Rory McGrath

Rory McGrath
Rory McGrath in 2007
Born	Patrick Rory McGrath 17 March 1956 (1956-03-17) Redruth, Cornwall
Occupation	Comedian, writer
Years active	1979–present

Patrick Rory McGrath (born 17 March 1956) is an English comedian and writer. He is best known for roles in Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Three Men in a Boat and its successors. He was also a regular panellist on They Think It's All Over.

Early life

McGrath was born in Redruth, Cornwall. He studied at Redruth Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, from which he received a lower-second class degree.

Career

McGrath became a member of the Cambridge Footlights and met Jimmy Mulville, with whom he wrote and performed. After university, they wrote BBC radio scripts for Frankie Howerd and Windsor Davies. McGrath also co-wrote Black Cinderella Two Goes East with Clive Anderson for BBC Radio 4 in 1978. McGrath and Mulville went on to write for shows such as Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones, and they were part of the team of writer/performers behind the Channel 4 comedy sketch series Who Dares Wins.

In 1986, McGrath was co-founder, with Jimmy Mulville and Denise O'Donoghue, of the independent British TV production company Hat Trick Productions. An early production was Chelmsford 123 (1988 and 1990), which McGrath and Mulville wrote and performed. In 1990, McGrath hosted the game show Trivial Pursuit on BBC1.

In 1992, McGrath was dismissed from Hat Trick, for allegedly not pulling his weight. The confrontation came days after McGrath had left his wife and two young children.

McGrath was a panel member on the BBC comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over (1995–2006). He was presenter of the series Rory's Commercial Breakdown (1997), where humorous adverts were shown from different countries.

McGrath has made two football DVDs titled: Own Goals and Gaffs - The Premiership in 2002 and More Own Goals and Gaffs in 2003.

Since 2006, McGrath has starred in the BBC's Three Men in a Boat series, alongside Dara Ó Briain and Griff Rhys Jones. The series has included the trio rowing up the River Thames (similar to the 1889 novel also named Three Men in a Boat), sailing from London to the Isle of Wight for a sailing yacht race, borrowing numerous vessels to make their way from Plymouth to the Isles of Scilly, taking to the Irish Canals and Rivers and along with Dara's dog (Snip Nua), and a more recent escapade travelling throughout the Mediterranean to Venice. He also hosted Industrial Revelations: Best of British Engineering, series 5, first broadcast in 2008.

His first book, Bearded Tit - Confessions of a Birdwatcher, was published by Ebury Press on 1 May 2008 and was serialised by BBC Radio 4.

First airing in August 2008, McGrath co-starred in a new television series along with British comedian Paddy McGuinness, broadcast on Channel 5, Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure. This is a four-part series in which McGuinness and McGrath embarked on a nationwide road-trip, “on a mission to explore Britain’s sporting heritage by probing the hidden life of its towns and villages”. The series focused on arcane sports such as cheese rolling, toe wrestling and swamp soccer.

In 2011, McGrath presented Pub Dig for History.

Personal life

McGrath is now married to Tori, whom he first met at Cambridge and was devastated when she married someone else. After both their marriages failed, she contacted him and they restarted their relationship.

McGrath supports Arsenal. He and Peter Cook (a Tottenham supporter) used to have a friendly rivalry over their respective clubs. On the night that Cook died in January 1995, Tottenham had beaten Arsenal. McGrath found out about his friend's death by the fact that he hadn't received the traditional abusive phonecall the next morning^{[citation needed]}.

McGrath is a friend of Ralph McTell and fan of McTell's music. He recently contributed extensive album notes to Affairs of the Heart, a McTell compilation album.

Publications

• McGrath, Rory (2008). Bearded Tit. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 9780091922696.  (story of the author's life among birds)
• McGrath, Rory (2011). The Father, the Son and the Ghostly Hole: Confessions from a guilt-edged life. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0091924614.  (A memoir of a lapsed catholic who can’t quite fully escape)

External links

• Rory McGrath at the Internet Movie Database
• The Bearded Tit website