After Dinner Speakers: Sacha Baron Cohen, Chris Langham, Kate Thornton

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is best known for his inspired comic creation, Ali G. Ali G first leapt on to our screens via his inserts on the ’11 O’Clock’ show, during which he interviewed unsuspecting public figures in his own inimitable style. Originally, Sacha sent in a tape of Bruno, an Austrian fashion reporter to The 11 O’Clock Show team. He was asked to come up with a new character, and Ali G was born. The gangsta-rapper from Staines quickly built up a massive cult following and became one of the biggest things on television even before he got his own series, ‘Da Ali G Show’. This series also featured another hilarious comic creation of Cohen’s, Borat, the bumbling reporter from Kazakhstani television who is producing a guide to Britain for his viewers back home with only the faintest possible grasp of English. Cambridge educated, half Jewish half Welsh Cohen grew up in North London and regularly visits Israel. There are rumours that he is soon to kill off Ali G and is to start a new series for BBC 2 with completely new characters. However if his controversial and memorable performance at the MTV Europe Awards in 2001 is anything to go by, Ali G is here to stay. Sacha Baron Cohen is one of the most creative comic talents of his generation and is constantly in demand for corporate events.