Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson

Date of birth: 10-12-1952

After being educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where, from 1974 to 1975, he was President of Footlights, Anderson became a practising barrister, specialising in criminal law.

But when The Comedy Store opened in 1979, with an open call for acts, he was the first person on stage. He spent nearly 15 years practising as a barrister, in his spare time performing stand-up and writing scripts for Frankie Howerd, Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith and others.

He started broadcasting in the late 1980s, presenting Whose Line Is It Anyway? first on BBC Radio 4 then on Channel 4, where it ran for 10 series and earned him the 'top entertainment presenter' at the 1991 British Comedy Awards.

Anderson went on hosted his own chat show, Clive Anderson Talks Back, on Channel 4, which ran for 10 series. Anderson moved to the BBC One in 1996 and the show's name changed to Clive Anderson All Talk. It ran until 2001.

Famous encounters from his chat-show dats include the Bee Gees walking out of an interview with Barry Gibb telling him: 'You're a tosser pal', having a glass of water poured over his head by Richard Branson, and asking Jeffrey Archer: 'Is there no beginning to your talents?'

Anderson hosted six series of Clive Anderson's Chat Room onRadio 2 from 2004 to 2009, and since 2006, he has hosted Radio 4's Loose Ends. He has also been a frequent participant on panel shows including Have I Got News for You and on QI.

Read More

Clive Anderson, peace negotiator

...in a new play from a real diplomat, and the co-creator of Mock The Week

Clive Anderson is to play an international peace negotiator in a new comedy written by the co-creator of Mock The Week and a former ambassador.

The play, Winner's Curse, is to premiere at London’s Park Theatre next year and revolves around high-stakes talks about a highly contested strip of land.

One of the writers, Daniel Taub, is a former Middle East peace negotiator, who has represented Israel in talks with bot the Syrian and Palestinian authorities.

He has served Israel’s ambassador to the UK and  legal adviser to the country’s missions to the United Nations.

Taub created the play – which also involves some audience interaction – with Dan Patterson, who created Mock The Week and Whose Line is it Anyway  with Mark Leveson.

Patterson previously worked with Anderson on his Channel 4 and BBC One talk shows – while in the theatre he co-wrote the 2013 satirical farce The Duck House, based on the MPs’ expenses scandal.

The official description of Winner’s Curse says: ‘Over the negotiating table, cynical diplomats, idealistic peacemakers and meddling mediators try to navigate a perilous path to agreement as the threat of continued conflict looms ever larger.’

Its title comes from a term meaning that the winning bid in an auction will always exceed an item's true worth

The production runs from February 8 to March 11 and is being directed by Park’s artistic director Jez Bond. Tickets go on  general sale at 10am tomorrow.

Read More

Published: 3 Nov 2022

Agent

We do not currently hold contact details for Clive Anderson's agent. If you are a comic or agent wanting your details to appear here, for a one-off fee of £59, email steve@chortle.co.uk.

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.