Ben Elton

Born: 3rd May 1959
Where: Catford, London

The youngest of four, Ben went to Godalming Grammar school, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15.

He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University. Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson were in their final year doing the same degree when Ben arrived.

After graduating in 1980, he started on his career as a stand-up comedian, and by early 1981 had joined Mayall and Edmondson at the Comedy Store in London, where he soon became one of the regular comperes.

Originally his stand-up performance was meant simply to showcase his own material, but from there he wrote and acted in television, and wrote novels, plays and screenplays - while still maintaining his stand-up comedy performances.

Ben turned to writing sitcoms, and during the 1980s and 90s, he wrote classics such as The Young Ones, Blackadder, and The Thin Blue Line.

Then in 2000, Ben made his first step towards directing, at the helm of comedy Maybe Baby, starring Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson.