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Ben Elton Filmography
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Ben Elton: TV
In 1980 he wrote and appeared in Granada Television's sketch show Alfresco, which was also notable for early appearances by
Stephen Fry,
Hugh Laurie,
Emma Thompson and
Robbie Coltrane but which received poor ratings.
His first major success was as co-writer of the television sitcom The Young Ones
. This was followed by Happy Families — a six-part series starring
Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson — then Filthy, Rich and Catflap
which was assumed by many to be a sequel to The Young Ones. He went on to co-write the second and subsequent series of Blackadder starring
Rowan Atkinson and
Tony Robinson in which he got a cameo role in Blackadder 3 as an anarchist. He simultaneously became well-known for his television appearances as host of Channel 4's Saturday Live
— later moved and renamed Friday Night Live
— which was seen as a UK version of Saturday Night Live
. Many of his catchphrases became well-known, for example the "double seat, double seat" chant (tired commuters wanting space to themselves on the train home). He graduated from his closing slot in the first series of Saturday Live to hosting the show.
In 1990 he starred in his own stand-up comedy and sketch series entitled
The Man from Auntie, which had a second series in 1994. (The title plays on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; "Auntie" is a nickname for the BBC.) A similar format was used for
The Ben Elton Show which aired in 1998. His most recent television sitcom was The Thin Blue Line, set in a police station and also starring Atkinson, which ran for two series (1995, 1996).
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