Alexander Armstrong – also known as Xander – studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was also a member of Cambridge Footlights and the college choir.

He met his comedy partner Ben Miller in 1991, when they started performing together in the TBA sketch night in Notting Hill, West London.

But 1998 was their breakthrough year, when they landed a Radio 4 series and a TV series, produced for Channel 4 and the Paramount Comedy Channel.

The show ran for four series and included such characters as Scandanavian heavy metal band Strijka, the drama Nude Practice and hip middle-class presenters Craig Children and Martin Bain-Jones.

They dissolved their partnership in 2000, to forge their separate careers

Armstrong went on to appear in such TV shows as Mutual Friends, Don't Call Me Stupid, hospital sitcom TLC and three series of Life Begins for ITV

He was also a regular guest host on Have I Got News For You, and appeared in Woody Allen’s film Match Point, as well as numerous adverts for Pimms.

He reunited with Miller for one-off charity gig in London celebrity hangout The Groucho Club in 2005, which reignited their partnership, and led to their prime-time BBC One show in autumn 2007.