Freddie Starr

Flashy, boisterous, and gleefully politically incorrect, comedian Freddie Starr has been pushing people's buttons since he burst on the scene performing on the talent show "Opportunity Knocks" in the early 1970s as Freddie Starr and the Delmonts, a musical group that he led. Hailing from Liverpool, Starr had performed in a number of musical groups before then, playing in music halls and cabarets around the country and in Hamburg, Germany, the city where his compatriots The Beatles first made their name. It was in comedy, however, where Starr would find real stardom. In the 1970s, he appeared on a number of variety programs and game shows, including the sketch comedy show "Who Do You Do" and "Joker's Wild." Near the end of the decade, he starred in his own television show "The Freddie Starr Variety Madhouse," and in the 1980s and 1990s he also starred in the shows "The Freddie Starr Showcase," "Freddie Starr," and "The Freddie Starr Show" respectively. His notoriety wasn't always behind the cameras though. In 1986 the showman made big tabloid news when his girlfriend at the time claimed that the funnyman gobbled her pet hamster when she wouldn't make him a snack after he came home from a show. Starr also made headlines with his appearances on the reality shows "Celebrity Wife Swap" and "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here." In the case of the latter show, Starr was forced to drop out of filming due to health issues.