Guy Williams (comedian)

Guy Williams
Williams at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Born
Guy Malachi Jones Williams

(1987-09-19) 19 September 1987[1]
Christchurch, New Zealand
EducationNelson College
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington
EmployerSky Free
Height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[2]
Relatives
Comedy career
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • Television
  • Radio
Years active2008–present
YouTube information
ChannelsNew Zealand Today
Years active2019–present
GenreComedy
Subscribers290 thousand
Views127 million
Associated actsJono and Ben
Last updated: 8 August 2025

Guy Malachi Jones Williams (born 19 September 1987)[1] is a New Zealand comedian and television personality. Since 2019, Williams has been the host of New Zealand Today, a show detailing the lives and events of New Zealand towns and the people who live in them.[3] He was previously a co-host on the satirical news and entertainment television programme Jono and Ben until the show's end in 2018.[4][5]

Early life

Williams was born in Christchurch to Gary and Roseanne Williams and moved to Nelson when he was twelve months old.[6] His younger brother is comedian Paul Williams, and younger sister improviser Maria Williams. He attended primary school at St. Joseph's School,[7] and was educated at Nelson College from 2001 to 2005; in 2005 he travelled to Gallipoli with Prime Minister Helen Clark after winning a student essay competition.[8] He was a member of the school's 'A' basketball team from 2003 to 2005.[9]

He attended Victoria University of Wellington and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in political science in 2011.[10][11] While at Victoria University, he held the positions of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association Activities Officer in 2009,[12] and ran for president in 2010 but withdrew his application for the latter.[13]

Career

Williams began performing stand-up comedy in Wellington in 2007. In 2009 he performed as Dai Henwood's opening act after winning Dai's Protégé Project.[14] He is a regular performer in the New Zealand Comedy Festival in Wellington and Auckland.

In 2010, he started co-hosting on The Jono Project, where he appeared on TVNZ's breakfast show in a prank in which he claimed to be a promoter of commercial whaling in New Zealand as a way to save whales.[15] When the show was merged with WANNA-BEn in 2012 to form Jono and Ben at Ten, Williams followed. He was promoted to co-host in 2013.[16]

In 2012, Williams won the Billy T Award for his debut solo show On the Verge of Nothing.[17]

On 15 January 2014, it was announced in a press release that Williams would join The Edge in a new radio show, The Edge Afternoons with Guy, Sharyn & Clint, with Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts. In comedic fashion, he is quoted in the press release as saying: "It has been my dream to work on The Edge radio station ever since last week when they told me I would be working on The Edge radio station. I'm super excited to make my dream a reality."[18] In March 2014, Williams was selected by TV Guide magazine as New Zealand's Sexiest Male Television Personality, beating Shortland Street's Benjamin Mitchell, who had won the award for several years beforehand.[19] He also co-hosted The Xtra Factor, a follow-up programme of The X Factor with Casey and Roberts from March–May 2015.[20][21]

In June 2015, he began narrating Come Dine with Me New Zealand.[22]

In September 2015, Williams released a charity single entitled "The Pigeon Song", featuring Christchurch rapper Scribe. It peaked at the number two position in the New Zealand singles chart.[23]

In 2016, Williams left The Edge saying he would focus on television projects and other work.[24] He released his first half-hour standup special in 2017, and started hosting the satirical news show New Zealand Today[3] in 2019. Williams also competed on the first season of Taskmaster New Zealand in 2020 and appeared on Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee in 2023.[25]

In December 2024, Williams revealed had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as part of a TVNZ documentary, ADHD - Not Just Hyper. The documentary follows Williams, who is diagnosed on camera, and his sister Maria, who was diagnosed in 2022, learning to live with the condition.[26][27][28]

In 2025, Williams confronted ACT New Zealand party leader David Seymour at an impromptu press conference during the 2025 Waitangi Day event regarding the Treaty Principles Bill.[29] Williams accused Seymour of spreading misinformation by saying Māori were "causing division and racism", a claim which Seymour denied.[29][30] The exchange was met with divided opinion.[30][31]

Personal life

Williams was in a relationship with Golriz Ghahraman; their relationship ended in late 2020.[32][33][34]

Williams revealed he was diagnosed with ADHD in December 2024.[26][27][28]

References

  1. ^ a b "Tweet by Guy Williams". Twitter. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016. I'm sooo tall! I was born in 1987
  2. ^ Guy Williams, Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts (1 April 2014). "Guy, Sharyn, and Clint's Podcast for Tuesday April 1st, 2014" (Podcast). Event occurs at 21:40. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. ^ a b "NZ On Air funds local comedy, Guy Williams show and more". The New Zealand Herald. 10 December 2018. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  4. ^ "'We're gutted': Jono and Ben gets the axe after seven years". The New Zealand Herald. 11 October 2018. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Farewell, Jono and Ben: What was the best bit on the show?". Stuff. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  6. ^ Guy Williams, Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts (2 September 2014). "Guy, Sharyn, and Clint's Podcast for Tuesday Sept 2nd 2014" (Podcast). Event occurs at 14:40. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  7. ^ Guy Williams and Sharyn Casey (3 August 2015). "Guy, Sharyn, and Clint's Podcast for Monday August 3rd 2015" (Podcast). Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Gallipoli student essay winners announced". 5 April 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  9. ^ Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006, 6th edition
  10. ^ "Roll of graduates". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  11. ^ Cawston, Rebecca (25 April 2013). "Williams on a roll laughing at all things Kiwi". Bay of Plenty Times.
  12. ^ Wood, Jackson (27 July 2009). "By-Election manifestos". Salient. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  13. ^ "VUWSA 2010 Annual Report" (PDF). VUWSA. p. 17. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  14. ^ Schulz, Chris (28 April 2009). "Meet Dai Henwood's new sidekick". Stuff. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  15. ^ "TVNZ's Henry falls prey to prankster".
  16. ^ "Television and Radio - The University of Auckland Library". collections.library.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  17. ^ "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews - Theatreview". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  18. ^ "Comedian Guy Williams Joins the Edge - Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz.
  19. ^ "Nelson Guy voted sexiest man on TV". Nelson Mail. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  20. ^ "GUY WILLIAMS – YOU CAN SENSE THE DESPERATION". Theatreview. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  21. ^ "When does standing up to bullies become bullying?". RNZ. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  22. ^ "Television and Radio - The University of Auckland Library". collections.library.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  23. ^ "Pigeon prose: Hear Guy Williams and Scribe's comedy song about birds". The New Zealand Herald. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  24. ^ "Radio host Guy Williams leaving The Edge". Otago Daily Times. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  25. ^ Ward, Tara (24 March 2023). "Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee is an absolute joy". The Spinoff. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  26. ^ a b Mayron, Sapeer (16 December 2024). "ADHD and us: Guy Williams and sister Maria learn about their brains". The Post. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  27. ^ a b Beckett, Tyson (2 July 2025). "Guy Williams on ADHD: 'There are things about me that are not normal, and that's a good thing'". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  28. ^ a b Parkes, Melenie (11 December 2024). "ADHD: Not Just Hyper: Maria Williams looks at the 'brains wired for interest'". Stuff. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  29. ^ a b Daly, Michael (7 February 2025). "Watch: 'When I grew up ... comedians were funny': Seymour and Williams clash at Waitangi". Stuff. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  30. ^ a b Chapman, Madeleine (8 February 2025). "Guy Williams delivers a cautionary tale for armchair journalists". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  31. ^ Sowman-Lund, Stewart (4 May 2025). "The battle for the political narrative". Sunday Star-Times. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025 – via The Post.
  32. ^ Downes, Siobhan (1 September 2019). "At home with Guy Williams and Golriz Ghahraman". Stuff. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  33. ^ Mann, Britt (13 June 2020). "Golriz Ghahraman on growing up, Guy Williams, and the power of protest". Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  34. ^ McConnell, Glenn (5 September 2021). "Hive life: Golriz Ghahraman and Nicola Willis open up about sacrifices and motiviations". Stuff.
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