Anyone who watched TV in the 1980s will be intrigued to learn about one of the most successful creative talents of our time. He was often vilified by mainstream media for his leftist views, such as the universal critical condemnation of his 2002 jukebox musical, We Will Rock You. However, by 2022 it had been seen by some 20 million people.
His early collaborators, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Adrian Edmonds, Rik Mayall, Rowen Atkinson, Stephen Fry and others all went on to become household names.
His love of storytelling began with his mother’s bedtime reading – the ‘Narnia’ series, and Animal Farm were favourites. He read widely, including all of Sherlock Holmes and biographies of David Niven and Noël Coward. A J P Taylor’s history of the First World War influenced his later TV scripts, particularly the ‘Blackadder’ series.
He toured his many stand-up shows and stage productions. On an Australian tour he met his future wife, Sophie Gare, a member of the all-girl rock group The Jam Tarts. They live much of the time in her home town of Fremantle and in 2004 he became a dual citizen. In 2000, when they were undergoing extensive IVF treatments, he wrote and directed his movie Maybe Baby.
This absorbing autobiography led me to track down many of his earlier TV shows, which are available on streaming services. Anyone who has experienced the creative output of Ben Elton will not want to miss What Have I Done?
Reviewed by Russell Thomson
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ben Elton is a multi-award-winning novelist, playwright, television writer, screenwriter and lyricist. He is also a theatre, screen and TV director, a stand-up comedian and a very occasional actor. Born in Catford, south-east London, in 1959, Ben was state-educated and studied drama at Manchester University, where he now holds an honorary doctorate. He began his professional career in 1981. Ben married Australian bass player Sophie in 1994, they have three grown up children and divide their time between Britain and Australia.
In 2007 Ben Elton was awarded the Special Golden Rose d’Or at The International Television Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland, for his lifetime contribution to the television arts.
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