BIOGRAPHY

Chris Barrie is now best known as the hologram Rimmer in the hit series Red Dwarf, as Gordon Brittas in The Brittas Empire (BBC 1) and as one of the principal male voice artists on Spitting Image. He began his showbusiness career as one of the original Comedy Store Gong Show performers which led to appearances on the BBC.s David Essex Showcase and the Jasper Carrott Election Special of 1983, which gave Chris' career the kickstart it needed.

His early television and radio experience includes a series of On the Fringe for HTV, Stomping on the Cat and Pajamarama for LWT, 6.55 Special on BBC2 with Emma Thompson, The Russell Harty Show for BBC 1 as well as Weekending, Son of Cliche and The Uncyclopaedia of Rock for Radio.

As well as contributing to the late night Channel 4 sketch show, Pushing up Daisies / Coming Next, Chris' main work in the mid eighties was as one of the main voice artists for ITV.s Spitting Image. Chris worked on Spitting Image from the pilot in '83 through to 1990 and included several specials for NBC and HBO in America. Although by his own admission he was very much a .tail-ender., Chris was a major part of the puppeteering team during these years.

In 1987 Chris was cast as the insufferable Arnold J Rimmer in the multi award winning cult sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf. By 1999 eight series had been transmitted and the show had sold all over the world. In 1990 Chris created another comic grotesque by the name of Gordon Brittas, the anally retentive, chainsaw voiced leisure centre manger from hell. The Brittas Empire ran for seven series culminating in the 1997 Christmas Special.

Other acting roles include the part of Alexander Pope in the Channel 4 production of Handel Honour, Profit and Pleasure, Zastrozzi, televised in April 1986 and a lead role in Plague of Goodness, the controversial Radio 4 Monday Play. His cameo appearances include the Lenny Henry Show, Happy Families and Blackadder III. In Spring 1990 Chris played the lead part in a national tour of the farce Totally Foxed.

In 1998 Chris toured the UK with a one man show. He appeared in the ITV film White Goods, alongside Lenny Henry and Ian McShane and went onto complete two series of A Prince Among Men for the BBC.

In recent years Chris has concentrated on corporate work such as hosting award ceremonies, linking conferences and after dinner speaking. He has also completed two Tomb Raider films and appeared in John Mortimer's Ceremony in Three Flats on Radio 4.

At the beginning of 2004 Chris completed his first full series as a presenter on Discovery Channel's Massive Engines.

Chris Barrie’s Massive Machines followed in late ’04 and Massive Speed was completed in 2006 and the first two Massive series are now available on DVD. ’07 has been a busy year. In addition to developing further TV series and embarking on a writing ‘career’ with the classic car magazine ‘Practical Classics’, Chris took on a cameo role in an edition of Midsomer Murders, due to be screened later this year. He also played the title role in ‘The Optician’, a short for Distant Light Films and gave his Headmaster for ‘When Evil Calls’, billed as the first made-for-mobile horror series.