{{Short description|Former comedy partnership}} {{original research|date=September 2016}} {{refimprove|date=July 2009}} '''Newman and Baddiel''' were a [[comedy]] partnership of the 1990s consisting of [[United Kingdom|British]] stand-up comics [[Robert Newman (comedian)|Robert Newman]] and [[David Baddiel]].
Both graduated from [[Cambridge University]] and began working separately as [[stand-up comedian]]s before they were introduced to one another in 1989 by producer [[Bill Dare]], who wanted to put together a topical [[sketch show]] for [[BBC Radio 1]]. The new writing duo joined [[Steve Punt]] and [[Hugh Dennis]] to form the core quartet of ''[[The Mary Whitehouse Experience]]'', which later transferred successfully to BBC television and made stars of both pairings.
There followed a series for [[BBC2]] called ''[[Newman and Baddiel in Pieces]]''. The series was a ratings success, despite coming under criticism from reviewers who considered the comedy to be too deep and perceived a notable absence of camaraderie between the two performers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/rob_newman_person_page.shtml |title=BBC Comedy – People A-Z – Rob Newman|accessdate=2009-07-20}}</ref> There was a particularly vindictive round of correspondence sent to ''[[Private Eye (magazine)|Private Eye]]'' regarding the duo, heralding a one-off letters page entitled ''The Great Newman & Baddiel Debate''.
They embarked on a sell-out UK tour (featuring stand-up from each and reprises of characters from the TV show) and this culminated in a memorable gig at [[Wembley Arena]] which was full to its 12,000 capacity, the first time this had been achieved by comedians. This was to be their final performance together; shortly afterwards, the two parted as co-performers due to artistic differences.
Newman became a [[novelist]], [[activist]] and anti-[[capitalism]] campaigner and rarely returned to comedy until more recently, having frequently toured with [[Mark Thomas]]. Meanwhile, Baddiel established a new (and notably more laddish) comedy partnership with [[Frank Skinner]] on ''[[Fantasy Football League (TV series)|Fantasy Football League]]'' and, later, ''[[Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned]]'', as well as the number one single "[[Three Lions (song)|Three Lions]]".
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:English male comedians]] [[Category:English comedy duos]] [[Category:British comedy duos]]