About
Phil Chapman
Stand-up comedian, host and comedy writer.
The story so far
Phil Chapman is a stand-up comedian, host and comedy writer, and a familiar face at Liverpool's Hot Water Comedy Club, where he is a regular host. He started performing in 2006, working the open mic nights of the North of England for his first couple of years before moving on to club bills, compèring, festivals and shows of his own.
His act is built on topical material, observations and anecdotes, and on quick reactions to whoever is sitting in the front row. Hot Water Comedy Club calls him one of the most prolific writers on the circuit: his material keeps moving, so audiences get a new show every time they see him.
Beyond the clubs, Phil has compèred and performed at festivals including Kendal Calling, The Farmyard Party and Tribfest, and he has taken solo shows Enthusiast and Figures on the road. Venues also bill him as a presenter, a voice-over artist and an act for corporate events.
As a writer, his contributions include BBC Radio 4's The News Quiz and Radio 4 Extra's Newsjack. Online, he writes and performs sketches and comedy songs, from The Wokest Link to Slogans, in which he plays the German techno legend DJ Hans Face Space. He is a frequent podcast guest too, from Hot Water's Green Room to Dead Men Talking, where he once stood in as co-host.
“One of my favourite acts to watch”
Press and praise
What they say
Word for word, each linked to where it appeared.
“If I hadn't bumped into Phil that day, I might have never done stand-up again. I don't tell him that because he'll ask for half of my money.”
Paul SmithLiverpool Echo, April 2026 (opens in a new tab)on the chance meeting with Phil that got him back into stand-up at Hot Water “spends most of his stage time getting to know individual crowd members”
Liverpool EchoJune 2025 (opens in a new tab)interviewing Phil ahead of his MC dates at Hot Water “Phil gave us hilarious audience banter and a run down of the show laying down the ground rules”
A Young(ish) Perspectivereview of Hot Water Comedy Club, November 2022 (opens in a new tab)with Phil as MC “The legend of Hot Water that is Phil Chapman joins us today!”
Hot Water's Green Roomepisode 165, February 2025 (opens in a new tab)the club's own podcast “Phil Chapman, a stand-up comedian and animator”
Liverpool EchoJanuary 2018 (opens in a new tab)on his 16-bit animation of Scott and Charlene's 1987 Neighbours wedding “all under the leadership of professional comedians Chris Cairns and Phil Chapman”
Liverpool EchoAugust 2015 (opens in a new tab)on the LFC Foundation's Take a Stand comedy course
Home club
Phil at Hot Water
Hot Water Comedy Club's own profile calls him “a regular host at the world famous Hot Water Comedy Club” and “one of the most prolific writers on the circuit”. It is where he is on stage most weeks, at Blackstock Market in Liverpool.
Writing credits
On the radio
Writing contributions to BBC topical comedy, as credited by British Comedy Guide.
| Programme | Episode | Credit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newsjack (opens British Comedy Guide in a new tab)BBC Radio 4 Extra | Series 9, episode 4 | Writer | 2013 |
| The News Quiz (opens British Comedy Guide in a new tab)BBC Radio 4 | Series 85, episode 8 | Additional material | 2014 |
| Newsjack (opens British Comedy Guide in a new tab)BBC Radio 4 Extra | Series 12, episode 6 | Writer | 2015 |
Selected projects
Beyond the stage
Recorded special
Sketches
Written by Phil, who also performs in each.
Comedy songs
On podcasts
A few of his guest spots.
- Peaking into Success7 February 2024. On his route into comedy and touring (opens in a new tab)
- Hot Water's Green Room #16510 February 2025. With Tony Carroll and Jamie Hutchinson (plays here)
- Dead Men Talking #814 December 2022. Stepping in as co-host (plays here)
- Have A Word Podcast #18514 August 2022 (plays here)
Solo shows
His own hour
Phil Chapman
presents
Figures
2025
Figures
Solo show, 2025
A touring hour. As the listings put it, "Come spend an hour with El Chapo." It played Leeds, Belfast, Edinburgh, Bolton Comedy Festival and Manchester.
Documented performances
- 27 March 2025The Wardrobe, Leeds
- 6 April 2025Lavery's, Belfast
- 9 April 2025The Stand, Edinburgh
- 6 July 2025Octagon, Bolton Comedy Festival, Bolton
- 14 August 2025Creatures Comedy Club, Manchester
The original poster, Comedy Lounge Hull, May 2023. From the archive: this run has finished. Enthusiast
Solo show, 2023
A solo hour taken to Hull and Leeds.
Documented performances
- 7 May 2023Comedy Lounge, Hull
- 29 February 2024The Wardrobe, Leeds
Phil Chapman
presents
The Man With The Spatula
2018
The Man With The Spatula
Solo show, 2018
An earlier solo hour: as the listing explained, an hour of his jokes told while holding a spatula. No cooking was involved.
Documented performances
- 22 February 2018BrewDog, Leicester
Festivals
Out in the fields
- Kendal Calling
- The Farmyard Party
- Tribfest
- Leicester Comedy Festival
- Bolton Comedy Festival
- Liverpool Comedy Festival
- DEADMEET
Photographs
In the light
Photo credits
- Phil Chapman on stage, microphone in hand: Photographer not credited at source
- Phil Chapman laughing on stage, microphone in both hands, in front of a brick wall: Photographer not credited at source
- Phil Chapman on stage at Hot Water Comedy Club, giving the audience a sideways look: Photographer not credited at source (camera data: Canon EOS 4000D, 6 March 2022)
- Phil Chapman grinning on stage at Hot Water Comedy Club, one arm flung out: Photographer not credited at source
- Phil Chapman performing under red stage light in a cap and Texans sweatshirt, mid-gesture with the microphone: Hot Water Comedy Club (as credited by the Liverpool Echo); the same shoot as the hero photograph
- Phil Chapman alone on a dark stage in a purple jumper, smiling into the microphone, a red curtain behind him: Hot Water Comedy Club (as credited by the Liverpool Echo)
- Phil Chapman on stage against a brick wall, eyebrows raised and lips pursed, microphone at his chest: Hot Water Comedy Club (as credited by the Liverpool Echo)
- Phil Chapman at Hot Water Comedy Club in a knitted hat with horns, pointing at them with both hands: Hot Water Comedy Club (as credited by the Liverpool Echo)
- Phil Chapman in a single spotlight, hand to his mouth in mock horror: Photographer not credited at source
- Cover art for Phil Chapman’s recorded special Artist Cynhesu (Warm Up Artist): Phil wide-eyed with a microphone, beside an old mobile phone: The special’s own cover art, from its product page
- The original poster for Enthusiast at Comedy Lounge Hull, Sunday 7 May: Phil, wide-eyed, in a Texans sweatshirt: Comedy Lounge Hull (the venue’s poster)