Editing Rob Brydon (section)

=== 2000–2009: Television roles and acclaim === 
[[File:RobBrydonISIHAC_(cropped).JPG|thumb|left|Brydon on [[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]] in 2009]]
In 2000 he made his mark in television comedy, with two series which he co-wrote and performed for the BBC: ''[[Human Remains (TV series)|Human Remains]],'' co-written by [[Julia Davis]]. From 2000 to 2003 he starred in the [[BBC television]] [[mockumentary]] ''[[Marion and Geoff]]'' which was commercially successful. Brydon plays as Keith Barret, a naïve [[taxi driver]] going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he fails to realise it, has had a long-standing affair with her colleague, Geoff. Each episode is presented as a monologue, filmed by a fixed camera in the confines of his car. From 2004 to 2005 Brydon starred in ''[[The Keith Barret Show]]'' which was a fictional spoof of a [[BBC]] chat show. In 2006 he parodied comedy [[panel shows]] such as ''[[QI]]'', ''[[Mock the Week]]'' and ''[[Have I Got News For You]]'' in the [[BBC Three]] series ''[[Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive]]''. Ed Potton of ''[[The Times]]'' found that the series "provides the perfect platform for host Brydon, playing a demonic version of himself, to mimic (often hilariously) and abuse (often brutally) his guests".<ref>{{cite news|last=Potton|first=Ed|title=''Darbar Festival 2008''; ''Life''; ''Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive''; ''Terminator''|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5091112.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615155104/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5091112.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 June 2011|accessdate=19 September 2010|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=6 November 2008}}</ref> 
[[File:Michael_Winterbottom,_Steve_Coogan,_and_Rob_Brydon-14Sept2005.jpg|thumb|right|[[Michael Winterbottom]] (left), [[Steve Coogan]] (middle), and Brydon (right) at the [[Ryerson Theatre]] in [[Toronto]], Canada (2005)]]
In 2005 he portrayed a version of himself in the British comedy ''[[A Cock and Bull Story]]'' directed by [[Michael Winterbottom]]. Brydon starred opposite [[Steve Coogan]]. Dana Stevens of ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' wrote, "Rob Brydon, plays Tristram’s Uncle Toby, a blustering war veteran with a wound in an unspeakable place. In the modern-day scenes, Rob Brydon is, surprise, Rob Brydon, an actor with an ego even more pitifully in need of stroking than Coogan’s. The unscripted-sounding exchanges between these two are the funniest part of the movie".<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://slate.com/culture/2006/02/michael-winterbottom-s-tristram-shandy.html|title= The Neverending Story|website= Slate|date= 3 February 2006|accessdate= September 28, 2023|last1= Stevens|first1= Dana}}</ref> From 2007 to 2010 Brydon gained prominence for his leading role as Uncle Bryn in the BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' starring [[Matthew Horne]], [[Joanna Page]], and [[James Corden]]. In the 2009 Brydon was nominated for the [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA Award]] for Best Comedy Performance as Bryn. Starting in 2009 Brydon has hosted the game show ''[[Would I Lie to You?]]''. Since these series Brydon has developed a career path as a character actor, in both comedic and serious roles. He portrayed controversial theatre critic [[Kenneth Tynan]] in the BBC Four film ''Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore'' (2005), opposite [[Julian Sands]] as [[Laurence Olivier]]. 

Also in 2006, Brydon first appeared on the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]''. His singing voice earned the unprecedented accolade from the former host, [[Humphrey Lyttelton]], of being "not bad".{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} When the team went on a tour of non-broadcast stage shows, Brydon filled in as chairman when Lyttelton was in hospital to repair an aortic aneurysm. Lyttelton died in hospital after surgery. Brydon narrated a two-part programme on BBC Radio 4, ''The Pain of Laughter: The Last Days of Kenneth Williams''. It explored the latter part of [[Kenneth Williams|Williams]]'s life, featuring many of the performer's friends and contemporaries. In other radio work Brydon sat in for [[Ken Bruce]] on BBC Radio 2 for one day only on 25 August 2008. In addition to this, on 1 April 2011, Brydon impersonated Bruce for the entire two-hour and thirty minutes show. Bruce came on the air at the end of the show to reveal the [[prank]]. Brydon has appeared on the TV comedy quiz ''[[QI]]''. In his first appearance (Series A, episode 5), his talent for mimicry was displayed with impressions of [[Alec Guinness]], [[James Dean]], and [[Michael J. Fox]]. In the 2008 [[List of QI episodes (F series)#Episode 2 "Fire & Freezing" (Christmas special)|Christmas special]], he provided impressions of [[Richard Burton]] and [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]].

His character [[List of Gavin & Stacey characters#Bryn West|Bryn West]] in ''Gavin & Stacey'', written by Ruth Jones and [[James Corden]], allowed him to return to his South Wales roots. In this role Brydon performed the 2009 [[Comic Relief]] charity single, "[[(Barry) Islands in the Stream]]", with Ruth Jones (both actors appearing as their characters from ''Gavin & Stacey'') and singer [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]]. It reached No.1 in the [[UK Singles Chart]] on 15 March 2009. In February 2009, it was announced that Brydon would be one of three people to replace Lyttelton as chairman of the 51st series of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' (the others being [[Stephen Fry]] and [[Jack Dee]]).<ref name="spy"/><ref name="clue"/> Brydon also appeared as guest panellist in the first two episodes of series 52, chaired by Jack Dee. He returned as a guest panellist in the last two episodes of series 54 in January 2011. Additionally, in 2009 he took over as host of ''[[Would I Lie To You?]]'', replacing [[Angus Deayton]].<ref name="parker"/> Brydon had also appeared as a guest panellist on the show during the previous season.<ref name="tv">{{Cite web |url=http://www.tv.com/shows/would-i-lie-to-you/rob-brydon-krishnan-guru-murthy-gabby-logan-robert-webb-1106648/ |title=Would I Lie to You?: Rob Brydon, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Gabby Logan, Robert Webb |access-date=6 September 2019 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906073442/http://www.tv.com/shows/would-i-lie-to-you/rob-brydon-krishnan-guru-murthy-gabby-logan-robert-webb-1106648/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Brydon has presented an episode of ''[[Have I Got News for You]]''<ref name="smith"/> and has appeared on BBC Radio 4's panel game ''[[Just a Minute]]''.<ref name="jam"/><ref name="laugh"/>