Benjamin Charles Elton is a British comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. One of the major figures in the

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

movement of the 1980s, his early stand-up style was

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political satire Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...

. He co-wrote the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'', ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitcoms - ''The Black Adder'', ''Blackadder II'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' - plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 19 ...

'' and '' Mr. Bean'', and was the sole writer for other sitcoms such as '' Filthy Rich & Catflap'', '' The Thin Blue Line'' and '' Upstart Crow''. He has published many novels in

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

n, comedy, and

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

genres, as well as written the musicals '' The Beautiful Game'' (2000), ''

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1977 album '' News of the World'', written by guitarist Brian May. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA it p ...

'' (2002), '' Tonight's the Night'' (2003), and '' Love Never Dies'' (2010).

Early life and education

Benjamin Charles Elton was born at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia ( ) is a district of central London, England, near the West End. Its eastern part is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urbanised in ...

, London, the son of Mary (née Foster), an English teacher from

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, and physicist and educational researcher Lewis Elton. He is a nephew of the historian Sir Geoffrey Elton and a third cousin of singer

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

. Elton's father is from a

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

family and Elton's mother, who was raised in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, is of British background. Elton grew up in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

, before moving with his family to

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

, Surrey in 1968, where he became involved in

amateur dramatics Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

groups. Reflecting on those times at an event in Guildford in 2013, Elton said: Raised in a loving non-religious home, he is an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Elton studied at Stillness Junior School and Godalming Grammar School in Surrey, before leaving home at age 16 to study theatre at South Warwickshire College in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

, where he took and passed

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

in English, History and Theatre Studies. In 1977 he went to study drama at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, where he met Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, and in 1980 he graduated with upper second-class honours.

Work

Television

Upon university graduation in 1980, Elton joined the BBC and became their youngest ever scriptwriter. His first television appearance came in 1981 as a stand-up performer on the BBC1 youth and music programme '' Oxford Road Show''. His first TV success, at 23, came as co-writer of the television sitcom '' The Young Ones'', in which he occasionally appeared. In 1983/84 he wrote and appeared in

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

's sketch show '' Alfresco'', which was also notable for early appearances by

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

and

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

. In 1985, Elton produced his first solo script for the BBC with his comedy-drama series '' Happy Families'', starring

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer, and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School ...

and

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

. Elton appeared in the fifth episode as a liberal prison governor. Shortly afterwards, he reunited Rik Mayall and Edmondson with their ''Young Ones'' co-star

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, writer and musician. His television credits include playing Neil in the sitcom '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in the sitcom '' Filthy Rich & Catflap'', as well as narrating th ...

for the showbiz send-up sitcom '' Filthy, Rich & Catflap''. In 1985 Elton began his writing partnership with

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

. Together they wrote '' Blackadder II'', '' Blackadder the Third'', ''

Blackadder Goes Forth ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' is the fourth series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One, BBC1. The series placed the recurring characters of Captain B ...

'', and a failed sitcom pilot for Madness. ''

'', starring Rowan Atkinson, was a worldwide hit, winning four

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

s and an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

. Elton and Curtis were inspired to write ''

'' upon finding

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to be apt for a situation comedy. This series, which dealt with greater, darker themes than prior ''Blackadder'' episodes, was praised for Curtis's and Elton's scripts, in particular the final episode. Before writing the series, the pair read about the war and found that: Elton and Curtis also wrote Atkinson's 1986 stage show ''The New Revue'', and Mr. Bean's "exam" episode. Elton became a stand-up comedian primarily to showcase his own writing, but became one of Britain's biggest live comedy acts. After a regular slot on '' Saturday Live'' – later moved and renamed ''Friday Night Live '' – which was seen as a UK version of the US's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', he became the host of the programme. In 1990 he starred in his own stand-up comedy and sketch series, '' Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie'', which had a second series in 1994. (The title plays on '' The Man from UNCLE'': "Auntie" is a nickname for the BBC.) In 1989 Elton won the Royal Television Society Writers' Award. '' The Ben Elton Show'' (1998) followed a format similar to ''The Man from Auntie'' and featured Ronnie Corbett, a comedian of the old guard that the " alternative comedians" of the 1980s were the direct alternative to, as a regular guest. It was Elton's last high-profile network programme in the UK as a stand-up comedian. Elton wrote the six-part sitcom '' Blessed'', starring

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in ''My Hero (British TV series), My Hero'' (2000–2006), and DI Jack Moone ...

as a record producer, first broadcast on BBC1 in 2005. No further series was commissioned. In April 2007, ''

Get a Grip ''Get a Grip'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released in April 1993 by Geffen Records. ''Get a Grip'' was the band's last studio album to be released by Geffen before they returned to Columbia Records. ''Get a ...

