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Gatis Kandis

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Not to be confused with Gatis Kalniņš.
Gatis Kandis
Born (1981-07-29) 29 July 1981 (age 44)[1]
Dundaga, Latvia
EducationUniversity of Latvia[2]
Comedy career
Years active2011–present
MediumGigs, television
GenresComedy music, comedy
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2009–present
Subscribers339,000
Views35.7M
WebsiteGatis Kandis

Gatis Kandis (born 29 July 1981) is a Latvian comedian, actor and YouTuber. Most well known for progressing to the semi-finals on the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2012, Kandis has since appeared in other television programs such as Big Brother as a guest comedian, played Hansl in Alice Frick's What The Frick? and has a YouTube channel where he uploads comedy videos in his own unique style. Kandis has performed his stand-up routine at many high brow events, including Never Mind the Backstop at Camden Comedy Club in 2019 and at Leicester Square's "Not-So-New Comedian of the Year" Award show, where he won first prize in the same year.

Performing a style of humour that is intentionally bad, Kandis has been described by multiple critics and Britain's Got Talent creator Simon Cowell as the "funniest unfunniest" comedian.

Career and style

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Britain's Got Talent

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Gatis Kandis first auditioned in the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2011, but did not advance to the next stage of the competition.[3][4] Kandis auditioned the following year in 2012, for the show's sixth series, performing intentionally terrible comedy. Judge David Walliams described his act as "so bad, it's actually brilliant" and show creator Simon Cowell called him the "funniest unfunniest comedian I have ever heard in my life", referring to his jokes as "absolute rubbish" despite making him laugh.[5] Kandis advanced to the semi-finals of the competition, performing a similar style of comedy and closing his act with "have some fantastic dreams tonight". He did not advance further.[6] Kandis reappeared four years later in 2016 on Britain's Got More Talent, performing a similar style comedy act in the auditions stage of the competition.[7][8]

Career and comedy style

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Kandis was featured on the thirteenth series of the UK version of Big Brother, performing a stand-up routine at the Megalols Cafe for the "No Laughing Matter" challenge. Housemates were tasked with not laughing during his routine.[9] The following year, Kandis recorded a 90-second audition video for the fourteenth edition of the show. He ultimately wasn't selected.[10] Kandis toured alongside eighty other comedians in the Eastern European Comedy Festival in 2018.[11] Kandis performed at the Camden Comedy Club in 2019 as part of the Never Mind the Backstop event, a show setup by multiple comics to celebrate the UK withdrawal from the European Union. Kandis performed a comedic song about his chicken's birthday.[12] Also in 2019, Kandis performed for the Leicester Square "Not-So-New Comedian of the Year" Award show, previously titled the "Old Comedian of the Year" Award. Kandis won the first prize award, which came with a "package prize" of £1,000.[13] Kandis played the role of Hansl on Alice Frick's sitcom What The Frick? for a total of five episodes in 2020.[14]

Kandis' style of comedy is intentionally terrible.[2] On his YouTube channel Kandis uploads videos centered on his unique style of humour, including comically instructing how to open a gate,[15] reciting sixty-nine (a reference to the sex position of the same name) female first names in thirty seconds,[16] and demonstrating how to generate electricity using a fleece. Then comedically transferring static electricity to his metal bed frame to take a measurement of how much electricity he was able to generate in the process, with the ultimate goal being to successfully boil a kettle or power a light bulb.[17] Kandis' comedy has been described as "crap",[6] "terrible",[2] and "so bad, it's actually brilliant".[5] Kandis has described himself as "playing a character" when performing comedy, aiming only for laughter from those who watch his stand-up routines.[11] After performing at the Bloomsbury Theatre as part of the 2015 Musical Comedy Awards Final, Kandis' material was described by Bruce Dessau of Beyond The Joke as "dark and less clownish as he played up his creepiness", comparing his accent to Norwegian comedian Daniel Simonsen.[18]

