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Stuart Ashen
Ashen on the set of Ashens and the Quest for the Game Child (2013).
Personal information
Born	Stuart Clive Ashen (1976-12-16) 16 December 1976 (age 48) Norwich, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Education	Doctorate in Psychology
Occupation(s)	Actor, YouTube reviewer, Animator, etc.
Website	www.ashens.com
YouTube information
Also known as	Ashens, Dr. Ashen, Discount Simon Pegg
Channels	ashens extraashens
Genres	Comedy Technology Review
Subscribers	1.3 million+ (ashens) 312,000+ (extraashens) 104,000+ (Barshens)
Total views	409 million+ (ashens) 42 million+ (extraashens) 9.9 million+ (Barshens)
Associated acts	Barry Lewis, Daniel Hardcastle, Larry Bundy Jr.
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 2010 1,000,000 subscribers 2015
Template:Infobox person/Internet info
Last updated: 15 June 2018

Dr. Stuart Clive Ashen (born 16 December 1976), commonly known by his online alias Ashens (also in lowercase as ashens; /ˈæʃənz/ ASH-ənz), is a British comedian, critic, animator, actor, author and online reviewer of various products; his reviews usually include video games, toys and food. Starting such videos in his distinctive style on YouTube from 2006, the items he humourously reviews are often of low quality, or are poor knockoffs of well-received or well-known products, which he tends to endearingly refer to as "Template:Wikteng". As of 2025, his main YouTube channel has garnered over 1.3 million subscribers.

Early life and education

Ashen is from Heartsease Estate, Norwich and attended Heartsease High School. He previously worked for PC World and Norwich Union. He was born in Norwich. His mother passed away when he was eight years old.

Career

Ashen made his first television appearance on a 2008 episode of Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, where he played a cameo role as Mr. Noseybonk, a character from the 80's BBC children's show Jigsaw.

Ashen guest starred on The Armstrong & Miller Show for their "The Node" segment in October 2009.

In 2010, Ashen created the series Ashen's Tech Dump for BBC Online Comedy. In 2011, Ashens co-starred alongside Karen Hayley in another BBC Online Comedy series Back Space. The next year, he starred as himself in The Proxy, a sci-fi webseries produced by ChannelFlip in partnership with Dell Alienware. The series took eight days to film, consists of 10 episodes and won a Marketing Week "Engage Award" in the "Gaming and Entertainment" section.

Ashen released the book Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey on 23 September 2012; it parodies the popular erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. The title is literal, as the book simply consists of the phrase "Shades of Grey" repeated 50,000 times. A 25-part audiobook of the parody as recorded and released on YouTube.

In 2013, Ashen, along with Emma Blackery, Dan Howell (Daniel Howell) and Phil Lester (AmazingPhil), starred as a contestant in a remake of the 1980s TV show Knightmare during the YouTube Geek Week event.

As of July 2018, Ashen has produced over 710 videos, has over 1.3 million subscribers to his primary YouTube channel Ashens and over 352 million video views. His secondary channel, used mainly for DVD extra-style clips, along with an annual look with Daniel "NerdCubed" Hardcastle at a series of Advent calendars throughout December, has over 300,000 subscribers and over 37 million video views. In addition to his own channels he has also produced videos for other YouTube channels, which included "The Multiverse", a geek-themed channel controlled by ChannelFlip.

Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild

Ashen wrote and starred in Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild, a feature film released in August 2013, for YouTube's "Geek Week". The film also stars Warwick Davis and Robert Llewellyn, and was produced by the multi-channel network ChannelFlip, in association with The Multiverse. The film was partially paid for through crowdfunding website Indiegogo with contributions totalling US$73,690 at the end of the month, which comprised 41% of the US$180,000 budget. As of June 2016 it has been viewed over a million times on YouTube. A remastered and slightly extended edition of the movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 14 July 2014. On 2 July 2018, the full film was released on his YouTube channel. In 2016, Ashen confirmed a sequel to the movie at a fan screening. The sequel, Ashens and the Polybius Heist, is currently being crowdfunded.

Published works

In November 2015 Ashen released the book Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, a collection of textual reviews of poor retro games, released through the Unbound crowdfunding platform. The book reached its funding target in 12 hours.