'', a new show, began on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

. Featuring comic sketches similar to those on ''The Ben Elton Show'' and staged studio discussion between Elton and 23-year-old

Alexa Chung Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is an English model and television personality. Chung pursued a modelling career as a teenager after being scouted by a modelling agency at the Reading Festival. She has walked for brands such as Vivienne Westw ...

, the show's aim was to "contrast Elton's middle-aged viewpoint with Chung's younger perspective" (although Elton was responsible for the scripts). In '' Third Way Magazine'', Elton accused the BBC of allowing jokes about

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

s but not

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

s. "And I believe that part of it is due to the genuine fear that the authorities and the communities have about provoking the radical elements of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

". On 10 October 2010, Elton headlined the first episode of '' Dave's One Night Stand''. Elton worked on '' Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth'', a

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

one-hour comedy show which debuted on 8 February 2011 on the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

in Australia. Live from Planet Earth was axed by the Nine Network on Wednesday 23 February 2011 after three episodes, despite having six commissioned. The show's final airing rated 200,000 viewers. In 2016 Elton wrote the sitcom '' Upstart Crow'', parodying the writing and family life of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and starring David Mitchell as Shakespeare. This programme ran for a second series in 2017, and a third series in 2018. A Christmas Special was aired on 21 December 2020. In June 2023, Elton presented ''Ben Elton: The Great Railway Disaster'', a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

documentary about rail privatisation.

As writer and producer

Elton wrote and produced '' The Thin Blue Line'', a studio-based sitcom set in a police station, also starring Rowan Atkinson, which ran for two series in 1995 and 1996. A prime-time family show, its traditional format and characters won it the 1995 British Comedy Award and both the public and professional Jury Awards at Reims. In 2012 a new sitcom for BBC1 was commissioned, written and produced by Elton starring David Haig. Filming for a full six-part series of the sitcom '' The Wright Way'' (formerly known as ''Slings and Arrows'') was completed in late February 2013. It debuted in April 2013 to negative reviews. ''Friday Night Live'' Elton returned to live British television on Channel 4 on 21 October 2022 as "Ringmaster"/host of a revival of ''Friday Night Live'', celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of Channel 4 and as part of their ''Truth and Dare'' season. Speaking to

Adrian Chiles Adrian Chiles (born 21 March 1967) is a British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–2011) with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for fo ...

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 ...

on broadcast day, Elton readily admitted that because of the fluid UK political situation, "I honestly haven't written the first five minutes yet!"

Radio

Elton starred with

in a sitcom based on the song " Teenage Kicks" for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

. A television version of '' Teenage Kicks'' for ITV has been made; Elton appeared in the pilot but was replaced by Mark Arden when it went to series production.

Novels

* '' Stark'' (1989) * ''

Gridlock Gridlock is a form of traffic congestion where continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill. The term originates from a situation possible in a grid ...

'' (1991) * '' This Other Eden'' (1993) * ''

Popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

'' (1996) * '' Blast from the Past'' (1998) * '' Inconceivable'' (1999) * '' Dead Famous'' (2001) * ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

'' (2002) * ''

Past Mortem ''Past Mortem'' is a detective fiction, detective novel by Ben Elton first published in 2004 in literature, 2004. It is about a serial killer on the loose in England, mainly in the London area, and Scotland Yard's attempts at tracking him or he ...

'' (2004) * '' The First Casualty'' (2005) * ''

Chart Throb ''Chart Throb'' is a 2006 novel by Ben Elton. It was released in hardback on 6 November 2006 in the UK, and 9 January 2007 in the US. It is a satire of ''The X Factor (UK), The X Factor''/''Pop Idol''-style reality TV programmes. Plot summary T ...

'' (2006) * ''

Blind Faith Blind Faith were an English rock supergroup that consisted of Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They followed the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton and Baker's former group Cream and ...

'' (2007) * ''Meltdown'' (2010) * ''Two Brothers'' (2012) * '' Time and Time Again'' (2014) * ''

Identity Crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage in Erik Erikson's theory of personality development. This stage happens during adolescence. It is a period of deep reflection and examination of various perspectives on oneself. The Erikson's stages of ps ...

'' (2019)

Films

Elton appeared in amateur dramatic productions as a youth, notably as

The Artful Dodger ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''Th ...

in the musical '' Oliver!'' While in bit parts in his own TV series, he began professional film acting as CD in '' Stark'', the Australian/BBC TV series adaptation of his novel, in 1993. This was directed by Nadia Tass and filmed in Australia. Elton played Verges in

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

's film adaptation of

's ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', also in 1993.

