Mark Thomas is a comedian, writer and political activist. His acclaimed Channel 4 show The Mark Thomas Comedy Product,which ran from 1996-2002, straddled comedy and politics – described as “a ludicrous alternative to Watchdog” – as Thomas used surreal methods to investigate politicians and corporations. The show was later renamedThe Mark Thomas Product to reflect its increasingly political agenda. Thomas is chairman of the Illisu Dam Campaign, temporarily blocking the development of a large-scale hydroelectric dam in southeast Turkey, that his campaign claimed would lead to the displacement of 78,000, mainly Kurds, without adequate compensation. More recently, Thomas has worked with War on Want in India and in the investigation of alleged human rights violations in Colombia, where trade unions are targeted by militia allegedly controlled by the government. He has written extensively including Belching Out the Devil (2008), an expose of the Coca Cola Company. In 2010, Thomas walked the entire length of the 700km Israeli Separation Barrier, crossing between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, documented in his book Extreme Rambling: Walking Israel’s Barrier, For Fun (2011).

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Dividing Small Nations: Comedian, writer and broadcaster Mark Thomas talks to Oscar Guardiola-Rivera about his recent walk along Israel’s Separation Barrier. (2011)