Personal life

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Kandis grew up in the Latvian village of Dundaga. Having not enjoyed studying physics in the Latvian capital of Riga, Kandis transferred to the Student Theatre at the University of Latvia to study acting, subsequently travelling to Los Angeles to work in an amusement park.[2] Kandis later moved to the West Hendon area of London having a preference for the warmer weather of the UK in comparison to Latvia,[19] taking up a job as a carer,[20] supporting individuals with autism. His brother is a musician in Ireland, his father is a welder and his mother, a baker, disapproves of his humour.[2]

Filmography and awards

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Television and film

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Year Title Role Ref.
2011 Britain's Got Talent series 5 Himself, auditions [3]
2012 Britain's Got Talent series 6 Himself, semi-finals [3]
2012 Big Brother Himself [9]
2013 Mobsters Various characters, 3 episodes [21]
2016 Various 1 episode [21]
2016 Britain's Got More Talent Himself [3]
2019 Ivor the Dance King Himself [22]
2020 What The Frick? Hansl, 5 episodes [14]
2021 Winnipeggers Himself [23]
2025 Lukas DiSparrow Himself [24]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Result Ref.
2014 Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Nominated [25]
2015 Musical Comedy Awards 2015 Nominated [18][25]
2019 Leicester Square Not-So-New Comedian of the Year Won [13][26]

References

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  1. ^ "Gatis Kandis Wiki, Biography, Net Worth, Age, Family, Facts and More". Wikifamouspeople. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e Alberte, Ieva (30 May 2012). "Gatis Kandis, Britain's Got Talent pusfinālists". Ir (in Latvian). Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d "Gatis Kandis". JK Comedy Club. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  4. ^ "Гатис Кандис снова «выделился» в шоу Britain's Got Talent". RUS TV NET (in Russian). 7 March 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Gatis Kandis' 'Britain's Got Talent' Set Proves He Is Unfunniest Funny Comedian Ever (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  6. ^ a b Miller, Paul (9 May 2012). "'Britain's Got Talent': Fourth semi-final live blog". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  7. ^ "Gatis Kandis is back to make Simon laugh… again!". ITV. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  8. ^ "Nesmieklīgais Gatis Kandis atgriežas britu talantu šovā". Delfi (in Latvian). 1 May 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  9. ^ a b Fletcher, Alex (13 June 2012). "Keith Harris and Orville enter Big Brother house for No Laughing task". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  10. ^ Eames, Tom (27 January 2013). "'Britain's Got Talent' comedian Gatis Kandis auditions for Big Brother". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  11. ^ a b Groskop, Viv (19 February 2018). "Polski sklep-stick – is Brexit Britain ready for eastern European standup?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  12. ^ Logan, Brian (8 March 2019). "Never Mind the Backstop: the Brexit comedy club for Euro standups". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  13. ^ a b Bennett, Steve (2019). "Leicester Square Not-So-New Comedian Of The Year 2019". Chortle. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  14. ^ a b "What The Frick?!". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  15. ^ "Video: Pasaule smejas par nesmieklīgā Gata Kanda eksperimentu". Delfi (in Latvian). 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  16. ^ "Video: Nesmieklīgais Kandis atgriežas ar iespaidīgu triku". Delfi (in Latvian). 15 August 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  17. ^ "Video: Gatis Kandis elektrizē savu ķermeni". Delfi (in Latvian). 16 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  18. ^ a b Dessau, Bruce (11 April 2015). "Review: Musical Comedy Awards Final, Bloomsbury Theatre". Beyond The Joke. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  19. ^ "[FULL] Gatis Kandis – Semi Final 4 – Britains Got Talent 2012". Britain's Got Talent. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2026 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ Purina, Zane (22 June 2018). "Honest Interview With Comedian & Actor Gatis Kandis (Britain's Got Talent)". Provocative TV. Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ a b "Gatis Kandis". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  22. ^ "The 'Oh No! Ivor the Dance King and some of his friends try to save world!! film has been released". Digital Spy. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  23. ^ Jericho, Chris (30 July 2021). "Winnipeggers: Episode 54 – Bad Tattoos" (Podcast). Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via Rumble.
  24. ^ DiSparrow, Lukas (8 July 2025). "How to convince a girl that you're good looking? With comedian Gatis Kandis" (Podcast). Retrieved 4 April 2026 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ a b "Gatis Kandis". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  26. ^ "Not So New Comedian of the Year". Museum of Comedy. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
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