Ria Lina

Ria Lina
Ria Lina
Born	1980 (age 44–45); High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England
Medium	Stand-up, television, radio
Nationality	British
Years active	2001–present
Genres	Observational comedy, black comedy, satire, wit
Subject(s)	Politics, autism, cultures, race relations, science, family, current events
Children	3
Notable works and roles	Pointless; Mock the Week; Xenoblade Chronicles 2;
Website	rialina.com

Ria Lina (born 1980)^[a] is a British comedian, actress and writer. She has appeared on Yesterday, Today & The Day Before,^[1] Mock the Week,^[2] Steph's Packed Lunch,^[3] The Now Show, The News Quiz,^[4] and Have I Got News for You. In 2003, she won an Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy award for Best Comedian.^[5]

Early life

Lina's mother is from the Philippines and her father from Germany.^[6] She attended an American school in the Netherlands from the age of 14.^[6]

Career

Lina earned a BSc in pathology from the University of St Andrews, an MSc in forensic science from London South Bank University and a PhD in virology from University College London.^[7]

Stand-up

In 2003, Lina was a runner-up at the first Funny Women Awards.^[8]

Lina has taken five shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. School of Riason^[9] was nominated for the Amused Moose Laughter Awards, and contained one of Dave's Top 10 Jokes of the Fringe, and was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016. Lina's Dear Daughter^[10] won the Best Comedy award at the Greater Manchester Fringe. Her other shows include Taboo Raider,^[11] Thpethial^[12] and It's Not Easy Being Yellow.^[13]

Television, radio and podcasts

Appearances include Yesterday Today and the Day Before,^[1] Mock the Week,^[14] Steph's Packed Lunch,^[15] The Dog Ate My Homework,^[16] Sky News, Talk Radio, Talk Radio Europe,^[17] The Now Show,^[18] The News Quiz,^[19] Richard Osman's House of Games,^[20] Times Radio, Breaking the News,^[21] and QI^[22]

Further TV work includes Jongleurs Live,^[23] The World Stands Up, Sweet 'n' Sour Comedy,^[24] Meet The Blogs, Malai Monologues,^[25] the film short Christie,^[26] and the documentary, A Bit of Oriental.^[27]

Lina voiced the character Perun in Xenoblade Chronicles 2.^[28] She also narrated and voiced the character Zoe in the full-cast audiobook of cli-fi (climate fiction) adventure MOOJAG and the Auticode Secret^[29] by N.E. McMorran / Spondylux Press, London 2020.

Lina appeared in and won Episode 4 of the 21st series of Celebrity Mastermind, broadcast in January 2023.^[30] She was one of Alexander Armstrong's co-hosts on Pointless in 2023.^[31]

Since 2022, Lina has appeared as a guest co-host of The Bugle podcast.^[32]

Personal life

Lina has two sons, a daughter and a stepson^[33]^[34]^[35] She married Steve Jones in 2002. Now divorced, Lina and her ex-husband continue to share their London household as of 2024^[update].^[36] She is autistic,^[37] something she only became aware of in adulthood.^[38]

Awards

Winner of the Best Comedy Award Greater Manchester Fringe 2016 for her show Dear Daughter^[39]
Finalist Amused Moose Comedy Award 2014^[40]
Winner of the Best Comedy/Comedian Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy Award 2003^[5]
Winner of the King of Kings Comedy Store Award 2003^[41]
BBC New Comedy Awards 2003 semi-finalist^[42]
Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award 2002 finalist^[43]
Wilkinson Sword Cutting Edge of Comedy 2002 finalist^[44]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Lina's official website states her date of birth, with the year being 1987.^[45] That date is utilised by the Funny Women website, in an article on Lina.^[46] A different year of birth is indicated in one other source: The Gazette & Essex County Standard reported Lina as being aged 30 in a 2010 article, without specifying her date of birth.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "Yesterday, Today & The Day Before". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ "BBC Two - Mock the Week". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ "Steph's Packed Lunch - S2020 - Episode 123". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "On the Sky News Daily podcast, Dermot Murnaghan speaks to comic and virologist, Ria Lina about whether Covid has changed how the country is run". Sky News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Winners of the EMMA Awards announced" (Press release). BBC. Archived from the original on 24 March 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mackenzie, Louise (16 December 2010). "Who do you think I am? asks funny girl Ria Lina". Gazette & Essex County Standard. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 25 September 2024. The 30-year-old comedian started doing stand-up while at St Andrews University and in 2000, aged 20, she took the show ... to the National Youth Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ...
^ "Ivo Graham and Ria Lina to appear on University Challenge". Chortle. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
^ "Funny Women Awards". British Comedy Guide. 17 October 2020 [First published 18 April 2016; updated 2020]. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Ria Lina: School of Riason". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Comedy review: Ria Lina: Dear Daughter". The Scotsman. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Watch Ria Lina: Taboo Raider". Amazon Prime. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Ria Lina: Thpethial". Chortle. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ Bennett, Steve. "Brighton Fringe: Ria Lina: It's Not Easy Being Yellow". Chortle. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^
Episode listings:
- "BBC Mock The Week – Series 19, Episode 8 of 11". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
- "BBC Mock The Week – Series 19, Episode 6 of 11". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Steph's Packed Lunch". Channel 4. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "CBBC The Dog Ate My Homework". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ Baum, Julie (7 December 2020). "Ria Lina - the only female Filipina comedian in British stand up who headlines at major clubs in the UK and internationally...with TRE's Dave Hodgson". Talk Radio Europe. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "BBC The Now Show". BBC. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "The News Quiz". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "BBC Two - Richard Osman's House of Games, Series 5, Week 21: Wednesday". BBC.
^ "Breaking the News". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "QI". BBC Two. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
^ " Jongleurs Live!". Comedy.
^ "Sweet 'N' Sour Comedy - BBC3 Sketch Show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "RIA LINA". Spotlight.
^ Rahman, Azi (7 April 2008). "Christie". IMDb. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "A Bit of Oriental". Channel 4. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Ria Lina (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
^ "MOOJAG children's cli-fi series (audiobook)". Moojag. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^ "BBC One - Celebrity Mastermind, 2022/23, Episode 4". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
^ "More stars revealed as Pointless guest hosts". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 23 February 2023.
^ "The Bugle - Viruses are Marvel!". acast.com. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
^ "Asian Network's Big Comedy Night". BBC Asian Network. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
^ Swilgate Scuttle (3 June 2024). "Comedy review: Ria Lina: Riawakening". Supporting local artists and performance. Worcester. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
^ Geoff (15 August 2016). "Ria Lina Dear Daughter". one4review. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
^ Denton, Jane (28 June 2024). "How I Manage My Money: Comedian living with ex-husband who puts £50 in pension". Money. i News UK. Associated Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024.
^ Lina, Ria (30 June 2015). "Political correctness is the best thing that's happened to comedy". Chortle. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
^ Quinn, Angie (30 October 2023). "Pointless' Ria Lina's life from autism diagnosis to impressive other jobs". My London. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
^ "Greater Manchester Fringe 2016 Award Winners Announced". Viva Manchester. 2 August 2016.
^ "Amused Moose Comedy Award 2014". Amused Moose.
^ "Ria Lina – Comedians l Book Comedians". The Comedy Club.
^ "New Comedy Awards regional final Brighton". BBC.
^ "The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award Final". Chortle.
^ "Cutting Edge of Comedy". Metro. 12 August 2002.
^ "About Ria". Ria Lina Official Site. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
^ Stone, Kate (24 April 2015). "Ria Lina schools BBC Radio 4". Funny Women. Retrieved 24 August 2024.

External links

Official website
Ria Lina at IMDb

[dob-1] Lina's official website states her date of birth, with the year being 1987.^[45] That date is utilised by the Funny Women website, in an article on Lina.^[46] A different year of birth is indicated in one other source: The Gazette & Essex County Standard reported Lina as being aged 30 in a 2010 article, without specifying her date of birth.^[6]

[Guide-2] "Yesterday, Today & The Day Before". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

[3] "BBC Two - Mock the Week". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

[4] "Steph's Packed Lunch - S2020 - Episode 123". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[5] "On the Sky News Daily podcast, Dermot Murnaghan speaks to comic and virologist, Ria Lina about whether Covid has changed how the country is run". Sky News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[bbc-6] "Winners of the EMMA Awards announced" (Press release). BBC. Archived from the original on 24 March 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2021.

