# Ben Ashenden

Ben Ashenden is a British-Irish actor, writer and comedian. He is half of the double-act, The Pin, with Alexander Owen, with whom he has made four series for BBC Radio 4, picking up nominations at the 2017 Writers' Guild Awards. and Radio Academy Awards, and winning the BBC Radio Award for Best Comedy.

## Early life

Ashenden was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and grew up in Radlett. His father is a builder and his mother is a bookseller. He has one sister. He went to the Haberdashers' Aske's School for Boys and performed with the Chicken Shed Theatre Company before studying English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

## Career

Ashenden met his double-act colleague, Alexander Owen, at the University of Cambridge. They co-wrote/performed (with Joey Batey, Joe Bannister, Mark Fiddaman and Simon Haines) the sketch show ‘Good Clean Men’. Ashenden and Owen then performed with the Cambridge Footlights, as part of the first troupe to tour America, in a show directed by Liam Williams and Daran Johnson.
Upon graduation the pair took their sketch act, The Pin, to the Edinburgh Fringe. Their most recent show, The Pin: Backstage, was described by The Guardian as “one of Edinburgh’s most dazzling comedy shows”, and is now in development with Sonia Friedman Productions.
As an actor, his film credits include Bridget Jones Baby, Sulphur and White, and Horrible Histories: The Movie. His TV credits include Avenue 5 (HBO), The English Game (Netflix), W1A (BBC1), Stath Lets Flats (C4), Brotherhood (Comedy Central), Plebs (ITV2) and Sky Christmas special, Cinderella: After Ever After.
As a writer, he co-created the animated series Oi, Leonardo! for BBC3, and has written for BBC1 shows Walliams and Friend and Tracey Ullman's Show, BBC3's Famalam], and Showtime’s Who is America?
In 2020 The Pin released “The Special Relationship” an 8-part series on Audible, co-starring Fred Armisen, Cecily Strong, Jamie Demetriou, Lolly Adefope and Kate Berlant. It largely repurposes sketches from their Radio 4 show within the context of a fictionalised attempt to break into the New York comedy scene.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Morning Has Broken | Waiter | TV film |
| 2016 | Bridget Jones's Baby | Pierce | |
| 2019 | Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans | Messenger | |
| 2019 | After Ever After | Pongo | TV film |
| 2020 | Sulphur and White | Sean | |
| 2022 | The Bubble | Tip, the MoCap Guy | |
| 2022 | Jurassic World Dominion | Tyler | |
| 2022 | What's Love Got to Do with It? | Sam | |
| 2024 | Seize Them! | Penda the rebel | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | BBC Comedy Feeds | | Episode: "Kerry" |
| 2014 | Siblings | Michael | Episode: "Balcombe's Funeral" |
| 2015 | Drunk History | Drunk Storyteller | Episode: "The Krays/Guy Fawkes" |
| 2015 | Brotherhood | Dan | Series regular |
| 2016 | Halloween Comedy Shorts | Nick | Episode: "Jamie Demetriou's Horror: Oh God" |
| 2016 | Crazyhead | Luke | Episode: "Penguin or Cow?" |
| 2016-17 | Witless | PC Colin Naysmith | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Henry IX | Damian | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Coconut | James | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | W1A | Assistant Floor Manager | 1 episode |
| 2017-18 | Tracey Breaks the News | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2017-18 | Tracey Ullman's Show | Various | Series regular |
| 2018 | Oi Leonardo | Various | Mini-series |
| 2018 | Sick Note | Officer Errol | Episode: "Operation Thunderbolt" |
| 2018-19 | Stath Lets Flats | Tristan | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Plebs | Posh Man | Episode: "The New Flat" |
| 2020 | Avenue 5 | Rick | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | The English Game | Cattermole | 1 episode |
| 2021 | Breeders | Teaching Assistant | Episode: "No Surrender" |
| 2021 | Petrichor | Stuart | 1 episode |
| 2021-23 | Ghosts | Captain of the Guards | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Deep Heat | Mike | Episode: "The 'Tour'" |
| 2022 | Ten Percent | Estate Agent | 1 episode |
| 2022 | Ellie & Natasia | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2022 | 1899 | Darrel | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou | Fred | TV special |
| 2023 | Intelligence | Chris Dibbs | Episode: "A Special Agent Special" |
| 2023 | Hijack | Adam | Recurring role; 5 episodes |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
| 2009 | Wind in the Willows | Badger | Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| 2009 | Good Clean Men | Writer/Performer/Director | Corpus Playroom, Cambridge | |
| 2009 | Barry! Pull Your Finger Out! | Hugo | udderBELLY, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| 2009 | Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | Amara | ADC Theatre, Cambridge | |
| 2010 | Armageddapocalypse 2: The Explosioning | Performer | ADC Theatre, Cambridge | |
| 2010 | The Oxford Revue and Friends | Writer/Performer | Oxford Arts Theatre, Oxford | |
| 2010 | Romeo and Juliet | Gregory | Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge | |
| 2010 | Cambridge Comedy Fest | Writer/Performer | Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge | |
| 2010 | Good for You | Writer/Performer | International Tour | with Cambridge Footlights |
| 2010 | The Pin | Writer/Performer/Director | ADC Theatre, Cambridge | |
| 2011 | Pretty Little Panic | Writer/Performer | International Tour | with Cambridge Footlights |
| 2015 | Ten Seconds with the Pin | Writer/Performer/Director | Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| 2020 | The Comeback | Writer/Performer | Noël Coward Theatre | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2009 | Footlights Harry Porter Award | | Barry! Pull Your Finger Out! | Won |
| 2013 | London Sketchfest Prize | Best New Act | The Pin | Won |
| 2016 | Audio and Radio Industry Awards | Best Entertainment Production | The Pin | Nominated |
| 2016 | BBC Radio Awards | Best Comedy Production or Moment | The Pin | Won |
| 2017 | BBC Audio Drama Awards | Best Comedy With a Live Audience | The Pin | Nominated |
| 2017 | Writers' Guild Awards | Best Radio Comedy | The Pin | Nominated |