David's first brush with comedy was in 1982 when he wrote and performed in the sixth form revue at The Haberdashers Aske School Elsetree, which nearly got him expelled.

At Cambridge, where he graduated from King's College with a double-first in English Literature, he was vice president of the Footlights. On leaving, he performed stand-up on the London circuit while working on a PhD entitled 'Seductive Innocence: The Little Girl in Victorian Sexuality'.

Next he started performing stand-up routines on the London comedy circuit where he befriended Rob Newman. The pair then began writing sketches for Weekending on BBC Radio Four. This led to TV fame for the both of them with The Mary Whitehouse Experience.

David Baddiel met Frank Skinner in 1990 at Jongleurs comedy club in London. They shared a flat in Hampstead for several years and starred together in the very successful Fantasy Football League. This led to them joining forces with The Lightning Seeds to record Three Lions for Euro 96 which reached No. 1 in the charts. The song was re-released in 1998. Dave and Frank starred on TV together once again in Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned on ITV. In 2001, he wrote and appeared in his own sitcom Baddiel's Syndrome on Sky One.