Adefope, Amy Gledhill, Katia Kvinge, Terry Mynott, and Mark Lamarr.

In October 2025, Ellis launched his podcast Early Worms with comedian Anna Thomas.

Ellis's shows at the Edinburgh Fringe have received many positive reviews: he was described by The Guardian as "a helter-skelter hour of fun", by Broadway Baby as "one of the finest and funniest comedians in the UK today", and by The Skinny as a "conductor of chaos".

Ellis briefly moved back into his parents house in Preston in his early thirties, but eventually moved back out again and rented a flat with five other people in Finsbury Park.

In 2026, Ellis had a hair transplant.

Ellis has been nominated for, and won, several awards including:

• 2014: Winner, Edinburgh Comedy Awards Panel Prize (Funz and Gamez)
• 2019: Nominee, BBC Audio Awards (Phil Ellis is Trying)
• 2023: Nominee, Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show
• 2023: Winner, The Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality
• 2025: Winner, Best Compere - The Chortle Awards
• 2025: Winner, The List’s Best Fringe Kids Show (Funz and Gamez)
• 2025: Winner, The ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show (award shared with Mark Forward)
• 2025: Winner, The Malcolm Hardee Award Act That Should Make a Million Quid

Film

Television

Radio

Edinburgh Fringe shows