020 8914 8966
020 8914 8966
I love Phil Differ. he's the quiet genius of Scottish comedy.
Rory Bremner
Phil Differ is a comedian, writer and also an award winning producer of Only an Excuse?, Scotch & Wry and Naked Video
Philip started writing comedy in 1980. Shows he worked on included Naked Radio, A Kick Up the Eighties and Not The Nine O’Clock News. He also worked on Spitting Image.
After joining BBC Scotland as Script Editor, Phil Differ went on to work on such shows as Naked Video, City Lights, Rab C. Nesbitt, Scotch and Wry – which he later produced. Phil also created Only an Excuse?
Phil Differ had reached the position of Senior Producer when he left the BBC to become a director of The Comedy Unit. This was the independent production company responsible for – among others – Watson’s Wind Up, Chewin’ the Fat and Still Game.
As a playwright, Phil has written a number of plays that have toured Scotland. These include ‘MacBraveheart‘, ‘Rikki and Me’ (co-written with Tony Roper) and ‘Double Feature’. His most recent work being the critically acclaimed ‘Smile’. The play is based on the life of former Dundee United manager, Jim Mclean – at Dundee Rep Theatre.
Phil has performed in his one-man show ‘Billy Bremner and Me’, an autobiographical account of his own, failed football career.
Phil Differ is a regular on the Scottish stand-up comedy circuit. He is also in demand for his ‘Toast Tae The Lassies‘ at Burns Suppers.
In a career that has spanned forty plus years, Philip Differ has worked with such stars as Robbie Coltrane, Rikki Fulton, Tracy Ullman, Craig Fergsuon, Gregor Fisher, Elaine C. Smith, Jonathan Watson, Tony Roper, Greg Hemphill, Ford Kiernan, Karen Dunbar, John Sessions, Andy Gray and many more.
In 2018 Phil Differ was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow Caledonian University for ‘writing jokes for the telly and wireless’ and in 2022 received The Royal Television Society Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television. His official title is now Dr. Philip Differ.
