1. Mark Steel has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in The Guardian, The Independent and Daily Mirror.
23 Facts About Mark Steel
1. 2.
Mark Steel's adoptive father worked in insurance and his mother was a housewife who supplemented the family's income through factory work and working as a lollipop lady.
3.
Mark Steel had a close relationship with his adoptive parents.
4.
Mark Steel was in a bit of a state because she was pregnant.
5.
Mark Steel learned that she was from a Scottish working-class family with an active involvement in left-wing politics; she had married an Italian and lived in Rimini.
6.
Mark Steel had met his biological father Joe Dwek at a party in London.
7.
Mark Steel says that his first encounter with social injustice was when he saw how mentally ill patients were being treated in that hospital.
8.
Mark Steel had various early jobs including a stint as a milkman.
9.
Mark Steel became bored with answering how he started in comedy and took to saying the first thing that came into his head.
10.
Mark Steel worked the comedy circuit for several years, and acknowledges Alexei Sayle as an influence.
11.
Mark Steel has appeared frequently on Have I Got News For You, Room 101, Mock the Week, the Graham Norton Show, and has made several appearances on Question Time.
12.
In 2017, Mark Steel was back on stage with his show Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright.
13.
Mark Steel has a son, Elliot Steel, who is a stand-up comedian, and a daughter from a relationship that ended in 2006.
14.
Mark Steel is in a relationship with fellow comedian Shaparak Khorsandi and has described their relationship as "always entwined".
15.
In October 2023, Mark Steel said that he was undergoing surgery after a diagnosis of throat cancer.
16.
In December 2024, Mark Steel was the castaway for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.
17.
Mark Steel chose the Nick Cave song "Into My Arms" and dedicated it to Khorsandi.
18.
Mark Steel was present in Southall in 1979 during the riot in which Blair Peach was killed.
19.
In 2000, Mark Steel took part in the London Assembly elections on behalf of the London Socialist Alliance in the Croydon and Sutton constituency; he received 1,823 votes.
20.
In February 2013, Mark Steel was among those who supported the People's Assembly in a letter published in The Guardian.
21.
Mark Steel spoke at a press conference to launch the People's Assembly Against Austerity on 26 March 2013, and at regional public meetings in the lead up to a national meeting at Westminster Central Hall on 22 June 2013.
22.
Mark Steel gave a speech at the People's Assembly Conference in Westminster.
23.
Mark Steel has contributed to or appeared on the following shows:.