Hello.
My name is Toby. I am an actor, writer and comedian.
I was going to write this in the third person in order to give the impression that I have “people”. But I don’t. So, hello!
Here’s my latest news (October 2021):
I’m still largely isolating due to living with a vulnerable person, but still trying to keep busy and pay the rent…!
I have joined Coronation Street as a new character, Fergus Dunford, who has managed to escape the confines of Hadoke Towers, where I filmed his first scenes, and walk the cobbles (which Fergus patrols as traffic warden). You can see one of the Zoom scenes we filmed here, but keep an eye out on TV at the beginning of October (both episodes on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th) for some fabulous scenes, and that won’t be the last you’ll see of him either.
Fergus is making an impact on the Street (and indeed Inside Soap)…
I am back on BBC Radio 4 Extra from Saturday 3rd October for 3 weekends, presenting the science-fiction hour The Seventh Dimension and sprinkling it with arcane facts and due reverence. We have, among other things, a trip to the Village with The Prisoner, a play about witchcraft from Liz Lochhead and a tribute to the recently departed John Challis, a fabulous fellow who plays a cynical policeman in a spooky play from 1998. I also wrote John’s obituary for The Guardian, which you can read here.
Recording the commentary for The Evil of the Daleks with producer John Kelly and Frazer Hines (Jamie).
I feature on the commentary for the recently released Blu-ray of The Evil of the Daleks which might just be the best Doctor Who missing episode animation yet. I am also on the commentary and the documentary for the forthcoming release of Galaxy Four – we only filmed the documentary at the beginning of September and the disc is out very soon : probably our quickest turnaround.
My first TV script was aired at the end of last month. My episode of Biff and Chip – episode 11, Buried Treasure – is still available on iPlayer and I think that they have done a lovely job with it. I’m quite proud to have had a script that has finally made it to screen: and I owe brilliant producer and Guardian Angel Charlotte Riches a great debt of gratitude for getting me on the team, and script editor Luke Frost deserves bucketloads of thanks for bearing with me as we went through draft after draft I order to get it right. The episode can still be seen here.
A TV Credit!!
XS Malarkey – my award winning, 24 year old comedy club – has opened its doors again after over a year of lockdown shows (we ran weekly throughout the pandemic). We have some great acts and shows coming up – including John-Luke Roberts, Harriet Kemsley, Thanyia Moore, Sophie Duker, Bethany Black and Ed Knight – and they kick off at 8pm at our usual venue of The Bread Shed in Manchester. Our online shows went so well we are going to continue with them, bringing you fantastic acts from around the world on the first Sunday of every month at 8pm on our Twitch channel. The next one features the brilliant Tom Ward (a Malarkey debut!) and fabulous US act Naomi Ekperigin.
Back on stage where I belong at XS Malarkey…
My podcasts are all up and away. They just clocked up over 100, 000 downloads across 100 episodes which I am told is very good (we only launched 10 months ago)! They are all about Doctor Who : there’s Too Much Information (a fact-filled, episode-by-episode breakdown), Indefinable Magic (whimsical vocal essays inspired by some random aspect of the the show), and Happy Times and Places (commentaries with the aim of positivity). They are released under the blanket title of Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels. My Podbean podcast page is here. My Patreon Page is here.
I have directed, and am in, a new comedy pilot by Jonathan Morris – it’s a Dan Dare/Buck Rogers type spoof called Dick Dixon in the 21st Century and is very funny. It has a great soundscape and a terrific cast including Kieran Hodgson, Dan Starkey, Terry Molloy and Sooz Kempner. Jonny has packed it with jokes and characters who will definitely strike a chord with anyone who likes what I like. The pilot episode here. and I am very pleased to say that we have just recorded more episodes which will be out soon.
And here’s the general stuff about me if you’re interested (which I’m guessing you might be as you are here, so thanks!):
My one man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe before embarking on a national tour, international dates and a West End run. The radio version was released on CD by the BBC and was nominated for a Sony Award. The follow up – My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver – joined its predecessor for a double bill at the Garrick Theatre in 2013. My radio work includes afternoon plays, a Fright Night presentation and topical comedy and has been nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award.
I am a regular performer at the Comedy Store, Manchester (New Stuff every second and last Sunday of the month), the 99 Club Leicester Square, and have been resident compere at the award winning XS Malarkey comedy club for 23 years.
I also like old TV and can spot a character actor in a crowd from space. I have written about such passions for national newspapers and magazines, and spoken about them on documentaries and TV news programmes. My podcast, Toby Hadoke’s Who’s Round, has run to over 250 episodes, and my new lot, Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels, have hit 50, 000 downloads.
But I’m an actor really. I have appeared in Holby City, An Adventure in Space and Time, Phoenix Nights, The Forsyte Saga, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Casualty 1907, the forthcoming feature film Six Minutes to Midnight (2020) and dozens of radio plays. I also present the weekend science fiction hour, The 7th Dimension, on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
