Ben Elton
- 65 years old
- English
- Writer and stand-up comedian
Press clippings Page 18
Preview: Upstart Crow
Never mind Leicester winning the league, what odds would you have got on Ben Elton being funny again? But hold the front page: Elton has got his mojo back. Well, everything is relative. After his appalling The Wright Way it looked like the acclaimed comic might never make us laugh again. But he has done it with Upstart Crow, which, let's not mince words, is Blackadder Does The Bard.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 4th May 2016David Mitchell interview
The actor and comedian chats to Gerard Gilbert about starring in Ben Elton's Blackadder-esque new comedy.
Gerard Gilbert, The Independent, 4th May 2016New Ben Elton comedy takes a pop at Ricky Gervais
"Affectionate" lampooning has the Bard's cocky actor colleague speaking exactly like The Office star.
Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 3rd May 2016Is Upstart Crow as good as Blackadder?
Ben Elton - the writer of both shows, who has been pilloried for a lot of his recent work including the fairly dire The Wright Way - is clearly returning to his strengths. And I would say this does indeed deserve comparisons with Blackadder, the brilliant comedy he co-wrote with Richard Curtis, because it is very good.
Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 3rd May 2016Ben Elton interview
"Something like The Young Ones, I don't think could have possibly survived in the Twitter age, because within five minutes everyone would have gone, 'This is weird, I don't understand what's going on'... "
Romy Ash, The Saturday Paper, 24th January 2016Could Ben Elton's Upstart Crow be the new Blackadder?
Written by Elton, set in Tudor England, with witty and knowing nods to English cultural and political history, you say? Could this BBC Two show starring David Mitchell be another historical hit?
Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 21st January 2016David Mitchell to star as Shakespeare in new BBC comedy series
The BBC has announced a major new comedy. Upstart Crow, written by Ben Elton, will focus on William Shakespeare. The cast includes David Mitchell and Harry Enfield.
British Comedy Guide, 7th December 2015Josh, BBC Three review
It's horribly bland and difficult to see how Josh can avoid suffering the ignominy of lasting only one series (Edmondson, whose previous sitcom outing was in Ben Elton's execrable The Wright Way, may want to have a chat with her agent). But it's directed by David Schneider, and next week Edmondson's real-life mother, Jennifer Saunders, joins the cast as Kate's mum. Two reasons to tune in to see if Josh gets into its groove.
Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk, 12th November 2015Book excerpt: Writing That Sitcom by James Cary
Writing the perfect sitcom is the Holy Grail of comedy. Get it right and you will be carried through the city on people's shoulders. Get it wrong and you might as well go and hide under a stone. Look at the brickbats aimed at Ben Elton's The Wright Way. Even the co-writer of Blackadder got it wrong.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 15th July 2015General election: Ben Elton on Labour campaign trail
Ben Elton has recalled his campaigning for Labour in the 1980s and 1990s as he introduced Ed Miliband at a rally.
BBC News, 4th April 2015