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'Clive Anderson' (born 10 December 1952) is a former practising barrister turned successful comedy writer as well as a television and radio presenter in the United Kingdom. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991^[1], Anderson began his success during his 15 year law career stand-up comedy and comedic script writing, before starring in ''Whose line is it anyway?'' on BBC Radio 4. He was also successful with a number of radio programmes, television interviews and guest appearances on ''Have I got news for you'' and ''QI''.^[2]

Contents

Early life

Television

Comedy and newspaper writing

Radio

TV presenting

Verbal attacks

Awards

Personal life

Notes

External links

Early life

Anderson was educated at Harrow County School for Boys in Middlesex,^[3] where his group of friends included Michael Portillo. Anderson attended Cambridge University Selwyn College where, from 1974 to 1975, he was President of Footlights.^[4] He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1976 and became a practising barrister, specialising in criminal law.

Television

Anderson was involved in the fledgling alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s and was the first act to come on stage at The Comedy Store when it opened in 1979. Clive Anderson's Chat Room He made his name as host of the improvised television comedy show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' which was full of his rapid-fire wit as well as the show-ending catchphrase "This is me, Clive Anderson, saying good night. Good night." UKTV G2 Stars: Profile: Clive Anderson He has been a frequent participant on ''Have I Got News for You'', notching up seven appearances in total. He has also frequently appeared on ''QI''. In 2007, he featured as a regular panelist on the ITV comedy show ''News Knight''.
In one famous incident in 1996, Anderson interviewed the Bee Gees, and throughout the interview he kept making jokes about their life and career which caused them to walk out. Anderson once had a glass of water poured over his head by a perturbed Richard Branson, and asked Jeffrey Archer, "Is there no beginning to your talents?". Archer retorted that "The old jokes are always the best", for Anderson to reply "Yes, I've read your books!"
One of his most memorable exchanges on ''HIGNFY'' occurred when he scathingly joked to fellow guest Piers Morgan that the ''Daily Mirror'' was now, thanks to Morgan (then its editor), almost as good as ''The Sun.'' When asked by Morgan, "What do you know about editing newspapers?" he swiftly replied, "About as much as you do".
As a journalist for the BBC, he travelled around the world looking at problems 'in out-of-the-way places', though mostly arguing about whether they can film there. ''Our Man in...'' featured episodes on Monkeywrenching in American logging and 419 scams in Nigeria.

Comedy and newspaper writing

Anderson is a comedy sketch writer who has written for Frankie Howerd, Not the Nine O'Clock News, and Griff Rhys Jones/Mel Smith. One of his early comedy writing projects was ''Black Cinderella Two Goes East'' with Rory McGrath for BBC Radio 4 in 1978. He is famous for his fast, nervous delivery, and his close-to-the-knuckle witticisms.
As well as writing comedy, Anderson is also a frequent contributor to newspapers, and was a regular columnist in the Sunday Correspondent.

Radio

Currently, he combines his continuing interest in the law with his role as a radio presenter in the regular series ''Unreliable Evidence'' on Radio 4.^[5] On 24 July 2007 he presented a Radio 4 programme ''The Wikipedia Story'',^[6][7] a thirty minute BBC Radio 4 podcast and broadcast documentary about Wikipedia and other encyclopedias.

TV presenting

Shows he has presented include:

★ ''Clive Anderson Talks Back''

★ ''Our Man in…''

★ ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''

★ ''Discovery Mastermind''

★ ''Back in the Day''

★ ''Clive Anderson All Talk''

Verbal attacks

He bore the brunt of numerous jokes, insults, and running gags on ''Whose Line''. Various insults revolved around (among other things) his baldness and short neck. These jokes were especially prevalent during the Hoedown segment, which most of the contestants (especially Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie) actively despised.

Awards

The show ''"Whose Line is it Anyway"'' won a BAFTA award in 1989.^[8] Later, Clive Anderson won both the "Top Entertainment Presenter" and "Top Radio Comedy Personality" at the British Comedy Awards in 1991.^[9]

Personal life

Anderson lives in Highbury, north London, with his wife and three children. He supports Arsenal football club^[10] and is President of the Woodland Trust.^[11] In his spare time Anderson conducts IQ tests. To date the highest score he has tested was 176, reported to be achieved by John W. Morgan, Mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Notes

1. Clive Andersonawards at IMDB retrieved August 27 2007
2. Clive Anderson at BBC Radio 4 retrieved August 27 2007
3. Some Gaytonians
4. Footlights: Alumni
5. Unreliable Evidence
6. ''The Wikipedia Story'', BBC Radio 4, 24 July 2007.
7. Archive of "The Wikipedia Story"
8. Television and Television Craft Awards winners and nominees
9. Past winners: 1991
10. Arsenal's A to Z: Famous fans
11. New advocate for native woodland: Woodland Trust welcomes Clive Anderson as president

External links

★

★ YouTube video of Bee Gees interview