Youngest ever Variety Performance host

Michael McIntyre will host this year’s Royal Variety Performance, becoming the youngest ever compere it its 84-year history.

The show, attended by Prince Charles, will not take place until the end of the year, and the announcement of the rest of the line-up is still months away. but 34-year-old McIntyre has already been confirmed.

The London Palladium show will air in December on BBC One, where McIntyre is already the face of Saturday-night entertainment.

The comic said: ‘I got my big break at the Royal Variety Performance in 2006 and returned in 2008, but now to host it is such an honour and I'm unbelievably excited.

‘The Queen and Prince Charles alternate their attendance. This year, and on both of my previous appearances, I will be performing for Prince Charles. I can't wait to entertain him for a third time, although it does seem obvious that the Queen is avoiding me.’

Katie Taylor, the head of in-house entertainment at the BBC, said: ‘He’ll be a brilliantly lively and infectious glue that will hold the Royal Variety Performance together.’

Published: 6 Apr 2010