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Rising to the Surface
Rising to the Surface traces Lenny Henry's career through the 80s and 90s. The 16-year-old who won a talent competition, now has to navigate his way through the seas of professional comedy, learning his craft through sheer graft and hard work.
We follow Lenny through a period of great creativity - prize-winning tv programmes, summer seasons across Britain, the starring role in a Hollywood film, and stand-up gigs in New York. But with each rise there is a fall, the most traumatic being the death of his mother. But by the end of the book, he has been able to rise through a sea of troubles and breaks out to the surface to accept the Golden Rose of Montreaux for his work in television.
We follow Lenny through a period of great creativity - prize-winning tv programmes, summer seasons across Britain, the starring role in a Hollywood film, and stand-up gigs in New York. But with each rise there is a fall, the most traumatic being the death of his mother. But by the end of the book, he has been able to rise through a sea of troubles and breaks out to the surface to accept the Golden Rose of Montreaux for his work in television.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 30, 2022
15 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Lenny Henry
53 books48 followersLenworth George "Lenny" Henry, CBE is an English actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter. Henry is known as the choleric chef Gareth Blackstock from the 1990s television comedy series Chef!, or from his 1999 straight-acting lead role in the BBC drama Hope And Glory. He was co-creator with Neil Gaiman and producer of the 1996 BBC drama serial Neverwhere.
His earliest television appearance was on the New Faces talent show, which he won in 1975 with an impersonation of Stevie Wonder. The following year he appeared with Norman Beaton in LWT's sitcom The Fosters, Britain's first comedy series with predominantly black performers. His formative years were spent in working men's clubs, where his act was as a young black man impersonating white characters such as the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em character Frank Spencer (whom he impersonated on New Faces). He also made guest appearances on television programmes including Celebrity Squares, Seaside Special and The Ronnie Corbett Show.
He co-hosted the children's programme Tiswas from 1978 until 1981, and subsequently performed and wrote for the show Three of a Kind, with comedians Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield. Also in 1980, he teamed up with The Comic Strip where he met his wife, comedienne Dawn French. She encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy scene, where he established a career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian. He introduced characters who both mocked and celebrated black British culture, such as Theophilus P. Wildebeeste (a homage to Teddy Pendergrass using the 'TP' initials), Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins and Trevor MacDoughnut (a parody of Trevor McDonald). His stand-up material, which sold well on LP, owed much to the writing abilities of Kim Fuller.
The first series of The Lenny Henry Show appeared on the BBC in 1984. The show featured stand up, spoofs like his send up of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and many of the characters he had developed during Summer Season, including Theophilus P. Wildebeeste and Delbert Wilkins. The Lenny Henry Show ran for a further 20 years in various incarnations.
In the early 1990s, Henry starred in the Hollywood film True Identity, in which his character pretended to be a white person (using make-up, prostheses, and a wig) in order to avoid the mob. The film was not commercially successful.
In 1991, he starred in a BBC drama alongside Robbie Coltrane called Alive and Kicking, in which he played a heroin addict, which was based on a true story.
In 2003, Henry was listed in The Observer as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy. In 2004, he was listed in The Sunday Times as the fifteenth funniest black performer of all time. Henry is associated with the British Comic Relief charity organisation, along with his former wife, comedienne Dawn French, and Griff Rhys Jones, and has hosted the show and also presented filmed reports from overseas on the work of the charity.
He was the voice of the "shrunken head" on the Knight Bus in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read the audio book version of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.
He was introduced to Shakespeare when he made the 2006 Radio 4 series Lenny and Will. Which saw him going "in search of the magic of Shakespeare in performance." In February 2009 Henry appeared in the Northern Broadsides production of Othello. He received widespread critical acclaim in the role.
Henry graduated in English Literature, (BA Hons), with the Open University in 2007. Henry studied for an MA at Royal Holloway, University of London in screenwriting for television and film, where he received a distinction and where he is now studying for a PhD on the role of black people in the media. Henry was made a CBE in the New Years Honours list in 1998 for his services to comedy drama and Comic Relief.
His earliest television appearance was on the New Faces talent show, which he won in 1975 with an impersonation of Stevie Wonder. The following year he appeared with Norman Beaton in LWT's sitcom The Fosters, Britain's first comedy series with predominantly black performers. His formative years were spent in working men's clubs, where his act was as a young black man impersonating white characters such as the Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em character Frank Spencer (whom he impersonated on New Faces). He also made guest appearances on television programmes including Celebrity Squares, Seaside Special and The Ronnie Corbett Show.
