Paul Sinha

Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British comedian, quiz player, television presenter, former doctor and broadcaster. He is best known as one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show The Chase, alongside Mark Labbett, Jenny Ryan, Shaun Wallace, Darragh Ennis and Anne Hegerty.

Paul Sinha
Sinha in 2015 holding the Fighting Talk Champion of Champions Trophy
Born
Supriya Kumar Sinha

(1970-05-28) 28 May 1970
Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Other names
  • The Sinnerman
  • Sarcasm in a Suit
  • The Smiling Assassin
EducationSt George's, University of London
OccupationBroadcaster, comedian, television presenter, former doctor, quiz player
Years active1996–present
Spouse(s)Oliver Levy
(2019–present)
AwardsRose D'Or winner (2016)
Websitewww.paulsinha.com

Early life

Sinha was educated at Dulwich College and St George's Hospital Medical School.[1] Sinha is a former general practitioner,[2] qualifying in the 1990s.[3] 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.[4]

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.[1] 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.[5][6]

Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows
  • 2004, Aspects of Love, Actually
  • 2006, Saint or Sinha? (if.comeddie award nomination)[7]
  • 2007, King of the World
  • 2009, 39 Years of Solitude[8]
  • 2010, Extreme Anti-White Vitriol
  • 2011, Looking at the Stars[9]
  • 2015, Postcards from the Z List[10][11]
  • 2017, Shout Out To My Ex
  • 2018, The Two Ages of Man

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 was a Liverpool F.C. fan)[12] and cricket has led to appearances on Radio 5 Live,[7] most notably on Fighting Talk, where he has won the Champion of Champions finale twice. He has also appeared on Talksport radio station.[7]

He has appeared as a guest on Midweek, Woman's Hour, Broadcasting House and as a political pundit on PM.[13][14][15]

In March 2011, Sinha presented his own 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.[16][17] In July 2012, he presented a programme called The Sinha Games on BBC Radio 4 about the Olympic Games and his experience as a Londoner.[18]

In December 2014, Sinha wrote and performed his first series on Radio 4, Paul Sinha's History Revision.[19] A second series followed in May 2016, winning the Rose d'Or for Radio Comedy.[20][21]

Quizzing

After an appearance on The Weakest Link (where he was voted off 4th), Sinha made appearances on University Challenge: The Professionals (lost), Are You an Egghead? (lost in first round), Mastermind (4th) and Brain of Britain (3rd). Sinha is currently ranked 7th in the National Quiz Rankings (as of 30 May 2017),[22] and placed 11th in the 2018 World Quizzing Championships.[23]

Sinha also plays in the Quiz League of London for the Gray Monks.[24]

The Chase
Main article: The Chase

In 2011, Sinha joined the ITV quiz series The Chase as the fourth "Chaser",[11] with the nicknames "The Sinnerman", "The Smiling Assassin" and "Sarcasm in a Suit".[25]

His first episode was broadcast in the fourth series on 8 September 2011. He also appears in celebrity and family editions of the show.

He has said he is more known overseas (such as in New Zealand) than in Britain, where The Chase is screened at 5pm before people are home from work.[26]

Television

In 2019, he appeared on Series 8 of Taskmaster. He finished last 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,[27] and concluded on 13 February 2021.[28]

Personal life

In May 2017, Sinha revealed on The Chase that he is gay,[29] though he has often discussed his sexuality in his comedy shows.

In June 2019, Sinha announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[30]

On 14 December 2019, Sinha married his fiancé Oliver Levy.[31]

References
  1. Pendreigh, Brian (11 August 2011). "Interview: Paul Sinha, comedian". Edinburgh Festivals: Festival Previews. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012.
  2. Pollack, David (2 October 2008). "Profile - Paul Sinha". The List.
  3. "Paul Sinha". doncaster-chamber.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  4. "Paul Sinha's London". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  5. Logan, Brian (13 August 2007). "A man walks into a doctor's office ..." The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  6. "Edinburgh Comedy Awards – past winners". comedyawards.co.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  7. Pollock, David (2 October 2008). "Profile - Paul Sinha". list.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. "Paul Sinha". 11 August 2009.
  9. "BBC Radio Scotland Programmes – The Comedy Café, 15/07/2011". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  10. "Outstanding Tickets".
  11. Semple, Ross (12 August 2015). "Interview: Chaser Paul Sinha on being a gay comic sports fan and selfies with Joey Essex". pinknews.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  12. "Paul Sinha Interview". asianchic.co.uk/. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  13. "Midweek 28 Feb 2007". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  14. "Woman's Hour 26 May 2008". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  15. "Comedian's Joke Advice for Brown". bbc.co.uk. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  16. "Paul Sinha's Quiz Culture". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  17. "The Sinha Test". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  18. "The Sinha Games - BBC Radio 4".
  19. "Paul Sinha's History Revision - BBC Radio 4".
  20. "Rose d'Or Radio Comedy". Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  21. "Rose d'Or Comedy Winners". British Comedy Guide.
  22. "Current Order of Merit standings, and 'All Time' Rankings". British Quiz Association. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  23. "Results - World Quizzing Championships 2018". Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  24. "QLL – team". Quiz League of London. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  25. "The Chase: 10 Things You Never Knew About The Chasers". Yahoo! News. 30 June 2016.
  26. "Paul Sinha, famous in small towns". Stuff.co.nz. 9 January 2018.
  27. "Paul Sinha's TV Showdown Episode 1". Press Centre. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  28. "Paul Sinha's TV Showdown Episode 6". Press Centre. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  29. "Viewers of The Chase react with shock as they realise chaser Paul 'Sinnerman' Sinha is gay". Attitude. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  30. "Paul Sinha from The Chase reveals he is battling Parkinson's disease in 'devastating' blog post". Evening Standard. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  31. Kay, Adam (2020). "Paul Sinha". Dear NHS 100 Stories to say Thank You.
Preceded by
Justin Moorhouse		 BBC Radio Five Live
Fighting Talk Champion of Champions
2014/15 and 2015/16		 Succeeded by
Richard Osman
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