[6] In his Lee Nelson stand-up routine, Brodkin's character typically interacts with his audience, telling them about his life, asking them questions, then replying with responses that reflect his world view, his own ignorance or his own stereotypically antisocial attitudes.
[9] Brodkin began appearing on television in 2003, in a series of shorts entitled From Baghdad To Balham on Channel 4, playing a recently arrived Iraqi asylum seeker, and twice on Absolutely Fabulous on BBC One.
In 2011, Brodkin appeared as Lee Nelson in 28 January episode of ITV's Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford and in Heat 3 of Let's Dance for Comic Relief on BBC One.
Also in 2011, on 11 November, he appeared as Lee Nelson in BBC One's Live at the Apollo Series seven, episode two, alongside Sean Lock and Ed Byrne.
In 2012, Brodkin returned as Nelson on the judging panel in Heat 4 of Let's Dance for Sport Relief on BBC One, along with Russell Kane and Jo Brand.
On 16 March 2013, Brodkin, in character as Jason Bent, ran onto the pitch at Goodison Park and attempted to warm up with the Manchester City team ahead of their Premier League match with Everton.
[15] In 2014, dressed as Jason Bent in a smart suit, he briefly mixed in with the England World Cup squad at Luton Airport before being removed by police.
[16] On 20 July 2015, Brodkin gatecrashed a press conference at the headquarters of the football governing body FIFA in Zürich, Switzerland amidst the organisation's corruption scandal.
[19] In January 2016, Brodkin auditioned on Britain's Got Talent, dressed as a rabbi, and pretended to be an awful rapper named Steven Goldblatt, as a way to prove his opinion that untalented acts do well on the show.
He was selected for a Judge's Audition at the Dominion Theatre in London, where he performed a rap about Britain named "Red, White and Blue".
[21] On 4 October 2017, Brodkin interrupted Prime Minister Theresa May's speech to the Conservative Party conference, handing her a mocked-up P45 form (given in the UK when a person's employment is terminated) and telling her "Boris asked me to give this to you", at a time when it was much speculated that Boris Johnson, then Foreign Secretary, might seek to replace May as Conservative Party leader (as he later did).
[23] In November 2012, during a signing at HMV on Oxford Street in London, Brodkin performed a prank as Nelson in which he "stole" his own DVD and was chased by an actor dressed as a policeman.
[24] Brodkin said "[West had] interrupted Taylor Swift at an awards ceremony, saying Beyoncé should have won, so I thought it was legitimate", and that he was disappointed Kanye didn't enter into the spirit.