[Gazette-7] Mackenzie, Louise (16 December 2010). "Who do you think I am? asks funny girl Ria Lina". Gazette & Essex County Standard. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 25 September 2024. The 30-year-old comedian started doing stand-up while at St Andrews University and in 2000, aged 20, she took the show ... to the National Youth Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ...

[8] "Ivo Graham and Ria Lina to appear on University Challenge". Chortle. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2023.

[womeninred-9] "Funny Women Awards". British Comedy Guide. 17 October 2020 [First published 18 April 2016; updated 2020]. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[10] "Ria Lina: School of Riason". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[11] "Comedy review: Ria Lina: Dear Daughter". The Scotsman. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[12] "Watch Ria Lina: Taboo Raider". Amazon Prime. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[13] "Ria Lina: Thpethial". Chortle. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[14] Bennett, Steve. "Brighton Fringe: Ria Lina: It's Not Easy Being Yellow". Chortle. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[15] Episode listings:
"BBC Mock The Week – Series 19, Episode 8 of 11". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

"BBC Mock The Week – Series 19, Episode 6 of 11". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[16] "BBC Mock The Week – Series 19, Episode 8 of 11". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[17] "BBC Mock The Week – Series 19, Episode 6 of 11". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[16] "Steph's Packed Lunch". Channel 4. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[17] "CBBC The Dog Ate My Homework". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[18] Baum, Julie (7 December 2020). "Ria Lina - the only female Filipina comedian in British stand up who headlines at major clubs in the UK and internationally...with TRE's Dave Hodgson". Talk Radio Europe. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[19] "BBC The Now Show". BBC. 10 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[20] "The News Quiz". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[21] "BBC Two - Richard Osman's House of Games, Series 5, Week 21: Wednesday". BBC.

[22] "Breaking the News". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[23] "QI". BBC Two. Retrieved 28 February 2025.

[24] " Jongleurs Live!". Comedy.

[25] "Sweet 'N' Sour Comedy - BBC3 Sketch Show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[26] "RIA LINA". Spotlight.

[27] Rahman, Azi (7 April 2008). "Christie". IMDb. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[28] "A Bit of Oriental". Channel 4. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

[29] "Ria Lina (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

[30] "MOOJAG children's cli-fi series (audiobook)". Moojag. Retrieved 1 June 2023.

[31] "BBC One - Celebrity Mastermind, 2022/23, Episode 4". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2023.

[32] "More stars revealed as Pointless guest hosts". BBC Media Centre. BBC. 23 February 2023.

[33] "The Bugle - Viruses are Marvel!". acast.com. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2024.

[34] "Asian Network's Big Comedy Night". BBC Asian Network. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.

[35] Swilgate Scuttle (3 June 2024). "Comedy review: Ria Lina: Riawakening". Supporting local artists and performance. Worcester. Retrieved 2 April 2025.

[36] Geoff (15 August 2016). "Ria Lina Dear Daughter". one4review. Retrieved 2 April 2025.

[37] Denton, Jane (28 June 2024). "How I Manage My Money: Comedian living with ex-husband who puts £50 in pension". Money. i News UK. Associated Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024.

[38] Lina, Ria (30 June 2015). "Political correctness is the best thing that's happened to comedy". Chortle. Retrieved 4 February 2020.

[39] Quinn, Angie (30 October 2023). "Pointless' Ria Lina's life from autism diagnosis to impressive other jobs". My London. Retrieved 25 September 2024.

[40] "Greater Manchester Fringe 2016 Award Winners Announced". Viva Manchester. 2 August 2016.

[41] "Amused Moose Comedy Award 2014". Amused Moose.

[42] "Ria Lina – Comedians l Book Comedians". The Comedy Club.

[43] "New Comedy Awards regional final Brighton". BBC.

[44] "The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award Final". Chortle.

[45] "Cutting Edge of Comedy". Metro. 12 August 2002.

[46] "About Ria". Ria Lina Official Site. Retrieved 26 September 2024.

[47] Stone, Kate (24 April 2015). "Ria Lina schools BBC Radio 4". Funny Women. Retrieved 24 August 2024.

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