

In 1985 The Comic Strip hit the big screen with The Supergrass starring Allen, Adrian Edmondson, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Robbie Coltrane, directed by Comic Strip actor Peter Richardson. Allen would also appear alongside fellow Comic Strip alumni as Pestilence in The Young Ones episode "Interesting." Allen has performed both straight and comedy acting. Notable episodes featuring Allen include The Bullshitters (a parody of The Professionals), and The Yob (a parody of The Fly), which he also co-wrote.

on Channel 4 in the 1980s after becoming one of the breakthrough acts of the Comedy Store in 1979. He appeared in a number of films in the series The Comic Strip Presents. Career Early work Īfter having several jobs during the 1970s, including a job as a stagehand from which he was sacked after joining Max Bygraves' chorus line on stage naked, Allen also worked as a stand-up comedian and vocalist, opening for rock bands such as The Clash. At the age of 15 he was sent to a borstal after repeatedly being caught stealing, later saying that he "had a great time" there.

He was expelled from the school at the age of 13. At the age of 11 he was sent to independent Brentwood boarding school in Essex when his father was posted to Singapore.

He spent his early years near Swansea and in Malta, and most of his childhood in Gosport, Hampshire, while his father served in Portsmouth. His younger brother is actor Kevin Allen. Allen was born on 2 September 1953 in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the second of three children of Edward Charles Owen, a Royal Navy petty officer submariner.
