Ben Ashenden

Benjamin Roger L Ashenden (born 23 September 1989) is a British-Irish actor, writer and comedian. He is half of the double-act, The Pin, with Alexander Owen, with whom he has made four series for BBC Radio 4, picking up nominations at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards.[2] and Radio Academy Awards,[3] and winning the BBC Radio Award for Best Comedy.[4]

Ben Ashenden
Born
Benjamin Roger L Ashenden[1]

(1989-09-23) 23 September 1989
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
OccupationActor, Comedian, Writer
Years active2009–present

Early life

Ashenden was born on September 23rd 1989 in Watford, Hertfordshire, and grew up in Radlett. His father is a builder and his mother is a bookseller. He has one sister. He went to the Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys[5] and performed with the Chicken Shed Theatre Company before studying English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He lives in London with his wife.[6]

Career

Ashenden met his double-act colleague, Alexander Owen, at the University of Cambridge. They co-wrote/performed (with Joey Batey, Joe Bannister, Mark Fiddaman and Simon Haines) the sketch show ‘Good Clean Men’.[7][8] Ashenden and Owen then performed with the Cambridge Footlights, as part of the first troupe to tour America, in a show directed by Liam Williams and Daran Johnson.[9]

Upon graduation the pair took their sketch act, The Pin, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Their most recent show, The Pin: Backstage, was described by The Guardian as “one of Edinburgh’s most dazzling comedy shows”,[10] and is now in development with Sonia Friedman Productions.

As an actor, his film credits include Bridget Jones Baby, Sulphur and White, and Horrible Histories: The Movie. His TV credits include Avenue 5 (HBO), The English Game (Netflix), W1A (BBC1), Stath Lets Flats (C4), Brotherhood (Comedy Central), Plebs (ITV2) and Sky Christmas special, Cinderella: After Ever After.

As a writer, he co-created the animated series Oi, Leonardo! for BBC3, and has written for BBC1 shows Walliams and Friend and Tracey Ullman's Show, BBC3's Famalam, and Showtime’s Who is America?

In 2020 The Pin released “The Special Relationship”[11] an 8-part series on Audible, co-starring Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, Jamie Demetriou, Lolly Adefope and Kate Berlant. It largely repurposes sketches from their Radio 4 show within the context of a fictionalised attempt to break into the New York comedy scene.

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
2016 Bridget Jones's Baby Pierce
2019 Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans Messenger
After Ever After Pongo TV film
2020 Sulphur and White Sean

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2013 BBC Comedy Feeds Episode: "Kerry"
2014 Siblings Michael Episode: "Balcombe's Funeral"
2015 Drunk History Drunk Storyteller Episode: "The Krays/Guy Fawkes"
Brotherhood Dan Series regular
2016 Halloween Comedy Shorts Nick Episode: "Jamie Demetriou's Horror: Oh God"
Crazyhead Luke Episode: "Penguin or Cow?"
2016-2017 Witless PC Colin Naysmith 2 episodes
2017 Henry IX Damian 3 episodes
Coconut James 4 episodes
W1A Assistant Floor Manager 1 episode
2017-2018 Tracey Breaks the News Various 3 episodes
Tracey Ullman's Show Various Series regular
2018 Oi Leonardo Various Mini-series
Sick Note Officer Errol Episode: "Operation Thunderbolt"
2018-2019 Stath Lets Flats Tristan 2 episodes
2019 Plebs Posh Man Episode: "The New Flat"
2020 Avenue 5 Rick 2 episodes
The English Game Cattermole 1 episode

Stage
Year Title Role Venue Notes
2009 Wind in the Willows Badger Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Good Clean Men Writer/Performer/Director Corpus Playroom, Cambridge
Barry! Pull Your Finger Out! Hugo udderBELLY, Edinburgh as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Amara ADC Theatre, Cambridge
2010 Armageddapocalypse 2: The Explosioning Performer ADC Theatre, Cambridge
The Oxford Revue and Friends Writer/Performer Oxford Arts Theatre, Oxford
Romeo and Juliet Gregory Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
Cambridge Comedy Fest Writer/Performer Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge
Good for You Writer/Performer International Tour with Cambridge Footlights
The Pin Writer/Performer/Director ADC Theatre, Cambridge
2011 Pretty Little Panic Writer/Performer International Tour with Cambridge Footlights
2015 Ten Seconds with the Pin Writer/Performer/Director Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe

References
  1. "Ancestry.com". Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. "Writers' Guild Award winners 2017". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  3. "2016 ARIAS Nominees". Radio Academy. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  4. ""Everyone" wins Gold at the BBC Radio Awards". RadioToday. 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  5. School, The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' (2012-09-05). "Cambridge Footlights returns to Habs with Ben Ashenden (Meadows, 2008) September 25th. Tickets £5 from school office. Great show for Yr 9+". @habsboys. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  6. "Ben Ashenden | hhush". www.hhush.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  7. "Good Clean Men". Camdram. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  8. Reynolds, George (6 November 2009). "'Good Clean Men'". Varsity. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  9. "Footlights Tour Show 2010 - 'Good For You'". Camdram. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  10. "The Pin review – one of Edinburgh's most dazzling comedy shows". the Guardian. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  11. Wiseman, Andreas; Wiseman, Andreas (2020-07-03). "'The Special Relationship': Audible Comedy From The Pin Duo Features Cecily Strong, Fred Armisen, Kate Berlant, Sally Phillips, More". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
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