Richard Blackwood
Born in south London in 1972, Richard Blackwood claims he always wanted to be a performer. His inspiration has come from other comedians like Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, and his comedic style can be described as an amalgam of these three, with a healthy dose Afro Caribbean and South London humour. He is known as Britain's Will Smith and the two are thought to be very fond of one another's work.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business, he did a gig at 'The Spot' in London's Covent Garden, and from there his popularity grew. He did guest spots on 'The A- Force', BBC2's late night black entertainment programme, as well as sketches on 'The Real McCoy','Five Night Stand', and presented the hit family quiz show Blackwood's Big Bucket. He has also appeared as an actor in some of the UK's most popular TV shows, such as Holby City and Crimewatch.
He has hosted 'Singled Out' and 'MTV Select' on MTV, and was selected to front the launch of one of the BBC's new digital channels.
Blackwood was recently named as one of the 100 greatest Black Britons.
His catchphrases include "Who da man?", and he released a hit song of the same name in 2001.