He co-hosted the children's programme Tiswas from 1978 until 1981, and subsequently performed and wrote for the show Three of a Kind, with comedians Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield. Also in 1980, he teamed up with The Comic Strip where he met his wife, comedienne Dawn French. She encouraged him to move over to the fledgling alternative comedy scene, where he established a career as a stand-up comedy performer and character comedian. He introduced characters who both mocked and celebrated black British culture, such as Theophilus P. Wildebeeste (a homage to Teddy Pendergrass using the 'TP' initials), Brixton pirate radio disc jockey DJ Delbert Wilkins and Trevor MacDoughnut (a parody of Trevor McDonald). His stand-up material, which sold well on LP, owed much to the writing abilities of Kim Fuller.
The first series of The Lenny Henry Show appeared on the BBC in 1984. The show featured stand up, spoofs like his send up of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and many of the characters he had developed during Summer Season, including Theophilus P. Wildebeeste and Delbert Wilkins. The Lenny Henry Show ran for a further 20 years in various incarnations.
In the early 1990s, Henry starred in the Hollywood film True Identity, in which his character pretended to be a white person (using make-up, prostheses, and a wig) in order to avoid the mob. The film was not commercially successful.
In 1991, he starred in a BBC drama alongside Robbie Coltrane called Alive and Kicking, in which he played a heroin addict, which was based on a true story.
In 2003, Henry was listed in The Observer as one of the fifty funniest acts in British comedy. In 2004, he was listed in The Sunday Times as the fifteenth funniest black performer of all time. Henry is associated with the British Comic Relief charity organisation, along with his former wife, comedienne Dawn French, and Griff Rhys Jones, and has hosted the show and also presented filmed reports from overseas on the work of the charity.
He was the voice of the "shrunken head" on the Knight Bus in the 2004 movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read the audio book version of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.
He was introduced to Shakespeare when he made the 2006 Radio 4 series Lenny and Will. Which saw him going "in search of the magic of Shakespeare in performance." In February 2009 Henry appeared in the Northern Broadsides production of Othello. He received widespread critical acclaim in the role.
Henry graduated in English Literature, (BA Hons), with the Open University in 2007. Henry studied for an MA at Royal Holloway, University of London in screenwriting for television and film, where he received a distinction and where he is now studying for a PhD on the role of black people in the media. Henry was made a CBE in the New Years Honours list in 1998 for his services to comedy drama and Comic Relief.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
February 26, 2023
Reflections and lessons learned:
“…and now previously on Who am I again…”
I was too young for the kids television and standup ITV 70s comic Henry, but for ten years after that, I was onboard. I’ve only realised it recently, but it may have been a product of being from that generation, but more likely it was the classic psychology for non clipped accents of the time - someone on tv sounded like me and my family! Ahhh, Dudley - a word that if you can say in the local accent, it makes you feel the fun and friendliness of the place whilst realistically remembering the smoking gorilla on the grey concrete…
As soon as he started to sing his own theme song in the audiobook, I was back in the 80s watching his shows on the sofa - some of the comedy went over my head at the time, but he was the general entertainer that I wanted to watch - someone original that we could quote the daft noises from on the playground and with laughing Uncles. I can’t ever forget the sketch of the people with no nostrils though - absolutely freaked me out at the time to the point where I lost sleep! What if my parents suddenly appeared with no nostrils…
I enjoyed the first autobiography as it was scene setting to get me to the point where I’d known him from tv. This book spans the more mainstream part of his career whilst still focusing on family too. Not the family I expected, but understandable. Hard to hear about the part that his Mother did and didn’t play, but so important as a theme from the comedy. The activism sounds extreme, but it’s true that pathways were genuinely paved by Henry, and fantastically continue to be
“…and now previously on Who am I again…”
I was too young for the kids television and standup ITV 70s comic Henry, but for ten years after that, I was onboard. I’ve only realised it recently, but it may have been a product of being from that generation, but more likely it was the classic psychology for non clipped accents of the time - someone on tv sounded like me and my family! Ahhh, Dudley - a word that if you can say in the local accent, it makes you feel the fun and friendliness of the place whilst realistically remembering the smoking gorilla on the grey concrete…
As soon as he started to sing his own theme song in the audiobook, I was back in the 80s watching his shows on the sofa - some of the comedy went over my head at the time, but he was the general entertainer that I wanted to watch - someone original that we could quote the daft noises from on the playground and with laughing Uncles. I can’t ever forget the sketch of the people with no nostrils though - absolutely freaked me out at the time to the point where I lost sleep! What if my parents suddenly appeared with no nostrils…
I enjoyed the first autobiography as it was scene setting to get me to the point where I’d known him from tv. This book spans the more mainstream part of his career whilst still focusing on family too. Not the family I expected, but understandable. Hard to hear about the part that his Mother did and didn’t play, but so important as a theme from the comedy. The activism sounds extreme, but it’s true that pathways were genuinely paved by Henry, and fantastically continue to be
February 15, 2023
funny autobiography of Lenny Henry enjoyed this book
May 5, 2023
Been listening to this library audio loan whilst crocheting (busy hands again).
