Frederick MacAulay (born 29 December 1956) is a Scottish comedian. For 18 years, until March 2015, he presented a daily

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

radio programme '' MacAulay and Co''. He has appeared on numerous TV shows.

Background

Born in

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 ...

, MacAulay was educated at Killin Primary School, at Rattray Primary School and Blairgowrie High School, both in Blairgowrie, and at

Perth Academy Perth Academy is a state comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It was founded in 1696. The institution is a non-denominational one. The school occupies ground on the side of a hill in the Viewlands area of Perth, and is within the P ...

. In 1978 he graduated from the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

with an MA in

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...

and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. He went on to work as an accountant in a number of companies, including the Cairngorm Chairlift Company in

Aviemore Aviemore (; ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and ...

. In 1984 he married Aileen; the couple have three children.

Work

MacAulay's first experience of

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage (theatre), stage and delivers humour, humorous and satire, satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical comedy, physical acts. These ...

came at Bar Point in the "West End" of Paisley. He enjoyed vocal support from some close friends as he appeared alongside the established Glasgow comedian Bruce Morton. From there, in 1988 he performed at Mayfest festival in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, which burgeoned into a semi-professional career, including jobs as a warm-up act for TV programmes including ''

Have I Got News for You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

'' and for comedians

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known by the stage name Paul Merton, is an English comedian who is best known as one of the two regular panellists on the television show '' Have I Got News for You''. Known for his improvisation skill, M ...

and

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 ...

. His first on-screen appearance came on STV's stand-up programme ''The Funny Farm''. MacAulay became a full-time professional comedian in 1993. He also presented two series of the children's version of '' Now You See It'' in 1994 and 1995 on ''

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now legally known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchisee for Central Belt, Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation si ...

''. MacAulay has gone on to be a regular performer at the

Edinburgh 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 ...

and at comedy festivals worldwide. He had presented

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

's morning show from 1997 to 2015, and for BBC TV he hosted one series of the talk show ''McCoist and MacAulay'' (with retired footballer

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former association football, footballer who has since worked as a Manager (association football), manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Jo ...

), two seasons of ''Life According to Fred'' and

's coverage of ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' with

Hazel Irvine Hazel Jane Irvine (born 24 May 1965) is a Scottish sports presenter. Principally working for the BBC, Irvine has presented the Summer Olympic Games, Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Winter Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Triple Crown (sn ...

in 1998 and 1999 and Jackie Bird from 2000 to 2002. He has appeared as a guest on comedy quiz programmes '' They Think It's All Over'', ''

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 ...

'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'', ''

Just a Minute ''Just a Minute'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Sue Perkins became the permanent host, starting with the 87th ser ...

'', '' QI'', ''

The News Quiz ''The News Quiz'' is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 1977. The show, created by John Lloyd from an idea by Nicholas Parsons, has seen several hosts, including Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hogg ...

'' and ''

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...

'', and made a return to ''Have I Got News For You'' as an on-screen guest. In 2009 he hosted a

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...

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 ...

, '' I Guess That's Why They Call It The News''. In October 2018 MacAulay appeared in the Scottish episode of

HISTORY History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

's TV series ''Al Murray: Why Does Everyone Hate The English'' alongside host

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 ...

. In 2020, MacAulay was chosen to host Zoom interviews with Fringe celebrities for the Gilded Balloon's '35th' year. In 2001 he was elected Rector of the University of Dundee and was formally installed in office on 3 May 2001. In 2007, he competed in '' Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'' and was the seventh to be eliminated. Fred currently hosts a Sunday-morning show on Clyde 2 from 10 am to 1 pm. The show is produced and broadcast from the station's Clydebank studios in Glasgow and carried on Greatest Hits Radio's network of locally-branded Scottish stations. The show includes a "top 10 @ 10" feature and music from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s along with special guests.

References

External links

Official website

BBC biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macaulay, Fred 1956 births Living people Alumni of the University of Dundee People from Perth, Scotland Rectors of the University of Dundee Scottish radio personalities People educated at Perth Academy People educated at Blairgowrie High School People from Thorntonhall Scottish male comedians