Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian,

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

panellist,

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

, comedy

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, radio dramatist,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and actor.

Early life and education

Hamilton was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, West London. He was educated at Westminster City School which was then a

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

and later read English at

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES).

Career

Hamilton first came to notice while performing at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in the 1970s. In the mid-1970s he sustained himself by taking jobs at

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

and the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

before joining the BBC in 1976. His early radio work, mostly on BBC Radio 4, included '' Week Ending'', '' The News Huddlines'' and '' The Million Pound Radio Show'' (with Nick Revell). He has since appeared regularly in '' Chelmsford 123'', '' Have I Got News for You'', '' The News Quiz'', '' QI'', and '' If I Ruled the World''. Hamilton is frequently invited as a panellist on '' The News Quiz'' and as a guest panellist on ''

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by the host. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody of ...

''. On television, he has been a regular contributor to a range of comedy programmes, and co-created '' The Kit Curran Radio Show'', '' Drop the Dead Donkey'', and '' Outnumbered'' with Guy Jenkin. He is the voice of Dr Elephant, the dentist in the animation series ''

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthro ...

''. He was also the original voice of Bob Fish, who is also a dentist, in the cartoon '' Bob and Margaret''. Hamilton is also the voice of Captain Squid, the pirate in the children's show '' Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom''. On 16 March 2007, he co-presented

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'' programme alongside usual presenter

Martha Kearney Martha Catherine Kearney (born 8 October 1957) is a British-Irish journalist and broadcaster. She was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's lunchtime news programme '' The World at One'' for 11 years. In April 2018, Kearney joined the presenting ...

as part of that day's

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

fundraising activities, after defeating

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...

and

Kelvin MacKenzie Kelvin Calder MacKenzie (born 22 October 1946) is an English News media, media executive and a former newspaper editor. He became editor of ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun'' in 1981, by which time the publication had been established as Br ...

in a poll. Since 1995, Hamilton has written and played the lead role of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

in the Radio 4 sitcom ''

Old Harry's Game ''Old Harry's Game'' is a British radio comedy written and directed by Andy Hamilton, who stars as the cynical, world-weary Satan. "Old Harry" is one of many names for the Devil. The show's title is a play on that of the 1982 television series ...

''. He toured with his UK stand-up show ''Hat of Doom'' in 2008. In 2009, Hamilton presented the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

series '' It's Only a Theory'' with

Reginald D. Hunter Reginald Darnell Hunter (born March 26, 1969) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian based in the United Kingdom. Early life Reginald Darnell Hunter was born on March 26, 1969, in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, the youngest of nine.Ma ...

. BBC Radio 4 broadcast two four-part series of ''Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers'', in 2017 and 2018. Series 1 comprised the topics of childhood, politics, the human body, and animals, based on his own personal experiences of them.

Personal life

He has no thumb on his right hand. He joked that it was amputated when he was five "by a surgeon who felt that symmetry was over-rated" to the audience of ''Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers'' on Radio 4 in October 2017.'' Drop the Dead Donkey'' Series 1 DVD He married Libby Asher in 1988, and they have three children. He is a supporter of

Chelsea Football Club Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...

Writing

Hamilton has written for:

Television

*''

Not the Nine O'Clock News ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' is a British television sketch comedy show that was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the '' Nine O'Clock News'' on BBC1, the show features satirical ...

'' (1979) *'' The Dawson Watch'' (1979–1980) *'' Shelley'' (1979) *'' Scotch and Wry'' (1980) *'' Who Dares Wins'' (1983) *'' Alas Smith & Jones'' (1984) *'' The Kit Curran Radio Show'' (1984) *'' Kit Curran'' (1986; with Guy Jenkin) *'' Scotch & Wry'' (1986) *'' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990; co-creator with Guy Jenkin) *''Eleven Men Against Eleven'' (1995) *'' Never Mind the Horrocks'' (1996) *''Underworld'' (1997) *'' Bob and Margaret'' (1998–2000) *'' Bedtime'' (2001–2003) *''The Exam'' (2002; for the National Theatre Connections Anthology) *''

Trevor's World of Sport ''Trevor's World of Sport'' began as a 2003 BBC television sitcom written and directed by Andy Hamilton and starring Neil Pearson as Trevor. One series of the television series was made, followed by three series which were aired on BBC Radio 4, ...

'' (2003) *'' The Armstrong and Miller Show'' (2007) *'' Outnumbered'' (2007–2014; co-written with Guy Jenkin) *''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'' *'' It's Only a Theory'' (2009) *''Just Around The Corner'' (2012; Pilot only; co-written with Guy Jenkin) *'' Ballot Monkeys'' (2015) *'' Power Monkeys'' (2016) *'' Kate & Koji'' (2020–2022; co-written with Guy Jenkin)

Radio

*'' The Million Pound Radio Show'' (with Nick Revell) *'' The News Huddlines'' *''

'' (creator, in which he also stars as

) *''

'' (radio version broadcast years: 2004, 2005 and 2007) *'' Revolting People'' (co-creator with

Jay Tarses Michael Jay Tarses (born July 3, 1939) is an American screenwriter, producer and actor. He created and produced ''The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' and ''The Slap Maxwell Story'', co-created Buffalo Bill (TV series), ''Buffalo Bill'' (with To ...

, in which he also stars as Sergeant McGurk) *'' Week Ending'' *''Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers'' (2017)

Film

*'' What We Did on Our Holiday'' (2014)

Books

*''The Thatcher Papers'' ( New English Library, 1980) (with Alistair Beaton) * *"The Star Witness" ( nbound Publishers , 2016), "Like its author, this book is funny, poignant and too short" - Jack Dee

References

External links

Andy Hamilton
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* *
Andy Hamilton Biography at bbc.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Andy 1954 births Living people 20th-century English comedians 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British screenwriters 21st-century English comedians 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English screenwriters Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge British male television writers Comedians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham English comedy writers English male comedians English male screenwriters English male television actors English male voice actors English radio personalities English radio writers English stand-up comedians English television directors English television personalities English television writers Male actors from London People educated at Westminster City School Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Fulham