Andy Hamilton
| Andy Hamilton | |
|---|---|
 Hamilton in 2007. |
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| Birth name | Andrew Neil Hamilton |
| Born | 28 May 1954 Fulham, London |
| Medium | Radio, television |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 1972- |
| Genres | Political satire |
| Subject(s) | Politics |
| Spouse | Libby Asher |
| Notable works and roles | Old Harry's Game |
Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, and radio dramatist.[1]
Hamilton is 5 ft 3ins tall.[2] He has no thumb on his right hand.[3][4] On The News Quiz 25th Anniversary Special, he remarked many had noticed the likeness between him and a certain Italian opera singer: "I've often been compared to Pavarotti. But Pavarotti after a tree fell on him."
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Early life[edit]
Hamilton was born in Fulham, south-west London. He was educated at Westminster City School which was then a voluntary aided grammar school[5] and later read English at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES).
Career[edit]
Hamilton first came to notice while performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the 1970s. In the mid-1970s he sustained himself with jobs at Harrods and the Post Office before joining the BBC in 1976.[6]
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.
He is the voice of Dr Elephant, the dentist in the children's show Peppa Pig. He was also the original voice of Bob Fish, who is also a dentist, in the cartoon Bob and Margaret.
On 16 March 2007, he co-presented BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme alongside usual presenter Martha Kearney as part of that day's Comic Relief fundraising activities after defeating Richard Hammond and Kelvin MacKenzie in a poll.
Since 1995, Hamilton has written and played the lead role of Satan in the Radio 4 sitcom Old Harry's Game. He toured with his UK stand-up show Hat of Doom in 2008 in which he famously wore a large shiny top hat for portions of the show which he pretended to believe rendered him invisible.
In 2009, Hamilton presented the BBC Four series It's Only a Theory with Reginald D. Hunter.
Personal life[edit]
He is married to Libby Asher, with whom he has three children – Pip, Bob, and Isobel – and lives in Wimbledon, London.[4]
He supports Chelsea F.C. and regularly plays Sunday League football at Chelsea Sports Centre.[7]
Scripts[edit]
Hamilton has written scripts for:
Television[edit]
- Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979)
- Shelley (1979)
- Scotch and Wry (1980)
- Who Dares Wins (1983)
- Alas Smith & Jones (1984)
- The Kit Curran Radio Show (1984; 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)
- Bedtime (2001–2003)
- The Exam (2002; for the National Theatre Connections Anthology)
- Trevor's World of Sport (2003)
- The Armstrong and Miller Show (2007)
- Outnumbered (2007–present; co-written with Guy Jenkin)
- The Two Ronnies
- It's Only a Theory (2009)
Radio[edit]
- The Million Pound Radio Show (with Nick Revell)
- The News Huddlines
- Old Harry's Game (creator, in which he also stars as Satan)
- Trevor's World of Sport (radio version broadcast years: 2004, 2005 and 2007)
- Revolting People (co-creator with Jay Tarses), in which he also stars as Sergeant McGurk)
- Week Ending
References[edit]
- ^ "Andy Hamilton". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ^ Andy Hamilton trivia at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Drop the Dead Donkey Series 1 DVD
- ^ a b Wark, Penny (13 July 2005). "I was made to feel quite special". The Times (London).
- ^ Westminster City School famous old boys Retrieved 2012-10-15
- ^ Have I Got News for You - Series 44 - Episode 10 (BBC), 21 December 2012
- ^ Martin Kelner (1 May 2006). "Screen Break: Help me make it through the metatarsal". The Guardian.
External links[edit]
- Andy Hamilton at the Internet Movie Database
- Andy Hamilton Biography bbc.co.uk
- 1954 births
- Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge
- English male comedians
- English radio personalities
- English radio writers
- English stand-up comedians
- English television directors
- English television personalities
- English television writers
- Living people
- People educated at Westminster City School
- People from Fulham