Behind the camera

Elton wrote and directed the film adaptation of his novel ''Inconceivable'', under the title '' Maybe Baby'' (2000) starring

and Joely Richardson. It was a moderate UK success and distributed globally. The film was also nominated for a prize at Germany's Emden Film Festival. In 2015, Elton wrote a song for

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...

for the Wiggle Town DVD and CD: ''The Wonder of Wiggle Town''. In September 2016, filming began in Western Australia on ''

Three Summers ''Three Summers'' is an Australian romantic comedy film, written and directed by Ben Elton. It was filmed and is set in Western Australia, at a fictional summer music festival called 'Westival' (based on the real-life Fairbridge Festival). Over ...

'', a romantic comedy film written and directed by Elton, which was released in 2017. Elton wrote '' All is True'', released 2018, a speculative story of

's years in

after his retirement from the theatre and move from London. Along with the filmcraft and acting, returning collaboration with

, ''All is True'' shows Elton giving a more serious and biographical perspective to some of the same characters who appear in '' Upstart Crow''.

Musicals

Elton collaborated with

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

on '' The Beautiful Game'' in 2000, writing the book and lyrics (Lloyd Webber wrote the music). ''The Beautiful Game'' won the London Critics Circle Award for best new musical. He went on to write compilation shows featuring popular songs from the catalogues of pop/rock artists. The first was the musical ''

'' with music by

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. Despite unfavourable early reaction, this was successful in the West End and won the 2003 Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best New Musical. It has since opened in the US, Australia, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Germany,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, Sweden, Canada, and The

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Elton also directed the 10th Anniversary Arena tour, in 2013. The musical ran for 12 years in London. The character of Pop was originally played by Elton's '' The Young Ones'', co-star,

. His second compilation musical was '' Tonight's the Night'', based on the songs of

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

, which opened in London's West End in November 2003. Elton worked with

on the musical '' Love Never Dies'', which opened in London's West End in 2010. It was the sequel to Lloyd Webber's '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (1986). Elton directed a new 20th anniversary tour of ''

'', that opened in February 2022 and visited over 25 cities in the United Kingdom. He will also make his theatre debut as the Rebel Leader (previously known as Pop) in a production of the show in 2023 at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

from 2 June to 27 August. The 3 main cast members from the touring production will also be starring. Elton wrote and directed '' Twiggy The Musical'', a jukebox musical based on the life of '' Twiggy,'' which had its world premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London in September 2023 (originally titled ''Close-Up: The Twiggy Musical'') and will tour the UK from September 2025.

Stage

Elton has written five West End plays. * ''Gasping'' (1990) was first performed at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

, London. It starred

and featured the voice of

. * ''Silly Cow'' (1991) again at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London. It was written for and starred

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

. * ''Popcorn'' (1996) was adapted for the stage and went on a UK tour. It also toured Australia in a production starring Marcus Graham and Nadine Garner in its Eastern-States seasons. ''Popcorn'' won the TMA Barclays Theatre Award for new play and the Olivier Award for comedy. The Paris production of ''Popcorn'' ran for a year and was nominated for seven Molière awards. * ''Blast From the Past'' (1998) was also adapted for the stage and was produced at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. * ''

The Upstart Crow ''The Upstart Crow'' is a stage play by Ben Elton developed from his BBC TV sitcom ''Upstart Crow''. Production history The play, directed by Sean Foley (director), Sean Foley, began previews at the Gielgud Theatre in West End theatre, London' ...

'', like the TV series '' Upstart Crow'', a comic version of

's life and society, and sharing some of the same actors and characters, opened in London on 7 February 2020. Starring David Mitchell as Shakespeare and Gemma Whelan as Kate, the play was intended to run until 25 April 2020, but only ran up to mid-March, with the remainder cancelled as a result of restrictions put in place due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The play reopened in the West End at the Apollo Theatre for a ten-week season from 23 September until 3 December 2022.

Stand-up comedy

In 1981 Elton was hired by The Comedy Store in London as compère. He made two albums of comedy, ''Motormouth'' (1987) and ''Motorvation'' (1988). In 2005 Elton toured for the first time since 1997, touring the UK with ''Get a Grip''. He toured Australia and New Zealand with the same show in 2006. In September 2019, Elton embarked on a three-month UK stand-up tour, his first tour since 2005. The New Zealand leg of the tour was interrupted in February 2020 by the

. He resumed it over a year later once trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel was launched. In 2022, his sell-out UK stand-up final show was held at the Palace Theatre Southend. It was filmed for broadcast on free to air,

. His stand up tour "Authentic Stupidity" toured the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 2024 and 2025, touching on themes of AI and generational shifts.