What a disappointment. I've always considered Lenny Henry pretty funny but jesus, this is boring, droning and yawn-inducing! It's like a how to of show business (in a bad way!)
There are chapters and chapters of how things were really hard, really tough and really not going well in the entertainment business. Literally the only parts where I laughed were during Lenny's impressions of his mum!
A pretty woe is me tale of sorry misery and slow rising. I got bored in the end and did not finish!
Pffffffffffft
What a disappointment. I've always considered Lenny Henry pretty funny but jesus, this is boring, droning and yawn-inducing! It's like a how to of show business (in a bad way!)
There are chapters and chapters of how things were really hard, really tough and really not going well in the entertainment business. Literally the only parts where I laughed were during Lenny's impressions of his mum!
A pretty woe is me tale of sorry misery and slow rising. I got bored in the end and did not finish!
Pffffffffffft
January 7, 2023
Great book but there’s not enough time spent on each project. Specifically not enough chef material for me.
January 18, 2023
Three stars seems a bit harsh. I love Lenny and I know he has an expansive career but I personally would like to know more about the man behind the career. This book focuses mainly on his work, which has seen both great success and bitter failure, but the private side of Lenny is protected by these details so I found it harder to relate to him. He does however describe the feelings around his mothers decline in health and how her death affected him which makes for an emotional red. I think he wants us to learn from his mistakes so he very bravely lays them out across some of the pages.
March 10, 2023
Felt this book skipped about all over the place and didn't really go into much detail.
Can't help but think this was a bit self indulgent at times and not really that interesting... shame.
Can't help but think this was a bit self indulgent at times and not really that interesting... shame.
May 30, 2023
I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first volume of Lenny's autobiography, but it was still an entertaining read. It didn't bring us up to the present day, so I presume there will be another book and I will happily read it.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
March 17, 2023
If you're a Lenny Henry fan, it's an interesting read with his humour throughout
December 12, 2023
Behind the curtain look at what it's like to be a comedian on the road and then breaking through to the big time. All told with Lenny's self-effacing humour.
October 19, 2022
I really enjoyed the first volume of Lenny’s autobiography which was an authentic account of being thrown into the limelight at an early age and the inherent contradictions in his role as a ‘traditional’ comedian working the nightclub circuit and supporting the black and white minstrels. It was an honest and funny attempt at delving below the surface which is what you want from an autobiography.
In contrast, this second volume is very ‘Peter’ (see page 239). The chapters are short and superficial with much retrospective virtue signalling that just doesn’t ring true. Having lambasted the black and white minstrels, how is the concept of ‘whiting up’ to play the lead in the execrable ‘True Identity’ any less morally reprehensible? Disappointing, but then Lenny stopped being funny a while back (remember how his lack of improvisational skills forced him to rely on Rolf Harris to get him through a technical glitch at a big televised jubilee show).
In contrast, this second volume is very ‘Peter’ (see page 239). The chapters are short and superficial with much retrospective virtue signalling that just doesn’t ring true. Having lambasted the black and white minstrels, how is the concept of ‘whiting up’ to play the lead in the execrable ‘True Identity’ any less morally reprehensible? Disappointing, but then Lenny stopped being funny a while back (remember how his lack of improvisational skills forced him to rely on Rolf Harris to get him through a technical glitch at a big televised jubilee show).
February 9, 2023
I’m sorry Lenny but no.
August 10, 2023
Despite liking Lenny I struggled slightly with this book, as you would expect it is very heavily focused on his career, too much so. I'd say over 90% of the book is detailed descriptions of shows that he has worked on and it gets a bit tiresome after a while. Maybe I didn't enjoy this aspect of the book because I was not familiar with much of his work but personally I think that I would still have felt the same if I was, if you have watched the shows then you don't need to read descriptions of the sketches.
