We met up with comedian and TV Chaser Paul Sinha to get a flavour of what guests can expect at this year’s MM Meat Industry Awards.
The host of this year’s MM Meat Industry Awards, Paul Sinha is probably best-known as the white-suited ‘Sinnerman’ in ITV’s The Chase. But as well as being one of the country’s leading quizzers, Paul is an award-winning stand-up and a familiar figure on panel shows such as QI, Would I Lie to You, Just a Minute and The News Quiz, and also appeared as a contestant on Taskmaster.
We chatted with Paul to find out about his career and discover what guests can look forward to when he takes to the stage at the Meat Industry awards in September.
Growing up, Paul expected he would follow his father into a career in medicine, and that is what he set out to do as he left school for medical college, never imagining a career in entertainment lay ahead. He said: “I don’t think anybody in the 1980s growing up was thinking to themselves, ‘Oh, do you know what? I might try to be a stand-up comedian.’”
“Comedy has been very much a constant part of my life.”
However, after arriving at medical school, Paul began to realise he was embarking on a profession that wasn’t really his dream or love.
And the same year he graduated as a doctor, in 1995, he started doing stand-up comedy.
Initially, Paul says, he didn’t take his comedy very seriously (pardon the pun), but simply as something that may make him a more interesting person at dinner parties. However, the world had other ideas and when, in 1998, he did his first five-minute set at the Comedy Store in London, he left the venue having signed with a comedy agent.
And that was the turning point for Paul, who told us: “After that, comedy has been very much a constant part of my life.”
As his diary filled up with comedy gigs and performances, Paul’s agent gave him an ultimatum and he took the plunge, leaving medicine to follow a career in comedy full time.
“It was a massive leap,” he said, and while he doesn’t regret leaving medicine behind, he does credit it for giving him perspective, and commented: “I think all good comedians should get stuck into the idea of having a real life. Medicine, of course, is something where real life is plunged straight in front of you, and you’ve got to deal with it.”
Quizzing and comedy remain separate for Paul
As for quizzing, Paul says he has always enjoyed learning general knowledge and loved TV quizzes as a kid. When he was a medical student, this hobby came in handy as a way to supplement his income playing, and beating, pub quiz machines. However, it wasn’t until he was invited to join a team of comedians to take part in University Challenge – The Professionals (a spin off from the main show) that he realised there was a world out there of “super nerds and brain boxes” who loved to quiz. From that point onwards, Paul began to see quizzing in a different light, joining a team in the Quiz League of London and even winning the title of British Quizzing Champion in 2019.
Although Paul first entered the world of quizzing through his comedy connections, he explained that the two parts of his work life are kept quite separate, and guests at the Meat Management Meat Industry Awards will get to enjoy Paul’s funny side when he takes to the stage in September to help us spotlight the best products, initiatives, businesses and people in the meat industry.
When it comes to Paul’s own favourite foods, he shares that his parents’ lamb curry and rice is the meal that takes him back to his childhood. They still cook it for him when he visits and it’s just as good as it has always been. He said: “Friday night was curry and rice night, to start the weekend. It’s so delicious and brings back so many memories. I can’t believe they’re still producing it to the same quality that they did back in the day. It just blows my mind.”
Paul has never been a cook himself and said that having Parkinson’s disease (he was diagnosed in 2019 at the age of 49) means that it is not something that is likely to change now, adding that he feels lucky to be surrounded by a family of good cooks, instead.
And when he dines out, steak is his go-to choice. He said: “I really love a good steak. And when I say steak, I just mean the meat. I’m not interested in the sauce or the accoutrements. I want to taste the steak. But I’m an absolute Luddite, because I like my steak medium, not medium rare. For me, a good medium steak is absolute heaven.”
He does, however, also have a weakness for ice cream, and confessed: “If you could offer me one food for the rest of my life, it would probably be ice cream. I just really love it!”
There’s sure to be something exceptional on the menu for Paul to enjoy when he joins guests at the much-anticipated awards ceremony and dinner on 3rd September. We can’t wait to see him on stage at the event, and we’d love to see you there, too!
To book tickets for the Meat Management Meat Industry Awards at the Birmingham Metropole on Thursday 3rd September, visit meatmanagement.com/awards.
With thanks to the 2026 MM Meat Industry Awards partners:
