Ex doctor who craves publicity
GROWING up in a £3million house in North London with his lawyer parents, Simon Brodkin first went to Manchester to study medicine.
But instead of pursuing a career as a doctor, the former public schoolboy – who despite his juvenile stunt with the Prime Minister is actually a 40-yearold married father – has attempted to make a name for himself as a TV comedian with a series of childish pranks.
While he has had shows on Channel 4 and BBC3, it was his relative obscurity – at least among Tory delegates – that seems to have enabled him to infiltrate the party conference.
His name may have meant little to the staff responsible for vetting everyone, but a glance at his track record ought to have rung alarm bells.
In 2015 Brodkin was arrested by Swiss police after bursting into a Fifa press conference and throwing handfuls of money at its scandal-hit president Sepp Blatter.
Last year he even disrupted a Donald Trump press conference held by the-then presidential candidate to open a golf course in Scotland, giving out balls with swastikas stamped on them.
It may be no coincidence that Brodkin is currently touring his stand-up show, with tickets available for all performances.
His prankster reputation began in liberal Hampstead, North London, where he was thrown out of lessons for fool
ing around at £18, 00-ayear University College School. After leaving university in 2001, life as an NHS junior doctor in a ‘crumbling hospital’ saw him concentrate increasingly on his fledgling comedy career.
He became a full-time comedian in 200 and then landed his own series on BBC under the name of his bestknown alter ego Lee Nelson, a baseball cap-wearing working class ‘chav’.
He also created blond quiffed footballer Jason Bent, getting on to the pitch with Manchester City stars shortly before a match against Everton in 2013.
For that stunt he was arrested and taken to court, where a judge gave him a conditional caution.
The following year he infuriated X Factor bosses by sneaking on-stage to join band Stereo Kicks onstage. Later he attempted to board the England football team’s charter plane to the World Cup in Brazil.
He even tracked down Sir Philip Green’s £100million superyacht in Monaco and renamed it BHS Destroyer using a home-made banner.
Brodkin and his wife live in a £1.2million terrace cottage close to Hampstead Heath. Yesterday his agents failed to respond to a request for comment.