In my opinion the book was much better when he reflected back and examined how he was feeling during the making of his previous work, these small parts allowed for a little more depth than it just being a book describing Lenny's work. I couldn't help but think that Lenny has clearly had a varied successful career and that the bits he writes about surely can't have been the most interesting or amusing things to have happened within his career. Additionally whilst on the whole it was a linear chronological timeline there were times when I felt like the book was going back and forth, things would overlap and I just felt it was unnecessarily making it a more difficult read.
As others have said the sections describing his Mother's decline in health were sad to read and also one of the only parts of the book where I felt Lenny let the reader in to his emotions and deviated from it being simply a factual recollection of his career. It was also insightful to read about his experience of being one of only a few black people regularly on the television during the earlier part of his career and his later attempts to include people of colour within his production company and projects.
Some reviewers have commented that the audiobook is good and I can imagine that it is, I think hearing Lenny tell his story in his own voice complete with impressions would definitely elevate the content of this book.
In my opinion the book was much better when he reflected back and examined how he was feeling during the making of his previous work, these small parts allowed for a little more depth than it just being a book describing Lenny's work. I couldn't help but think that Lenny has clearly had a varied successful career and that the bits he writes about surely can't have been the most interesting or amusing things to have happened within his career. Additionally whilst on the whole it was a linear chronological timeline there were times when I felt like the book was going back and forth, things would overlap and I just felt it was unnecessarily making it a more difficult read.
As others have said the sections describing his Mother's decline in health were sad to read and also one of the only parts of the book where I felt Lenny let the reader in to his emotions and deviated from it being simply a factual recollection of his career. It was also insightful to read about his experience of being one of only a few black people regularly on the television during the earlier part of his career and his later attempts to include people of colour within his production company and projects.
Some reviewers have commented that the audiobook is good and I can imagine that it is, I think hearing Lenny tell his story in his own voice complete with impressions would definitely elevate the content of this book.
June 29, 2023
Rising to the Surface is the 2nd volume of Lenny Henry's autobiography following on from where the first one ended. This volume starts in about 1980 and goes through to about 2000. It follows his continued rise to fame looking at his role in the children's TV show Tiswas through to getting his own comedy shows on TV.
Often he was the only black person in the industry and behind the cameras all the production staff were exclusively white. When he speaks about the prejudice he faced he never does so with an axe to grind. It seems quite amazing now that in his early days he would share TV appearances with racist comedian Bernard Manning on Tiswas and OTT and Mr Manning appears to have been as obnoxious in real life as he appeared to be on screen.
It's his relationship with his Mother that frames everything else that he speaks about. A massive influence in his life he still seems to feel guilt for not being around as much as he would have liked when she was very ill instead spending time on the road often overseas with his comedy gigs.
Lenny comes across with warmth and dispite what he has achieved he's quite critical of himself.
An interesting look at the man behind the public persona. Hopefully we'll get a third volume to bring his story up to date.
Often he was the only black person in the industry and behind the cameras all the production staff were exclusively white. When he speaks about the prejudice he faced he never does so with an axe to grind. It seems quite amazing now that in his early days he would share TV appearances with racist comedian Bernard Manning on Tiswas and OTT and Mr Manning appears to have been as obnoxious in real life as he appeared to be on screen.
It's his relationship with his Mother that frames everything else that he speaks about. A massive influence in his life he still seems to feel guilt for not being around as much as he would have liked when she was very ill instead spending time on the road often overseas with his comedy gigs.
Lenny comes across with warmth and dispite what he has achieved he's quite critical of himself.
An interesting look at the man behind the public persona. Hopefully we'll get a third volume to bring his story up to date.
September 1, 2024
I enjoyed hearing from Lenny. We're the same age and I relate to his experiences. I was at one of his very early gigs, I think he may have been supporting Jim Davison (!), it was in Eastbourne. I thought he was funny and I've enjoyed hearing from him over the years. I saw him at Charleston literary festival, a very middle class affair. Talking about his family as featured in the book. It was rather sad, understandably. He's become one of the respected black commentators on racism and a stalwart of the Red Nose charity. All credit to him. But I don't feel he should be at all ashamed of his material when he started nor taking a job in the B&W Minstrels in the 70s. None of us really understood the significance of all that back in the day. Now we are aware, so good news. We can all move on to a more equal society.