Recognition and awards

Personal honours

Elton received an honorary doctorate in 2004 from the

. In 2007 he was awarded an Honorary Rose for lifetime achievement at the Rose d'Or festival, and was also made a Companion of the

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cul ...

, in recognition of his work with students. In September 2016, Elton was bestowed with a Doctor of Arts ''honoris causa'' by

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. In June 2023 he was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM), for "significant service to the entertainment industry as a comedian, actor, writer and director".

Awards for works

Elton has won three

s for Best Comedy Series, for ''The Young Ones'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth''. ''Popcorn'' and ''We Will Rock You'' each won an Olivier Award and ''The Beautiful Game'' was awarded the Best Musical at the Critics' Circle Awards. ''The Man From Auntie'' won him a Royal Television Society Writer's Award and ''The Thin Blue Line'' won a British Comedy Award as well as Jury Award at Reims. The 2022 revival of Channel 4's " Friday Night Live " won a Royal Television Society Award and BAFTA for Best Comedy Entertainment programme. His books have won the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger Award for Crime Fiction (''Popcorn''), the Swedish Kaliber Award (''Popcorn''), WH Smiths People's Choice Fiction Award (''High Society'') and Prix Polar International Crime Writer Award (''Amitiès Mortelles'' for ''Past Mortem'', French edition).

Personal life

Elton first met Australian saxophone player Sophie Gare in 1986 while working in Melbourne. A year later in Edinburgh, a newly-single Elton rekindled their friendship and they became a couple. The two married in 1994 and have three children. They settled in

, North Fremantle, Western Australia, while maintaining a home in

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, England. Elton holds dual British/Australian citizenship, the latter since 2004. In 2014 he speculated on a future move back to London when their children have completed their schooling. Elton has been nominated three times for the television series '' Room 101'', first by broadcaster

Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...

in 2001, secondly by comedian

Mark Steel Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in ''The Guardian'', '' ...

, and also by comedian Stewart Lee, who described Elton "as ranking lower ethically than Osama bin Laden".

Political views

Elton champions left-wing political positions. Prior to the 1987 general election, Elton supported Red Wedge by participating in a comedy tour organised by the campaign. Elton was a Labour Party supporter and was one of the biggest private financial donors to the party in 1998. Elton subsequently distanced himself from the party under

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 ...

, although in April 2015, he stated he was "back with Labour" for the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. Responding to criticism for writing a musical with Conservative Party supporter

, Elton said, "If I were to refuse to talk to Tories, I would narrow my social and professional scope considerably. If you judge all your relationships on a person's voting intentions, I think you miss out on the varieties of life." Elton added, "I would have loved a honeymoon period, but I've been irritating journos from the beginning. Originally I was knocked for being too left-wing, and now apparently I've sold out and I'm too

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

, but all the time I've been being me, and that certainly isn't the person I recognise in anything that's written about me." He has denied being anti-establishment. He also said he was a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

at a time when "the media was on the whole slavishly worshipping of Thatcher". He said, "I believe in the politics of

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

. I'm a

Welfare State A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

Labour voter." Elton parodied himself in the sketch "Benny Elton" for '' Harry Enfield and Chums'' in 1994, using the style of

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

to send up Elton's "right on" socialist image as a politically correct spoilsport, chasing

Page 3 Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature in Novembe ...

models around a park to chastise them and tricking heterosexual couples into becoming homosexual.

References

External links

*
theartsdesk Q&A: Ben Elton
(9 October 2010)

BBC Comedy Guide – Ben Elton
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elton, Ben Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century British comedians 21st-century British comedians 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists Actors from the City of Westminster Actors from the London Borough of Camden Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester British atheists British comedy writers British emigrants to Australia British male comedians British male dramatists and playwrights British male novelists British male radio actors British male television actors British male television writers British people of German-Jewish descent British musical theatre lyricists British satirists British satirical novelists British socialists British stand-up comedians British surrealist writers Comedians from the City of Westminster Comedians from the London Borough of Camden Comedians from the London Borough of Lewisham Comedians from Surrey Comedians from Sussex Ehrenberg family Labour Party (UK) donors Male actors from Guildford Male actors from London Members of the Order of Australia Naturalised citizens of Australia People educated at Godalming Grammar School People from Catford People from Fremantle British television show creators British satirical television show creators Writers from Guildford