Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and statistician. His comedy largely deals in political and sport-related material. He has worked with

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...

, with their work together including '' Political Animal'', ''

The Department ''The Department'' is a satirical comedy on BBC Radio 4 about a secret organisation with the power to influence every aspect of your life. The show is written and performed by Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman (cancelled after ...

'' and '' The Bugle''. Since 2016 he has been a

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

's '' Test Match Special'' cricket commentaries, and since 2020 the presenter of Radio 4's '' The News Quiz''. On television, in 2024, he won the eighteenth series of '' Taskmaster'' against Babatunde Aléshé, Emma Sidi, Jack Dee, and Rosie Jones.

Early life

Born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, west London, Zaltzman is of Lithuanian-Jewish ancestry. He is the son of South African sculptor Zack Zaltzman and is the older brother of Helen Zaltzman, of ''The Allusionist'' and '' Answer Me This!'' podcasts. From his prep school, Holmewood House School in Langton Green, Kent, he then attended the private

Tonbridge School Tonbridge School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for boys aged 13–18) in Tonbridge, Kent, England, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde (sometimes spelt Judd). It is a member of the Eton Group and has clo ...

. He studied

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. While at university, Zaltzman was sports editor for '' The Oxford Student''.

Career

Stand-up

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Zaltzman first performed 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 1999, when he was a finalist in the prestigious So You Think You're Funny new act competition along with Josie Long, Russell Howard and David O'Doherty. His debut full-length Edinburgh Fringe show ''Andy Zaltzman versus the Dog of Doom'' received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Perrier Comedy Awards in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. At the 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Zaltzman began – initially with John Oliver – hosting '' Political Animal'', a stand-up show in which different acts perform political-themed material; Zaltzman has hosted solo since

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. ''Political Animal'' later transferred to

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 ...

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Zaltzman performed at the

Melbourne International Comedy Festival The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...

for the first time in April 2007, winning the coveted '' Piece of Wood Award'', given to the best show as voted for by other comedians.

Other stand-up

In 2011 Zaltzman appeared as a guest stand-up comic on '' Russell Howard's Good News Extra''. In 2013 he also contributed a review of that year's World Snooker Championship to BBC Television's regular coverage of the event. Since mid-2014 Zaltzman has toured ''Satirist for Hire'', where questions and comments are solicited from potential or confirmed audiences (usually via email or social media) before performing at venues, giving parts of the show a constantly evolving order and structure. In December 2014, Zaltzman performed at the Lord's Taverners charity Christmas lunch.

Radio, podcast and TV

''The Department''

Zaltzman and John Oliver gained their first big break when they teamed up with Chris Addison on ''The Department'', a short-running radio show based on the premise that Chris, Andy and John, were a three-man organisation brainstorming to solve society's problems.

''The Bugle''

Zaltzman has co-hosted ''The Bugle'', a weekly

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

comedy

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, since 2007. From October 2007 until June 2016, the podcast was hosted by Zaltzman with

. In June 2016, Oliver left the show because of other commitments. The show was officially relaunched on 24 October 2016. Producer Chris Skinner remained on the show along with Zaltzman and a rotating group of co-hosts. The first set of new co-hosts included

Wyatt Cenac Wyatt John Foster Cenac Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He was a correspondent and writer for ''The Daily Show'' from 2008 to 2012. He starred in the TBS series '' People of Earth'' and in Bar ...

(US),

Hari Kondabolu Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu (born October 21, 1982)Beem, p. 38 is an American stand-up comedian and writer. His comedy covers subjects such as race, inequity, and Indian stereotypes. He was a writer for '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' and ...

(US), Tiff Stevenson (UK),

Nish Kumar Nishant Kumar (born 1985) is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter and podcaster. He became known as the host of ''The Mash Report'' on BBC Two and U&Dave, Dave. He has also presented ''Newsjack'' on BBC Radio 4 Extra, ''Joel Domme ...

(UK), Alice Fraser (Australia),

Anuvab Pal Anuvab Pal (born 27 April 1976) is an Indian stand up comedian, screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He is occasionally featured as a rotating co-host on season 4 of the podcast ''The Bugle''. Career Pal co-wrote the 2007 Indian comedy ''L ...