On 24 February 2017 Ashen announced a sequel to Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, titled Attack of the Flickering Skeletons: More Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of, again through Unbound, was released on 2 November 2017.

Personal life

Ashen currently lives in his hometown of Norwich, United Kingdom. He has a doctorate in psychology, but claims to have never professionally worked as one. As of August 2017, he has a girlfriend.

He has maintained an active public Twitter presence for years, where he posts about various subjects ranging from his channel to personal thoughts.

Using his official account on a ] thread in the /r/ashens ], Ashen replied to a comment to "not trust ] for anything!", citing that "t used to claim I was a spokesman for the ].

Media

Bibliography

Filmography

Web series

Television

Film

References

2. ^ "About ashens". YouTube.
3. ^ Briscoe, Kim (12 November 2014). "YouTube success helped Stuart to realise his film-making dream". Norwich Evening News. Archant. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. ^ Kate, Laura (19 May 2012). "Interview with Stuart Ashens". MCM Buzz. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. ^ McGuinness, Ross (2 August 2013). "The Knightmare begins again as YouTube launches its own Geek Week". Metro. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. Ashen, Stuart (18 December 2013). "Sorry to hear that man. My mother died of cancer when I was 8, one of the reasons I'm supporting the charity now". Twitter. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
7. Nick Akerman (31 May 2009). "Stuart Ashen Interview – feature at Thunderbolt". Thunderboltgames.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
8. Thair, David (17 September 2010). "Comedy Blog: Ashens returns to the Tech Dump". BBC. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. "BBC – Back Space". 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. "ChannelFlip makes 10-part sci-fi series with IT giant Dell". Televisual.com. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
11. "Engage Awards: The magnificent winners". Marketing Week. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
12. "Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey by SC Ashen". Fifty Shades of Grey Parodies. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
13. Oren Bailey, "Fifty-Thousand Shades of Grey" Audiobook (Part 1 of 25), retrieved 23 December 2018
14. Edwards, Luke (9 August 2013). "10 amazing YouTube Geek Week videos you can't afford to miss". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
15. Woollaston, Victoria (24 July 2013). "Knightmare returns on YouTube: Google films one-off special of cult children's TV show". The Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
16. Dredge, Stuart (5 August 2013). "Knightmare remake launches for YouTube Geek Week – watch it here". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
17. "Ashens about page". YouTube. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
18. "ExtraAshens about page". YouTube. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
19. ^ "YouTube Geek Week movie premiere online". SFX. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
20. Collins, Katie (25 July 2013). "In depth: 90s gameshow Knightmare reborn for YouTube, may spawn new TV series (Wired UK)". Wired. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
21. "Interview with Robert Llewellyn". WUWO Magazine. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
22. "Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild". Sci-fi London. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
23. "Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild". Indiegogo. 7 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
24. "Stuart Ashen Announces GameChild 2 at Fan Screening". Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
25. Ashen, Stuart. "Ashens and the Polybius Heist". Indiegogo. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
26. Perryman, Francesca (30 November 2015). "YouTuber Stuart Ashen comes to Waterstones in Reading PLUS win a signed copy of his new book". Get Reading. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
27. Page, Jemma (1 December 2015). "YouTube star Stuart Ashen to sign copies of debut book in Nottingham". Nottingham Post. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
28. Ashen, Stuart. "Attack of the Flickering Skeletons More Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of by Stuart Ashen". Unbound. Unbound.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
29. "r/IAmA - I am Stuart Ashen AKA "Ashens", YouTube comedian. AMA". reddit. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
30. Ashen, Stuart (21 August 2017). "My girlfriend has now spent so much time on the phone to them that we'll need to rent some supercomputer cycles to add up the total". Twitter. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
31. "Stuart Ashen (@ashens) | Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
32. "r/Ashens - Is ashens a doctor?". reddit. Retrieved 23 December 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Stuart Ashen at IMDb

• 1976 births
• 21st-century English male actors
• British Internet celebrities
• English male comedians
• Living people
• People from Norwich
• YouTube channels
• English YouTubers
• English critics
• 21st-century British comedians
• British writers
• English animators