James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee (born 24 September 1961) is an English standup comedian, actor and writer known for his sardonic, curmudgeonly, and deadpan style . Aside from his successful stand-up career, Dee has played starring roles and guest appearances in television series . He played the part of Doug Digby in the Grimleys pilot (1997) before the role was recast for the series, and made guest appearances on such programmes as Silent Witness, Dalziel and Pascoe and Jonathan Creek . In 2004 he played the role of Steven Sharples MP alongside Warren Clarke and Dervla Kirwan in The Deputy . Dee's performance was praised, though the film itself received a lukewarm response . Later that year he starred in another one-off drama, Tunnel of Love . He was the celebrity advocate in Britain's Best Sitcom for Fawlty Towers and presented an hour-long documentary about the series . In 2005 he co-hosted Comic Aid, a one-off gathering of comedians that aimed to raise money for the Asian Tsunami Appeal . In May of the same year he appeared on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of the BBC Two series Top Gear, achieving a lap time of 1:53 .5 (52nd on the Suzuki Liana leader board) . His most recent series Lead Balloon, which he also co-wrote, began on BBC Four on 4 October 2006 . Described as "Britain's answer to Curb Your Enthusiasm",Lead Balloon sees Dee play the semi-biographical role of Rick Spleen . A second series of eight episodes was commissioned and was broadcast on BBC Two in 2007, with a third series debuting on Thursday 13 November 2008 . In 2008 Dee took part in the 15th anniversary special of Shooting Stars where he replaced Will Self as captain of Team A . The show aired on 30th December 2008 on BBC2 . .