Horne identity
FUNNYMAN: Mathew Horne shot to fame as the grandson of Catherine Tate's 'Sweary Gran'
The star of BBC Three’s wordof- mouth hit comedy ‘Gavin & Stacey’, which returns for a second series next month, other TV fans will know him as Catherine Tate’s stooge from her award-winning sketch show.
He’s every bit as funny in real life, with jokes, hilariously bold claims and amusing anecdotes littering his conversation.
Discussing his success, he can’t help but guffaw after exclaiming: “To be honest, I haven’t found it that difficult to get to the position I’m in now. I suppose I’ve been really fortunate with just how talented I am.”
Mathew’s next project will be co-hosting the NME Awards with partner-in-mirth James Corden (who co-writes ‘Gavin & Stacey’ with Ruth Jones) on February 28.
It’s a notoriously rowdy event, often providing moments of controversy between rival bands in attendance, not to mention the obligatory rock and roll behaviour you might expect when the biggest names in music are gathered in one room and given copious amounts of free booze.
“I’m not too nervous, really,” he admits.
“I just think it’s a tough gig, but everyone knows it’s a tough gig. I’ve done big gigs before as a standup, so that doesn’t intimidate me.
An avid music fan, it’s no surprise to hear that compering the awards is a big deal for Mathew. “There are two of us too, so we can deal with whatever’s thrown at us.
“We just need to be more sober than the other people in the room. There'll be no drinking beforehand, but I think we’ll get absolutely wasted afterwards,” he cackles.
Mathew (29) still has a passion for music, listing indie’s rising stars I Was A Cub Scout, Foals, The Maccabees and Blood Red Shoes as some of his favourite bands, plus he’s in his own group, Perestroika, although don’t expect to hear them on the radio any time soon.
The band, made up of Mathew and “about eight or nine” of his mates don’t have any songs and have never had a rehearsal. “It’s just a mess-about thing, but we have a name and a logo,” he says. After leaving high school, he attended Manchester University to study performing arts.
It was there he met Bruce MacKinnon and during their degrees, the pair formed a stand-up duo – the nattily titled Mat and MacKinnon – and went on to perform at the Edinburgh Festival in 2000.
In 2003, he starred in ‘20 Things To Do Before You’re 30’, before winning the part of Ben, in Channel 4’s highly acclaimed comedy ‘Teachers’. Finally, we move on to the forthcoming second series of ‘Gavin & Stacey’.
“I’m so excited about that. I’ve seen a rough cut of some of the episodes, and it’s really very good. I just think we’re all used to the characters and the other actors now.
The first series was like a long pilot in a way, with us just finding our feet.
“This time around, things start to fall apart a bit for Gavin, but not for everyone. I’m very confident.”
- Mathew Horne co-presents the Shockwaves NME Awards which will be shown on February 28 on E4, and repeated the following night on Channel 4.