(India),

Tom Ballard Thomas Ballard (1630–1689) was a colonial Virginia landowner and politician. Thomas or Tom Ballard may also refer to: * Thomas Ballard Jr. (1654–1710), member of the Virginia House of Burgesses * Thomas Ballard (MP for Coventry), member of P ...

(Australia) and Helen Zaltzman (UK). ''The Bugle'' was hosted by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' until December 2011 and the podcast has since been independent, relying upon listeners' contributions to continue. In 2016 the podcast relaunched and became a member of the

Radiotopia Radiotopia is a podcast network founded by Roman Mars (host of '' 99% Invisible'') and run by the Public Radio Exchange. The network is organized as a collective of some two dozen shows whose producers have complete artistic control over their wo ...

podcast network. In December 2018 it was announced that ''The Bugle'' would be leaving Radiotopia.

Other radio, podcast and TV

In July 2009 Zaltzman hosted a Saturday morning show on

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...

entitled ''Yes, It's The Ashes'', taking a comic look at the

2009 Ashes The 2009 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia, and was part of the Australian cricket tour of England in 2009. Starting on 8 July 2009, England and Australia played fi ...

. Zaltzman presented his own four-part

programme in December 2009 entitled ''Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100''. Also featuring Rory Bremner and Bridget Christie, the show contained stand-up and sketches focusing on the last 10 years. Zaltzman was a regular co-host, along with comedians

Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian. After graduating from the University of Oxford, Murray's comedy career began by working with Harry Hill for BBC Radio 4. He regularly performed at the Edinburgh Festival Frin ...

and

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

, of the satirical news programme ''

7 Day Sunday ''7 Day Sunday'' (''7 Day Saturday'' in 2013) is a British radio comedy, comedy radio talk radio, talk show hosted by Al Murray on BBC Radio 5 Live. Broadcast weekly on Sunday mornings, the show takes an irreverent look at the topical news storie ...

'' (also broadcast as ''7 Day Saturday''). The show had been running on BBC Radio 5 Live since starting in January 2010. Zaltzman is also an occasional guest on the online cricket radio commentary station ''

Test Match Sofa ''Test Match Sofa'' was a radio programme providing cricket commentary for all England test matches and selected One Day Internationals. The programme was available worldwide, and broadcast on the Sports Tonight Live channel serving as alternative ...

'' and on

Talksport Talksport (styled as talkSPORT) is a sports radio station in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned by News Broadcasting. Its content includes live coverage of sporting events, interviews with the leading names in sport and entertai ...

's cricket show ''Howzat''. More recently he has appeared on ''Test Match Sofas successo
www.guerillacricket.com
and was an occasional member of the team when they broadcast the programme from a central London sports bar for the 2015 Ashes. He has appeared on ''

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' is an Australian news satire series on the ABC. The series premiered on Wednesday, 22 April 2015, featuring Charlie Pickering as host with Tom Gleeson, Adam Briggs and Judith Lucy in the cast who joined ...

'' on

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

in Australia since 2015. In 2016 Zaltzman became the scorer for '' Test Match Special'' on

on the Sri Lankan tour of England. From 10 June 2016, he hosted ''Zaltzman's Summer of Sport'' podcast published by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. From 17 November 2017, he co-hosted ''The Urnbelievable Ashes'' with

Felicity Ward Felicity Ward is an Australian comedian and actress, best known for her TV appearances on '' Spicks and Specks'', ''Thank God You're Here'', ''Good News Week'' and as a writer/performer in the Channel 10 Network television programme '' The Ronn ...

, a podcast published by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. In 2017 he wrote and performed a three-part series on ancient philosophy including

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...

Epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious s ...

and Cynicism for

. In 2018, along with comedian and occasional ''The Bugle'' co-host

, he wrote and performed in ''Empire-ical Evidence'', a look at the rise and fall of the British Empire produced for

. Having hosted one of three series of '' The News Quiz'', sharing duties with

Angela Barnes Angela Barnes (born 9 November 1976) is an English stand-up comedian, mostly known for her appearances on ''Mock the Week''. Early life and education Barnes was born in Sidcup, London and brought up in Maidstone, Kent. She was educated at I ...

and

in 2020. Zaltzman has been the permanent chair since 2021, with the exception of 2024 where he shared hosting duties with comics including Geoff Norcott due to cricket broadcasting duties. On 5 January 2024 Zaltzman was the winner of BBC's ''

Celebrity Mastermind ''Celebrity Mastermind'' is a celebrity version of ''Mastermind'', a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. ''Celebrity Mastermind'' began in 2002 as a one-off special hosted by Magnus Magnusson, the original host of the main ...

'' with a specialist subject of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. In November 2024 Zaltzman won the eighteenth series of '' Taskmaster'', beating Babatunde Aléshé, Emma Sidi, Jack Dee and

Rosie Jones Rosie Luisa Jones (born 24 June 1990) is a British comedian, writer and actress. After starting her career as a writer on panel shows, she went on to appear as a guest on '' The Last Leg'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdo ...

Writing

Zaltzman has worked with

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

on a number of projects; these include ''Transatlantic'', a US election special for

, and several series of '' Bremner, Bird and Fortune''. In June 2007,

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

's ''

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, th ...

'' commissioned Zaltzman and John Oliver to write a mock farewell speech for departing Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

. The speech was then animated by Triffic Films, with the voice of Blair played by Bremner. In November 2008 his first book, entitled ''Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched'', was published.

Video games

Zaltzman played the host of ''The Bug'' podcast in 2020's '' Watch Dogs: Legion'', alongside his ''Bugle'' co-host Alice Fraser. The show is highly satirical and takes direct inspiration from ''The Bugle'' in its approach and delivery.

Cricket

Zaltzman is a huge fan of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and in November 2008 began a regular blog for

Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a Sports journalism, sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including Liveblogging, liveblogs and sco ...

, named "The Confectionery Stall" after a famous piece of commentary by

Richie Benaud Richard Benaud (; 6 October 1930 – 10 April 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales and Australia national cricket team, Australia. Following his retirement from international cricket in ...

, where he described a shot by

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one of ...

during his innings at the third

Ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...

Test Match at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

, in 1981 as having "gone straight into the Confectionery Stall and out again". Alongside Jarrod Kimber, he hosts a podcast on cricket known as ''The Cricket Sadist Hour''. Zaltzman's blog covered the 2011 World Cup for Cricinfo, supported by a number of podcasts. Zaltzman has also appeared on the internet radio site Guerilla Cricket, and has played for the Authors XI cricket team. Zaltzman was the statistician on Test Match Special for the three-match

Wisden Trophy The Wisden Trophy was awarded to the winner of the Test cricket series played between England cricket team, England and the West Indies cricket team, West Indies. It was first awarded in 1963 to commemorate the hundredth edition of Wisden Crick ...

series between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in July 2020 and between England and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

a month later. Whilst travelling to cover England's tour of Pakistan for Test Match Special in October 2024 he travelled with equipment for England wicket keeper Jamie Smith whose wicket keeping pads had not arrived in time for him before travelling.

Personal life

Zaltzman's wife is a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and they have two children, a daughter born in January 2007 and a son born in December 2008. Zaltzman delivered his son at home when his wife went into labour suddenly. His sister Helen Zaltzman is a comedian and podcaster. He has played club cricket for Penshurst Park Cricket Club near

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

in Kent.

Works

* ''Does Anything Eat Bankers?: And 53 Other Indispensable Questions for the Credit Crunched.'' Old Street Publishing, 2008.

References

External links

Official siteAndy Zaltzman on Chortle
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaltzman, Andy 1974 births Living people Alumni of University College, Oxford British stand-up comedians Comedians from Kent Comedians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Cricket statisticians English male comedians English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent English people of South African-Jewish descent English podcasters Jewish English comedians People educated at Holmewood House School People educated at Tonbridge School People from Hammersmith People from Royal Tunbridge Wells 21st-century British comedians 20th-century English Jews 21st-century English Jews