Andy Hamilton

British comedian and writer

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

Andy Hamilton

Hamilton, 2007

Birth name| Andrew Neil Hamilton
Born|  (1954-05-28) 28 May 1954 (age 71)
Fulham, London, England
Medium| Radio, television
Education| Downing College, Cambridge (BA)
Years active| 1972–present
Genres| Political satire
Subject(s)| Politics
Spouse|

Libby Asher

(m. 1988)​

Children| 3
Notable works and roles| Old Harry's Game
Outnumbered

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

## 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.

On television, he has been a regular contributor to a range of comedy programmes, and co-created The Kit Curran Radio Show,[3] Drop the Dead Donkey,[4] and Outnumbered[5] with Guy Jenkin.

He is the voice of Dr Elephant, the dentist in the animation series 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 of 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.[6]

## 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.[7][8]

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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* Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979)
* The Dawson Watch (1979–1980)
* Shelley (1979)
* Scotch and Wry (1980)
* Who Dares Wins (1983)
* Alas Smith & Jones (1984)
* The Kit Curran Radio Show (1984)
* Kit Curran (1986; 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)
* Bob and Margaret (1998–2000)
* 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 (2007–2014; co-written with Guy Jenkin)
* The Two Ronnies
* It's Only a Theory (2009)
* Just Around The Corner (2012; Pilot only; co-written with Guy Jenkin)
* Ballot Monkeys (2015)
* Power Monkeys (2016)
* Kate & Koji (2020–2022; co-written with Guy Jenkin)

### Radio

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* 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
* Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers (2017)

### Film

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* What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

### 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. ^ "Kit Curran". IMDb.
4. ^ "Drop the Dead Donkey". IMDb.
5. ^ "Outnumbered". IMDb.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ Drop the Dead Donkey Series 1 DVD
8. ^ Wark, Penny (13 July 2005). "I was made to feel quite special". The Times (paywall restrictions apply). London.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andy Hamilton (comedian).

* Andy Hamilton at the British Film Institute
* Andy Hamilton at IMDb
* Andy Hamilton at British Comedy Guide
* Andy Hamilton Biography at bbc.co.uk

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Korea

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married