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Neil Bratchpiece
Bratchpiece as The Wee Man, 2007
Born24 October 1983
Motherwell, Scotland
Other namesThe Wee Man
Occupation(s)Comedian, actor
Years active2007–present
Known forPlaying The Wee Man

Neil Bratchpiece (born 24 October 1983) is a Scottish comedian, actor and writer who initially found fame through his comedy persona as The Wee Man.[1] He rose to prominence in 2007 when he appeared in the YouTube video "Here You (That'll Be Right)" by NEDS Kru which became a viral success. He has made regular stand-up and comedy club appearances, including alongside his brother and father. His performances have included "Comedian Rap Battle" sketches and Insane Championship Wrestling performances. Over several years, Bratchpiece has been an active YouTuber, appearing in character in multiple videos.

Early life

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Bratchpiece was born in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 24 October 1983, into a family of Jewish descent[2][better source needed] and attended Dalziel High School. His father Mark, and brother David were both stand-up comedians. Bratchpiece started his involvement in comedy whilst at school, winning the Glasgow heat of the Fanta Teen Comedy Awards with a friend, then performing in the finals at the Comedy Store in London.[3][4] He studied English, Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow.[5][6]

Viral YouTube video

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The Wee Man character first rose to prominence when he appeared in the viral YouTube video "Here You (That'll Be Right)" by NEDS Kru which had a million views by the start of August 2007.[7][8] By 2021, the video had garnered over 4.5 million views[9] and featured the character fulfilling the role of a stereotypical Scottish "ned", drinking Buckfast Tonic Wine.[10]

Live performance

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Bratchpiece continued to perform regular shows with family members.[11][12] A later regular show was styled around a pub quiz.[13] By 2012 they had performed at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival for ten consecutive years.[4] They were booked as a comedy act for the RockNess 2012 festival.[14] In 2014 he performed in Keir McAllister's dark comedic play Hindsight.[15]

He was involved with "Comedian Rap Battle" performances, which brought a Scottish take on rap battling. Performing in Glasgow initially, the rhythm was different from normal comedy performances,[16] but with Ro Campbell he took the concept to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013,[17] and gained some praise.[18] He performed at the T in the Park in 2014.[19]

Writing

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Bratchpiece had entered sketch writing through an unusual route,[20] however he established himself as a regular performer on the Scottish stand-up comedy circuit.[21] At the Scottish Comedy Awards, he won the category of Best Writer in 2017[22] and made the shortlist in 2019.[23]

Insane Championship Wrestling

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Since 2010, The Wee Man character has appeared as a manager, occasional commentator and occasional wrestler for Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), a Scottish-based professional wrestling promotion.[24][25][26] In ICW, he managed a tag team called 'The Bucky Boys', consisting of Davey Boy and Stevie Boy, using a boisterous ned gimmick for the stable.[27] The team were featured prominently in a documentary produced by Vice magazine called 'The British Wrestler'.[28] The company has since risen to prominence through the BBC Scotland documentary Insane Fight Club.[29]

Television

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Bratchpiece has made several television appearances, including BBC Scotland sitcom Scot Squad,[8] Episode 1.5 in 2014), and Channel 4 show Scotland in a Day.[30] He has also performed on radio, most notably as part of sketch group Endemic on BBC Radio 4 show Sketchorama.[20]

Other work

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In May 2009, Bratchpiece travelled to Sweden with five other theatrical performers as part of an international cultural exchange.[31]

In 2014 Colin McCredie and Des McLean took part in his "Parliamo Glasgow" sketch, which also featured the wrestlers Mark Dallas, Drew Galloway and Grado.[32]

Other videos included "Manky Xmas", "Da Fleeto" and "Banter".[33] Cameos in subsequent videos have included Robert Florence, Tom Urie, Raymond Mearns, Gavin Mitchell, Janey Godley and Rhino.[citation needed]

