Paul Sinha#Radio

{{Short description|British stand-up comedian and professional quizzer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Paul Sinha

| image = Paul Sinha holding the Fighting Talk Champion of Champions Trophy (cropped).jpg

| caption = Sinha in 2015 holding the Fighting Talk Champion of Champions Trophy

| birth_name = Supriya Kumar Sinha

| other_names = {{ubl | The Sinnerman/Sinhaman | Sarcasm in a Suit | The Smiling Assassin }}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|5|28|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Luton, Bedfordshire, England

| education = Dulwich College

| alma_mater = St George's, University of London

| occupation = {{Hlist

| Comedian

| television presenter

| television personality

| disc jockey

}}

| years_active = 1996–present

| spouse = {{marriage|Oliver Levy|2019}}

| awards = Rose d'Or winner (2016)

| website = {{URL|www.paulsinha.com/}}

}}

Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British professional quizzer and comedian. He has written and performed extensively on BBC Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show The Chase.

Early life

Supriya Kumar Sinha was born on 28 May 1970 to Bengali Hindu{{cite web|last1=Sinha|first1=Paul|title=Paul Sinha's Unilad routine.|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ioik8hvNY&t=155s|website=YouTube|date=November 2022 |access-date=2 June 2024}} parents. His father and paternal grandfather were doctors; his mother was a nurse. He attributes the name Paul to a "misunderstanding with nursing staff" in the newsletter announcing his birth, and says that this name "stuck".{{cite book |last1=Sinha |first1=Paul |title=One Sinha Lifetime |date=20 June 2024 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-5299-0856-5 |page=10 |language=en}}

Sinha was educated at Dulwich College and St George's Hospital Medical School.{{cite web|last=Pendreigh|first=Brian|title=Interview: Paul Sinha, comedian|url=http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewpreview.aspx?id=2617|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312065654/http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewpreview.aspx?id=2617|archive-date=12 March 2012|work=Edinburgh Festivals: Festival Previews|date=11 August 2011}}

Sinha is a former general practitioner,{{cite news|last1=Pollack|first1=David|title=Profile - Paul Sinha|url=https://www.list.co.uk/article/13324-profile-paul-sinha/|work=The List|date=2 October 2008}} qualifying in the 1990s.{{cite web|title=Paul Sinha|url=http://www.doncaster-chamber.co.uk/paul-sinha.asp|publisher=doncaster-chamber.co.uk|access-date=9 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310074336/http://www.doncaster-chamber.co.uk/paul-sinha.asp|archive-date=10 March 2018|url-status=dead}} While at medical school he developed a taste for the stage in St George's annual revue and refined his comedy as co-editor of the medical school newsletter, popularly known as the Slag Mag.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek_20070228.shtml|title=Paul Sinha's London|publisher=BBC|access-date=25 August 2009}}

Career

= Stand-up comedy =

Sinha began performing stand-up while working as a junior doctor in hospitals in London and King's Lynn. His early material drew on his sexuality and ethnicity, with heavy use of puns. In 1999, he came third in the final of the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year.

After several years of combining touring with his nascent medical career, Sinha's breakthrough came with his second solo Edinburgh show, Saint or Sinha?, which earned him an if.comeddie nomination in 2006.{{cite news|last1=Logan|first1=Brian|date=13 August 2007|title=A man walks into a doctor's office ...|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/aug/13/gayrights.comedy|access-date=9 March 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://comedyawards.co.uk/comedyshow.asp|title=Edinburgh Comedy Awards – past winners|publisher=comedyawards.co.uk|access-date=30 June 2009|archive-date=13 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813211450/http://comedyawards.co.uk/comedyshow.asp|url-status=dead}}

== Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows ==

2004, Aspects of Love, Actually
2006, Saint or Sinha? (if.comeddie award nomination){{cite web|last1=Pollock|first1=David|title=Profile - Paul Sinha|work=The List |url=https://www.list.co.uk/article/13324-profile-paul-sinha/|date=2 October 2008|publisher=list.co.uk|access-date=9 March 2018}}
2007, King of the World
2009, 39 Years of Solitude{{cite web|url=https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/19822-paul-sinha/|title=Paul Sinha|date=11 August 2009}}
2010, Extreme Anti-White Vitriol
2011, Looking at the Stars{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012fvrv|title=BBC Radio Scotland Programmes – The Comedy Café, 15/07/2011|work=BBC Scotland|access-date=11 July 2011}}
2015, Postcards from the Z List{{cite web|url=http://thestand.co.uk/fringe/show/1877/paul_sinha_postcards_from_the_z_list|title=Outstanding Tickets|access-date=18 August 2015|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306104012/http://thestand.co.uk/fringe/show/1877/paul_sinha_postcards_from_the_z_list|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Semple|first1=Ross|title=Interview: Chaser Paul Sinha on being a gay comic sports fan and selfies with Joey Essex|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/08/12/interview-paul-sinha-on-the-chase-and-life-as-a-gay-comic/|access-date=9 March 2018|work=pinknews.co.uk|date=12 August 2015}}
2017, Shout Out to my Ex
2018, The Two Ages of Man
2022, One Sinha Lifetime
2023, Pauly Bengali

= Radio =

Sinha has performed many times on BBC Radio 4, on shows including The News Quiz, The Now Show, Loose Ends, 28 Acts in 28 Minutes, Shappi Talk and Just a Minute. His interest in football (he is a Liverpool F.C. fan){{cite web|url=http://asianchic.co.uk/paul-sinha/|title=Paul Sinha Interview|publisher=asianchic.co.uk|date=3 October 2012|access-date=25 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222042146/http://asianchic.co.uk/paul-sinha/|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}} and cricket has led to appearances on BBC Radio 5 Live, most notably on Fighting Talk, where he has won the Champion of Champions finale twice. He has also appeared on Talksport.

He has appeared as a guest on Midweek, Woman's Hour, Broadcasting House and as a political pundit on PM.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/midweek_20070228.shtml|title=Midweek 28 Feb 2007|publisher=BBC|access-date=25 August 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2008_22_mon.shtml|title=Woman's Hour 26 May 2008|publisher=BBC|access-date=25 August 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6728639.stm|title=Comedian's Joke Advice for Brown|publisher=BBC|access-date=25 August 2009 | date=6 June 2007}}

In March 2011, Sinha presented his own BBC Radio 4 programme, Paul Sinha's Quiz Culture, in which he explored the world of competitive quizzing. His second documentary, The Sinha Test, aired on 14 July 2011 and examined patriotism and sporting allegiance.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zd704|title=Paul Sinha's Quiz Culture|publisher=BBC|access-date=13 March 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012fs6y|title=The Sinha Test|publisher=BBC|access-date=11 July 2011}} In July 2012, he wrote and presented a programme called The Sinha Games on BBC Radio 4 about the Olympic Games and his experience as a Londoner.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01l0dpb|title=BBC Radio 4 - The Sinha Games|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 May 2023}}

In December 2014, Sinha wrote and performed his first series on BBC Radio 4, Paul Sinha's History Revision.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04sxxgc|title=BBC Radio 4 - Paul Sinha's History Revision, Series 1|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 May 2023}} A second series followed in May 2016, winning the Rose d'Or for Radio Comedy.{{cite web|url=http://www.rosedor.com/competition-entries/detail/category/Radio-Comedy.html|title=Rose d'Or Radio Comedy|access-date=2 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206072214/http://www.rosedor.com/competition-entries/detail/category/Radio-Comedy.html|archive-date=6 February 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/news/2229/rose_dor_2016_comedy_winners/|title=Rose d'Or Comedy Winners|date=13 September 2016 |publisher=British Comedy Guide}} The follow-up, Paul Sinha's General Knowledge, has completed its third series.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000llxk/episodes/guide|title=BBC Radio 4 - Paul Sinha's General Knowledge - Episode guide|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 May 2023}} In 2022, Paul Sinha wrote and starred in Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz.

Sinha is a regular panellist on Round Britain Quiz, representing the South of England with Marcus Berkmann.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qxpr|title=Round Britain Quiz|publisher=BBC|access-date=25 March 2009}}

= Quizzing =

After an appearance on The Weakest Link (where he was voted off fourth), Sinha made appearances on University Challenge: The Professionals (lost), Are You an Egghead? (lost in first round), Mastermind (fourth) and Brain of Britain (third). Sinha was ranked seventh in the National Quiz Rankings (as of 30 May 2017),{{cite web|url=http://www.quizzing.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5|title=Current Order of Merit standings, and 'All Time' Rankings|publisher=British Quiz Association|access-date=30 May 2017|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809173239/http://www.quizzing.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5|url-status=dead}} and placed 11th in the 2018 World Quizzing Championships.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldquizzing.com/results/|title=Results - World Quizzing Championships 2018|access-date=13 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607192638/http://www.worldquizzing.com/results/|archive-date=7 June 2012|url-status=dead}}

Sinha also plays in the Quiz League of London for the Gray Monks and in the Online Quiz League for Quiz Machine Kills Fascists.{{cite web|url=http://www.quizleagueoflondon.co.uk/teams/team.aspx?ID=12|title=QLL – team|publisher=Quiz League of London|access-date=13 March 2011}}

== ''The Chase'' ==

In 2011, Sinha joined the ITV quiz series The Chase as the fourth "Chaser", with the nicknames "The Sinnerman", "The Smiling Assassin" and "Sarcasm in a Suit".{{cite web |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/10-things-you-never-knew-about-the-chases-chasers-134334990.html |title=The Chase: 10 Things You Never Knew About The Chasers |first=Ben |last=Arnold |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=30 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019003521/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/10-things-you-never-knew-about-the-chases-chasers-134334990.html |archive-date=19 October 2017}} His first episode was broadcast in the fourth series on 8 September 2011. He also appears in celebrity and family editions of the show.

Sinha has said that he feels that he and the show are more well-known overseas, particularly in New Zealand where people are more likely to get home from work in time to watch it.{{cite web |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/100077898/the-chases-paul-sinha-famous-in-small-towns |first=Steve |last=Kilgallon|title=Paul Sinha, famous in small towns |work=Stuff (company) |date=9 January 2018 |access-date=20 June 2024}}

= Television =

In 2019, he appeared on Series 8 of Taskmaster, finishing in last place with 136 points.

In January 2021, Sinha began hosting his own quiz show for ITV, called Paul Sinha's TV Showdown, featuring celebrities who go head to head together in a bid to answer as many questions as they can on TV knowledge. The show commenced on 9 January 2021,{{Cite web|title=Paul Sinha's TV Showdown Episode 1|url=https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week2/paul-sinhas-tv-showdown|access-date=18 December 2020|website=Press Centre|language=en}} and concluded on 13 February 2021. A second series was commissioned and premiered 19 February 2022, releasing weekly until 2 April 2022.

Personal life

Sinha was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in May 2019.{{Cite news|title=Paul Sinha from The Chase reveals he is battling Parkinson's disease in 'devastating' blog post|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/the-chases-paul-sinha-diagnosed-with-parkinsons-disease-a4167681.html |first=Katie |last=Rosseinsky |newspaper=Evening Standard|date=14 June 2019|access-date=14 June 2019}}

Sinha married Oliver Levy on 14 December 2019.{{cite book|editor-last=Kay|editor-first=Adam|editor-link=Adam Kay (writer)|date=2020|title=Dear NHS 100 Stories to say Thank You

|chapter=Paul Sinha |publisher=Orion Publishing Group, Limited |isbn=978-1398701182}}

On 20 June 2024, Sinha's autobiography One Sinha Lifetime was released and published by Penguin Books.{{Cite book |last=Sinha |first=Paul |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/456343/one-sinha-lifetime-by-sinha-paul/9781529908534 |title=One Sinha Lifetime |publisher=Penguin Books |date=2024-06-20 |language=en}}

References

External links

{{IMDb name|id=2551155|name=Paul Sinha}}
{{official website|http://www.paulsinha.com}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110405014216/http://sinhaha.wordpress.com/author/sinhaha/ Sinha's blog]
[http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/p/524/paul_sinha Sinha on chortle.co.uk]

{{s-ttl |title=BBC Radio Five Live
Fighting Talk Champion of Champions |years=2014/15 and 2015/16 }}

Category:1970 births

Category:20th-century English comedians

Category:20th-century English LGBTQ people

Category:20th-century English medical doctors

Category:21st-century English comedians

Category:21st-century English LGBTQ people

Category:Alumni of St George's, University of London

Category:British general practitioners

Category:Comedians from Bedfordshire

Category:Contestants on British game shows

Category:Celebrity doctors