Paul Zerdin

Paul Zerdin
Paul Zerdin
Born	21 August 1972 (age 52); London, England
Nationality	English
Occupation(s)	Ventriloquist, comedian
Years active	1993; 1996; 2008; 2015–present;
Agent	https://intertalentgroup.com/
Notable work	America's Got Talent (season 10) (Winner)
Television	See list
Website	www.paulzerdin.com

Paul Zerdin (born 21 August 1972)^[1] is a British comedian and ventriloquist from London. He was the winner of the 10th season of America's Got Talent.

Early life

When Zerdin was 10, a family friend made him a puppet theatre which he used to put on shows. Having failed his GCSEs, Zerdin got a job in a magic shop, developing his magic skills along the way. Simultaneously, he was also developing a sideline as a children's entertainer.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Zerdin made his TV debut as a magician on the BBC's Tricky Business. Shortly afterwards, at the age of 20, Zerdin landed a two-year contract presenting the Disney-produced children's programme Rise and Shine for GMTV.^[2]

In 1996, Zerdin was the first outright winner – by over 100,000 votes – of LWT's The Big Big Talent Show, hosted by Jonathan Ross. The experience introduced him to Nigel Lythgoe, who took Zerdin under his wing, paving the way for appearances on shows including Tonight at the London Palladium and The Generation Game.^{[citation needed]} Lythgoe secured Zerdin a spot on The Prince's Trust Gala Show in 1997.^[3]

During the 2016-17 Christmas season, Zerdin played Cinderella's sidekick Buttons in the London Palladium production of the pantomime Cinderella, leading the Radio Times to dub him "inspired casting." The magazine added that "His quick wit, rapport with the crowd and astonishing skills with puppet Sam turn the often toe-curling audience participation bits (don't sit in the front row) into genuinely hilarious moments."^[4]

Got Talent

In 2015, Zerdin auditioned for the tenth season of America's Got Talent, successfully earning a place in the live rounds of the contest, before eventually winning the finals on 16 September 2015. Alongside winning $1 million, Zerdin was given his own headline show in Las Vegas. Entitled Mouthing Off, it ran for four months in 2016, between 14 May and 4 September, at Planet Hollywood, before closing due to low attendance figures.^[5] In 2019, Zerdin returned to partake in the programme's spin-off contest, America's Got Talent: The Champions, in January, and the spin-off contest, Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, in July later that year, but failed to reach the final of either show.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Rise and Shine	Presenter	GMTV (Kids)
1996	The Big Big Talent Show	Himself	Winner
1996	Sooty & Co.	Little Cousin Paul	ITV
2008	The Convention Crasher	Himself	Channel 4
2015	America's Got Talent	Himself	Winner
2016	America's Got Talent	Himself and Guest	NBC
2016	Newzoids	Himself	ITV
2017	Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?	Himself and Guest	ABC
2019	Britain's Got Talent	Himself	ITV
2019	Tenable All Stars		ITV
2021	Justin's House		CBeebies

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue/ Place	Notes
1998	Paul Zerdin in Paradise	Himself	Blackpool Pleasure Beach	Paradise Room in The Casino (11 July - 7 November)
2017, 2018, 2020	Paul Zerdin LIVE	Himself	Butlins (Minehead, Bognor and Skegness)	School summer holidays only and February half term (2018 only) ^[6]
2016	Cinderella	Buttons	The London Palladium
2017	Paul Zerdin All Mouth	Himself	UK Tour
2017	Dick Whittington	Idle Jack	The London Palladium
2018	Snow White	Muddles
2019	Goldilocks & the Three Bears	Silly Billy
2022	Jack and the Beanstalk	Silly Simon