It was interesting to learn about his life and thoughts but he's not a great writer and there are some uncomfortable sentences here & there but I think of you write your own biog it is more authentic. Good on him for doing so. I hope it was cathartic for him.
It was interesting to learn about his life and thoughts but he's not a great writer and there are some uncomfortable sentences here & there but I think of you write your own biog it is more authentic. Good on him for doing so. I hope it was cathartic for him.
December 18, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into the career of Lenny Henry. His career started a few years before I was born so this is a man that has always been on TV for me. I loved his comedy shows and he has shown his talent taking on various roles from comedian to straight acting to hosting the wonderful Comic Relief. To hear from the man himself about the choices he made along the way was great. It was also nice to hear him say when he’d made a mistake or blundered ahead because of ego, I appreciated his honesty. There are also personal insights too with the author explaining how things such as becoming a father or losing his mother affected him personally as well as professionally. The audiobook is an added treat as he reads the book himself giving us another chance to hear his impressions and sense of humour. Overall, I’d say this is an open honest look back by one of Britain's most loved performers.
December 28, 2023
I listened to this on audiobook, read by the author.
I’ve noticed a lot of complaints from readers that this was too heavy on the side of discussing Henry’s career with not much about his personal life. It’s true. It’s very much about his career but that’s understandable, considering the decades it spans. There are parts about his mental and physical health, weight issues, and his family - especially his mother’s decline and death. Dawn French gets mentioned here and there but don’t expect much on their marriage, his infidelity or divorce.
I guess in the end, the autobiographical writer owes us nothing. He focuses on what he wants to, and in this case, it was his career.
If you want to read a more balanced autobiography, try Adrian Edmondson’s Berserker.
I’ve noticed a lot of complaints from readers that this was too heavy on the side of discussing Henry’s career with not much about his personal life. It’s true. It’s very much about his career but that’s understandable, considering the decades it spans. There are parts about his mental and physical health, weight issues, and his family - especially his mother’s decline and death. Dawn French gets mentioned here and there but don’t expect much on their marriage, his infidelity or divorce.
I guess in the end, the autobiographical writer owes us nothing. He focuses on what he wants to, and in this case, it was his career.
If you want to read a more balanced autobiography, try Adrian Edmondson’s Berserker.
November 16, 2023
3.25 stars.
Not as interesting, to me anyway, as his first bio 'Who Am I, Again?'. Whereas the first book was filled with lovely detail about his family and what it was like growing up black in the West Midlands in the 1970s, this second volume is, at times, little more than a list of the film and TV projects Lenny's worked on, and who with. That's not to say the book doesn't have its moments, such as when Lenny goes to Hollywood or he's talking about his mother, but it's not the best autobiography I've read this year. Perhaps TV buffs or people who read celeb bios in the expectation of lots of namedropping will get more from it.
Not as interesting, to me anyway, as his first bio 'Who Am I, Again?'. Whereas the first book was filled with lovely detail about his family and what it was like growing up black in the West Midlands in the 1970s, this second volume is, at times, little more than a list of the film and TV projects Lenny's worked on, and who with. That's not to say the book doesn't have its moments, such as when Lenny goes to Hollywood or he's talking about his mother, but it's not the best autobiography I've read this year. Perhaps TV buffs or people who read celeb bios in the expectation of lots of namedropping will get more from it.
February 22, 2023
Lenny Henry is a very funny man and it was only when reading this book that i realised exactly how much he has been in. Its a good read that details the highs and lows of life in the nineties and eighties. I just found that too often he mentions the fact that there were not many black people producing, writing, or directing programmes and it sort of feels like he is saying he some sort of 'hero' for black people. I personally have never bothered about colour and myself have had to deal with prejudice (disability) so i know how it feels. A good read none the less.
July 21, 2023
Rising to the Surface by Lenny Henry is an interesting introspective of the comedian’s successful journey through show business. I had both the hard back book and the audio version and found it easier to listen to Lenny Henry talking of his life and show business career.
I don’t really know what I was expecting when I chose this book but felt that Lenny Henry had kept parts of his life, marriage and personal relationships out of the narrative. Which is of course his prerogative but meant that his story was only about his career and his mother and family getting a mention.
Recommended
I don’t really know what I was expecting when I chose this book but felt that Lenny Henry had kept parts of his life, marriage and personal relationships out of the narrative. Which is of course his prerogative but meant that his story was only about his career and his mother and family getting a mention.
