Born in Leeds, Billy Pearce's break came via the ITV talent show New Faces, when he made the final in 1986. From then until the mid-nineties he appeared on TV variety shows including Live From Her Majesty's, You Gotta Be Joking and three Royal Variety shows.

As alternative comedy edged his style of comedy out of fashion, he turned to panto, as well as a couple of acting roles in ITV's Heartbeat and BBC drama The Street. However he returned to stand-up in 2013