LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Richard Ayoade: Dean Learner
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Holness and Ayoade spent time testing out material in front of a live audience in December 2005; the show involved Ayoade fixed in the role of smut-peddling presenter Dean Learner and Holness playing various different characters. These included a sci-fi — or "S.F.", as he preferred it — actor with a new biography detailing his extremely close relationship with a director, Garth Marenghi; folk musician Merriman Weir who has a penchant for rather dark songs (Holness is an adept guitarist); and another actor, who delivered a chilling and possibly improvised monologue. Holness' main role was back in the shoes of Garth Marenghi, in an interview between the two leading characters.
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Ayoade was briefly a stand-up on the London circuit before attracting attention in the Perrier-winning Garth Marenghi shows as Dean Learner. After the spoof horror show became a cult Channel 4 hit, the character landed his own six-part chat show – Man To Man With Dean Learner – supposedly set in his glamorous bachelor pad
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Ayoade's Darkplace character, Dean Learner was resurrected in 2006 to host a comedy chat show, Man to Man with Dean Learner, on Channel 4. The different guests were played each week by Holness.
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That improv would have been the highlight of the evening were it not trumped by later Ayoade improv when there was a Q&A session (in character) between the audience and Dean+Garth. Most of the questions were pretty rubbish fanboy nonsense about
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Dean Learner