Recommended
January 16, 2024
It was hard to warm to Lenny as the book reads as a list of his career with its ups and downs. The chapters are short and seem to skim the surface. I would have liked more depth.
The most moving and personal part is the death of his mum which is heartbreaking and deeply moving.
I was left with wanting more of Lenny which I know is unfair and maybe in this age of overstating my expectations are unreasonable.
Overall this was a good read and probably a lot better listening to him on audiobooks.
The most moving and personal part is the death of his mum which is heartbreaking and deeply moving.
I was left with wanting more of Lenny which I know is unfair and maybe in this age of overstating my expectations are unreasonable.
Overall this was a good read and probably a lot better listening to him on audiobooks.
February 19, 2024
3.5 stars
I preferred his first memoir. I like hearing about Lenny as a person, his family and friends, his experiences being black, and being black in the entertainment industry. Whereas I'm not a big fan of hearing in-depth about jokes, characters, and sketches from his shows. I almost DNF early on as there was a lot of this. However, this lessened as we went on. But I appreciate that his comedy is not really my sense of humour, and I'm sure Lenny Henry fans will really enjoy these parts.
I preferred his first memoir. I like hearing about Lenny as a person, his family and friends, his experiences being black, and being black in the entertainment industry. Whereas I'm not a big fan of hearing in-depth about jokes, characters, and sketches from his shows. I almost DNF early on as there was a lot of this. However, this lessened as we went on. But I appreciate that his comedy is not really my sense of humour, and I'm sure Lenny Henry fans will really enjoy these parts.
September 15, 2025
For a comedian, this book is not so funny after all. Lenny Henry was just a workaholic who beat the system and rose to the top as the only black comedian of his time. That was an amazing feat, but was he actually very funny or just good at making cliche caricatures. The one truly funny story was making houses for The Great Fire of London. That made me laugh out loud. He has survived and was the leading light of Red Nose Day. For that alone, he should be praised.
June 11, 2023
I really enjoyed reading about Lenny Henry’s life story of “Rising to the surface” I discovered there is so much depth to him than just a comedian. His rise from being one of the only black comedians at such a young age. The battle to find himself. The funny insights into his relationship with his Mother and his workaholic nature.
September 21, 2023
A really sweet but insightful tale of the life of this amazing man. Admittedly before reading I hadn't realised that this was a second volume but no matter, as this volume doesn't rely too much on prior knowledge of Lenny Henry's life. Hoping for a volume three, there's certainly enough of the tale left to tell for one!
November 25, 2023
Loved watching Lenny Henry on TV during the '90s and I truly enjoyed Who Am I which looks at the life of Lenny Henry from growing up, how he started his career, then Rising to the Surface as the book goes through the career of Sir Lenny Henry how he met Dawn. I didn't feel this book was for me hence I've given it 2-5
December 10, 2023
A brilliant but at times painful read. A must read for anyone interested in the UK entertainment/comedy scene!
Fascinating to hear about his phenomenal career from the man himself. He's brutally honest and at times he's far too harsh on himself! I just wish/hope he appreciates how much joy he's brought to so many over the years!
Fascinating to hear about his phenomenal career from the man himself. He's brutally honest and at times he's far too harsh on himself! I just wish/hope he appreciates how much joy he's brought to so many over the years!
October 15, 2022
Very good on Comic Relief and the representation of black (not Black, note) Britons. A Hollywood cautionary tale is useful as well. Lots of contributors to fill in the gaps, which enforces the way Lenny has been the front for a lot of talented writers and directors.
December 18, 2022
I was in two minds when I saw this in Waterstones (also available at other good bookshops😊) as I'd previously been a bit disappointed by `Who Am I ' but I absolutely loved this "episode". Lenny? When is "What Happened Next" due for release?
January 10, 2023
I enjoyed this book as I've been a Lenny fan for years and have seen him live several times. I did feel it was a little repetitive at times but really enjoyed the learning more about his relationship with his mum.
January 16, 2023
After listening to Eddie Jones, I needed something more uplifting that would give me a chuckle and this sure did.
Having Lenny read his own book also brought it to life.
He touches on his Comic Relief events, his personal life with Dawn, his parents and everything in between.
Having Lenny read his own book also brought it to life.
He touches on his Comic Relief events, his personal life with Dawn, his parents and everything in between.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews