Biography
Tom Basden is an English actor, writer, comedian and musician. Born on 30 November 1980 in Sutton, Greater London, he was educated at King’s College School, Wimbledon, and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was vice-president of the Footlights. He began performing stand-up and sketch comedy in the mid-2000s.
He co-created, co-wrote and starred in the ITV sitcom Plebs (2013–2019), which won the Royal Television Society award for Best Scripted Comedy in 2014. Basden has appeared in series including Fresh Meat, The Wrong Mans, Ghosts and After Life, and created the BBC sitcom Here We Go. He is a member of the sketch group Cowards and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2007 Edinburgh Comedy Awards.
With Tim Key, Basden co-wrote and co-starred in the short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island (2007) and its feature adaptation The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025), in which he plays Herb McGwyer and wrote the screenplay and music.
