Ben Elton
Birthday: 1959-05-03
Place of Birth:
Synopsis
Already a successful comedian, Ben Elton turned to writing situation comedies during the 1980s and penned BBC classics such as "The Young Ones" (1982), "Black-Adder II" (1986), "Black Adder the Third" (1987), "Blackadder 4" (1989) and during the 1990s "The Thin Blue Line" (1995).
He provided lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, "The Beautiful Game", which was nominated for Best Musical at the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards in 2001 (2000 season).
His comedy, "Popcorn", performed at the Apollo Theatre, was awarded the 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Comedy of the 1997 season.
He and Andrew Lloyd Webber were awarded the 2000 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Best New Musical for "The Beautiful Game", performed at the Cambridge Theatre.
Has three children : Bert, Lottie and Fred.
Is co-writer of the Queen Musical 'We Will Rock You' with the band itself.
He and Richard Curtis were offered the chance to write "Police Academy - The London Beat", but turned it down.
Was a host of The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live (2006) (TV).
Acting
Blackadder Rides Again
as himself
This documentary marks the 25th anniversary since the first transmission of The Black Adder in 1983 and reunites the iconic cast to give their opinions on all series and specials. Narrated by John Sergeant, this in-depth guide includes interviews from the cast and crew, a clip from the pilot episode, clips from all four series and the specials, opinions about certain moments in the show, and much more. With interviews by Rowan Atkinson, writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, producer John Lloyd, Miriam Margolyes, Rik Mayall, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Richardson, Tony Robinson and editor Chris Wadsworth.
The Secret Policeman’s Biggest Ball
as Himself
After the criticisms of the 1987 show’s disproportionate focus on music - and the financial disaster of its music-only Festival Of Youth weekend concert in 1988, Amnesty returned to the original formula that had been so successful in the 1976-1981 era with a primary focus on comedy. Pat Duffy was dropped from organising any further benefit events for Amnesty and for the 1989 show, Amnesty hired producer Judith Holder.
The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball
as Self
When the British Amnesty shows finally resumed in 1987 after a six-year hiatus, the show format was retooled in an effort to take advantage of the growing number of rock musicians supporting Amnesty. Instead of the live show being primarily a comedy show with a few musical cameos, the event made a point of giving equal emphasis to the comedy and the music.
Alfresco
as Various
A sketch comedy show featuring some of Britain's great comedic talents of the 1980s and 1990s in one of their earliest TV appearances.
