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Simon Fanshawe
OBE
Fanshawe in 2021
Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 March 2024
Preceded byDebora Kayembe
Personal details
Born26 December 1956 (1956-12-26) (age 67)
Devizes, England
Residence(s)Kemp Town, Brighton
EducationChafyn Grove School
Marlborough College
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
OccupationWriter, activist and broadcaster

Simon Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe OBE (born 26 December 1956) is an English writer, activist and broadcaster.[1] He contributes frequently to British newspapers, television and radio. Fanshawe is also now a consultant and non-executive director of public and private organisations. He was one of the founders of the LGBT charity Stonewall, and won the Perrier Comedy Award in 1989. In 2019, Fanshawe became one of the supporters of the initiative that led to the formation of the LGB Alliance.

Career

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Fanshawe first came to public attention as a comedian in the early 1980s. In 1984, he appeared on the Channel 4 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.[2] 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".[3]

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.[4] 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.[5][6]

Fanshawe was a co-founder of the LGBT charity Stonewall.[7]

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 decriminalised male homosexual acts in England and Wales, and its effect on the population of the city of Brighton and Hove.[8]

In 2019, he publicly broke with Stonewall due to its "intolerance of disagreement and discussion"[9][10] and helped found the LGB Alliance later that year.[11]

On 13 February 2024 Fanshawe was confirmed as Rector of the University of Edinburgh. Only one valid nomination was received for an election to this position, resulting in Fanshawe being named as Rector uncontested.[12][1] Fanshawe's appointment has been criticised by the University's Staff Pride Network, a network of LGBT+ staff and post-graduate research students and allies, who have called for his removal from the position and for a new election to be called. Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom supported his appointment, saying he was appointed "following due process and according to rules that are clearly set out on the University's website" and was "the perfect person for the role".[13] On 21 February the Trans and Non-Binary Liberation Officer at the University’s Student Association, Robyn Woof, resigned from her positions within the Association and on the University's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, citing Fanshawe's appointment as one of several reasons for her resignation.[14][15]

Personal life

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Fanshawe was educated at two independent boarding schools: Chafyn Grove School in Salisbury in Wiltshire, and Marlborough College in Wiltshire, followed by the University of Sussex near Brighton, where he studied law.[16] He was chair of the university's governing council from 2007 to 2013.[1] He was appointed OBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to higher education.[17]

Fanshawe lives in the Kemp Town area of Brighton with his husband, who is from Nigeria.[18][19][20]

Newspapers and magazines

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Fanshawe has contributed articles to the following publications:

Radio

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Fanshawe has been a presenter or contributor on the following radio programmes:

Television

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Bibliography

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  • Fanshawe, Simon (2005), The done thing, Century, ISBN 978-1-84413-873-9, OCLC 57693237[21][22]
  • Fanshawe, Simon; Ltd, BBC Audiobooks (2007), Bridging the gap, BBC Audiobooks, ISBN 978-1-4056-0949-4, archived from the original (Audiobook) on 8 July 2011, retrieved 14 January 2010
  • Fanshawe, Simon (2007), "Manners: Moral authority", New Statesman, New Statesman Ltd: 50, ISSN 1364-7431, OCLC 133449672

References

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  1. ^ a b c Williams, Craig (13 February 2024). "Activist Simon Fanshawe named as University of Edinburgh rector". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  2. ^ Hall, Julian (11 August 2009). "Fringe benefits: How winning the top comedy prize at Edinburgh can transform a performer's life". The Independent.
  3. ^ "Simon Fanshawe". Simonfanshawe.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Simon Fanshawe re-elected as Chair of BHEP Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership". Brightonbusiness.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  5. ^ Fanshawe, Simon (21 April 2006). "Society now accepts gay men as equals. So why on earth do so many continue to behave like teenagers?". The Observer.
  6. ^ "The trouble with a documentary on gay men". Pink News. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Co-founder of Stonewall calls for calm". Holyrood Website. 31 October 2019.
  8. ^ "BBC One - Brighton: 50 Years of Gay". BBC.
  9. ^ "Letters to the Editor". The Times. 22 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Stonewall now represents intolerance". Spiked. 4 June 2021.
  11. ^ Gluck, Genevieve (23 October 2019). "What's Current: Dispute over gender identity splits Stonewall, creating LGB faction". Feminist Current. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  12. ^ "New Rector confirmed". 4 January 2024.
  13. ^ Hunter, Ross (14 February 2024). "Edinburgh University LGBT+ staff network demands removal of Simon Fanshawe". The National. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  14. ^ Bots, Maryse (21 February 2024). "Trans and Non-Binary Liberation Officer Robyn Woof resigns in protest of transphobia at university". The Student. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  15. ^ Clover, Jack (23 February 2024). "Edinburgh students angry over trans critic's appointment as rector". The Times. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Simon Fanshawe, writer and broadcaster". The Independent. London. 11 May 2006. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  17. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 10.
  18. ^ "Mr Simon Fanshawe : Governance". University of Sussex. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  19. ^ Sale, Jonathan (11 May 2006). "PassedFailed: An education in the life of Simon Fanshawe writer and broadcaster". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011.
  20. ^ Fanshawe, Simon (12 June 2024). "Simon Fanshawe: I'm proud to be a politically correct comedian, but I'm not woke". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  21. ^ Delingpole, James; Fanshawe, Simon (2005), "BOOKS – The Done Thing", The Spectator, F.C. Westley: 50, ISSN 0038-6952, OCLC 99780022
  22. ^ "Table manners off Britons' menus". BBC News. 15 November 2005.
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Academic offices
Preceded by Rector of the University of Edinburgh
2024–present 		Incumbent
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