Wikipedia

Andy Hamilton

For other people named Andy Hamilton, see Andy Hamilton (disambiguation).

Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor.

Andy Hamilton
Hamilton, 2007
Birth nameAndrew Neil Hamilton
Born (1954-05-28) 28 May 1954 (age 70)
London, England
MediumRadio, television
EducationDowning College, Cambridge (BA)
Years active1972–present
GenresPolitical satire
Subject(s)Politics
Spouse
Libby Asher
​
​
(m. 1988)​
Children3
Notable works and rolesOld Harry's Game
Outnumbered

Early life and education

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Hamilton was born in Fulham, west London. He was educated at Westminster City School which was then a voluntary aided grammar school[1] and later read English at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES).

Career

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Hamilton first came to notice while performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the 1970s. In the mid-1970s he sustained himself by taking jobs at Harrods and the Post Office before joining the BBC in 1976.[2]

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. Hamilton is also the voice of Captain Squid, the pirate in the children's show Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom.

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 2009, Hamilton presented the BBC Four series It's Only a Theory with Reginald D. Hunter.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast two, four-part series, Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers, in 2017 and 2018. Series 1 comprised the topics of childhood, politics, the human body, and animals, based on his own personal experiences of them.[3]

Personal life

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He has no thumb on his right hand. He joked that it was amputated when he was five "by a surgeon who felt that symmetry was over-rated" to the audience of Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers on Radio 4 in October 2017.[4][5]

He married Libby Asher in 1988, and they have three children.[citation needed]

He is a supporter of Chelsea Football Club.

Writing

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Hamilton has written for:

Television

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Radio

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Film

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Books

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  • The Thatcher Papers (New English Library, 1980) (with Alistair Beaton)
  • Andy Hamilton (1994), Drop the Dead Donkey 2000, London: Little, Brown, ISBN 0316912360, OL 22627103M, 0316912360
  • "The Star Witness" ([Unbound Publishers], ISBN 1-78352-298-4, 2016), "Like its author, this book is funny, poignant and too short" - Jack Dee

References

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  1. ^ Westminster City School – A Brief History Archived 28 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 April 2015
  2. ^ Have I Got News for You – Series 44 – Episode 10 (BBC), 21 December 2012
  3. ^ Presenter and writer: Andy Hamilton (18 October 2017). "Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers". Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  4. ^ Drop the Dead Donkey Series 1 DVD
  5. ^ Wark, Penny (13 July 2005). "I was made to feel quite special". The Times (paywall restrictions apply). London.
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