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Rhod Gilbert

A former market researcher, Carmarthen-born Rhod Gilbert began his comedy career in 2002, after taking a stand-up course. That year he made the finals of the So You Think You're Funny? talent hunt at the Edinburgh Fringe, and in the next 12 months won the BBC New Comedy Award, the Paramount Gift Of The Gag competition and the Leicester Comedy Festival comedian of the year title. He was also a Chortle Award nominee for best new act, and runner-up n the Hackney Empire New Act Of The Year contest.

He made his solo Edinburgh debut in 2005 with a show called 1984, describing the misery of growing up in the fictional Welsh town of Llanbobl, whihc was nominated for the Perrier best newcomer award. That year, he also won the Chortle award for best breakthrough act.

His 2008 Edinburgh show again caught the attention of judges and was nominated for the main if.comedy award. It lead to appearances on BBC One's Live at the Apollo stand-up showcase and the 80th Royal Variety Performance.

Gilbert has also appeared on Mock The Week, and he hosts a Saturday-morning show on BBC Radio Wales. In late 2008, he fronted a series of adverts to promote Welsh tourism.

Rhod Gilbert: An agent signed myself after I shat myself on stage

Stand-up's Comedy Store humiliation had a happy ending...

comedy Rhod Gilbert has revealed how he got signed by his agent after shitting himself on stage.

The Welsh stand-up was signed by the agency arm of the Comedy Store the night he appeared at the prestigious London venue despite suffering food poisoning.

Speaking to James Acaster and Ed Gamble on their Off Menu podcast, he said that getting a ten-minute spot at the club is ‘the gig everybody wants to get. It's a big, exciting thing’ – and too important to call off.

But he revealed that after seven minutes, ‘I shat myself in front of 500 people’ – although he said it wasn’t so bad that it went ‘down the leg and over the shoe’.

Gilbert added: ‘You know how important it is if you're doing 10 minutes at The Comedy Store. They put a red light on for you at nine minutes. You get off at 10! Not 10 and a half minutes, not 11, not nine, you get off at 10, right?

‘At seven minutes I thought, "I've shat myself". But I kept going. I did about eight and I thought, "this is ridiculous, come on have some fucking respect".

‘So I sort of shuffled off through the door at the back of the stage. And Don Ward, the guy who set up and runs The Comedy Store, he comes back and he went: "Hmm. You only did eight minutes my boy!"

‘And I said, "I’m really sorry. But I've shat my trousers!"

‘"What, on stage?!"’

‘"Yeah."’

"'And you still did eight minutes?"’

"'Yeah."’

"And he went: 'Have you got an agent?"’

‘He signed me up, on the back of that, on the basis that I persevered, having shat myself.’

Gilbert has been with the same agent, Charlotte Smith, ever since, although she went from running the Comedy Store’s agency to her own company Blue Jeans Management in 2016.

Published: 13 Apr 2025