Donal Coonan

Donal Coonan is an actor, writer and presenter, who is most notable for presenting Channel 4's web show thisisaknife.

Early Life

Donal was born December 15 1981 in London, England. He attended Alleyn's School in Dulwich, South London, before reading PPE at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University.

While at Oxford, Donal performed in both The Oxford Revue and Not The Oxford Revue, and took part in the 2004 OUDS tour of Julius Caesar to Japan. He also co-presented The Fireman Sam and Coonan The Barbarian Show on the student radio station Altered Radio, and won the 2003 Oxford Film Cuppers competition with the short film 'Free Lunch Odyssey'.

Presenting

In December 2005, Donal became one of four presenters of Channel 4's web show thisisaknife, and when the show went weekly in May 2006, he became the sole presenter of the show. He continued in this role until thisisaknife ended in September 2007.

Donal has presented pods on Current TV such as Am I An Alcoholic? and This Will Help You Pull, and is currently taking part, along with Fraser Byrne, in Current TV's Blag a Million project.

Advertising Work

In December 2006, Donal starred in an advert for the board game Taboo as part of Taboo's Europe-wide relaunch. He played a man in a sauna.

Other Projects

Learn to Play the Ukulele in Under an Hour (How George Formby Saved My Life)

Donal starred as Beryl Formby in the show Learn to Play the Ukulele in Under an Hour (How George Formby Saved My Life) at the Gilded Balloon as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2008. Chortle described it as 'a straight-down-the-line, gentle, sweet, completely enchanting show, tinged with melancholy'.

External links

• Donal's website