Simon Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 26 December 1956, in Devizes, England) is a writer and broadcaster. He contributes frequently to British newspapers, television and radio. He is also now a consultant and non-executive director of public and private organisations. Fanshawe was one of the founders of the LGBT charity

Stonewall Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to: * Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction * Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics * Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...

. He won the Perrier Comedy Award in 1989. In 2019, he became one of the supporters of the initialive that led to the formation of the LGB Alliance.

Career

Fanshawe first came to public attention as a comedian in the early 1980s. In 1984, he appeared on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

comedy sketch/stand-up show ''The Entertainers'', which showcased up-and-coming comedy talent, and later that year appeared in his comedy act ''Three of a Different Kind'' at the Edinburgh Festival. Following a nomination in 1987, he later won the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award in 1989. He had a stint as a presenter on the BBC television programme '' That's Life!'' in 1990. Alongside working in comedy, Fanshawe has been a frequent contributor on a variety of subjects from arts to politics in newspapers and on many BBC radio and TV programmes. His BBC Radio 4 profile light-heartedly describes him as a "media tart". Fanshawe has been involved in many community and campaigning groups and public bodies – often as a board member. He led the successful campaign to make Brighton and Hove a city in 2000. He was the chairman of the board for the Brighton Festival Fringe and is on the board of the Edinburgh Fringe. He founded and chaired the economic strategy body of his home town, The Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership. He was chairman of Brighton & Hove Local Radio Ltd from 1996 to 2000, when the company was acquired by Forever Broadcasting. In 2006, Fanshawe made the documentary ''The Trouble with Gay Men'', shown on BBC Three. Fanswhawe was a co-founder of the LGBT charity

. In 2007, Fanshawe presented the first programme in the BBC's ''Building Britain'' series, concentrating his attentions on the key role of developers in making cities over the last two centuries. In 2017, Fanshawe presented the BBC documentary ''Brighton: 50 Years of Gay'' in which he examined the landmark Sexual Offences Act 1967, which legalised male homosexual acts in the UK, and its effect on the population of the City of Brighton. In 2019, he publicly broke with Stonewall due to their "intolerance of disagreement and discussion" and helped found the LGB Alliance later that year.

Personal life

Fanshawe was educated at two independent boarding schools: Chafyn Grove School in Salisbury in Wiltshire, and

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

in Wiltshire, followed by the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

near Brighton, where he studied law. He is now chair of the university's governing council. He was appointed

in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to higher education. Fanshawe lives in the Kemp Town area of Brighton.

Newspapers and magazines

Fanshawe has contributed articles to the following publications: * ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' * ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' * '' The Sunday Times'' * ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' * '' Evening Standard'' * ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' * ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

Radio

Fanshawe has been a presenter or contributor on the following radio programmes: * '' Kaleidoscope'' * Sunday Brunch * '' Fanshawe on Five'' * '' The Reference Library'' * '' Live From London'' * '' Fanshawe Gets to the Bottom Of...'' * '' Loose Ends'' * '' The Motion Show''

Television

* '' That's Life!'', a BBC television light entertainment series. A humour contributor, for one series only, in 1990. * '' Thames Roadshow'' * ''

Cabaret at the Jongleurs Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often di ...

'' * ''Brighton: 50 Years of Gay'' (2017)

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Fanshawe's website

Official site for ''The Done Thing''

Blog
for ''The Done Thing''
Biography on BBC Radio 4 site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanshawe, Simon People from Brighton and Hove 1956 births Living people British gay writers English LGBT writers People educated at Chafyn Grove School People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of the University of Sussex British republicans Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Devizes