In 2015, he pulled a stunt with a stage invasion on English comedian Lee Nelson's Fringe show.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Donaldson, Brian (29 November 2007). "Profile - The Wee Man". The List. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Wee Man, comedian tour dates : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk.
  3. ^ "The Diary". The Glasgow Herald. 27 April 1999. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b McGuigan, Cara (1 March 2012). "Bratchy, The Wee Man & Mark Bratchpiece: Bratchpiece Family Album". The Skinny. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. ^ Beacom, Brian (15 April 2015). "NED role is a dead cert hit for Neil Bratchpiece". The Evening Times. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Meet The Wee Man DamoWords Blog". blog.damowords.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018.
  7. ^ Fulton, Rick (9 August 2007). "A brave wee ned". Daily Record. Scotland. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b Reynolds, Michael (26 May 2016). "Scottish comedian The Wee Man – a.k.a. Neil Bratchpiece - set for Ayrshire headline show". Ayrshire Post. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  9. ^ NEDS Kru ft. The Wee Man. YouTube. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  10. ^ Jackson, Lorne (5 July 2020). "Herald Diary: Comedian Neil Bratchpiece left flummoxed by fan over Wee Man role". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Lanarkshire joins the comedy festival circuit". The Herald. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Comedy twist with the Bratchpieces". The Herald. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  13. ^ Innes, Kirstin (6 August 2009). "The Bratchpieces reinvent the Humble Pub Quiz". The List. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  14. ^ Lower, Sian (23 April 2012). "Comedy acts announced for Rockness 2012". The List. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Jojo Sutherland tells us why we should see Keir McAllister's Hindsight". The List. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  16. ^ Boyle, Niki (16 January 2014). "Comedian Rap Battles – The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 15 Jan 2014". The List. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  17. ^ O'Leary, Bernard (2 August 2013). "Rap Battles: "It's important to have fun at the Fringe"". The Skinny. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  18. ^ O'Leary, Bernard (19 August 2013). "Rap Battles @ Bannermans". The Skinny. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  19. ^ Richardson, Jay (7 July 2014). "T in the Park comedy preview". The Scotsman. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  20. ^ a b Richardson, Jay (10 March 2013). "Scots sketch comedy: Something completely different". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  21. ^ Morton, Bruce (17 February 2013). "The state of the nation's comedy". The Skinny. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Comedy Awaerds 2017". comedy.co.uk. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  23. ^ McArthur, Maxine (10 May 2019). "Kevin Bridges and Still Game among Scots comedy stars nominated for awards". The Evening Times. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  24. ^ Learmonth, Andrew (12 March 2015). "'It's yersel'! ... or is it? New English play stars 'Lardo' and the 'Wee Man'". The National. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  25. ^ Livingstone, Elaine (29 November 2018). "Glasgow Lives, Neil: 'I got involved in wrestling through comedy'". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  26. ^ MacLeod, Murdo (24 November 2015). "Insane Wrestling – an intimate portrait of the sport's toughest stars". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  27. ^ Boyle, Niki (25 March 2015). "Interview: Mark Dallas and Neil Bratchpiece talk Insane Championship Wrestling: Barrowmania". Time Out. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  28. ^ James, Rhys (11 October 2012). "The British Wrestler". Vice. United Kingdom. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  29. ^ Brocklehurst, Steven (11 March 2014). "Insane fight club: Reinventing wrestling for a new generation". BBC News. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  30. ^ "Explore film & TV > Films, TV and people > Scotland in a Day (2014)". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  31. ^ "How the Wee Man had a Braw time abroad..." The Evening Times. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  32. ^ English, Paul (6 August 2014). "Taggart star Colin McCredie spoofs old screen role in new video from Glasgow comedy character The Wee Man". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  33. ^ "The Wee Man - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
  34. ^ McGrath, Rachel (27 August 2015). "Comedian Hilariously Gives Lee Nelson A Taste Of His Own Medicine". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
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