Stephen Fry

Douglas Adams & Stephen Fry were unbelievably similar

Next weekend, legendary conservationist Mark Carwardine will be celebrating the life of Douglas Adams, with whom he did so much to help threatened wildlife with their book Last Chance To See, which was adapted for television with Stephen Fry.

Wordaholics was billed as a new comedy game show about the mystery and majesty of, yes you guessed it, words. With Gyles Brandreth in the chair, it was no surprise to hear Stephen Fry was on the panel, for the show certainly had similarities with TV's superior QI.

Sometimes Brandreth's smugness is a little over the top for my taste, but his endless enthusiasm for the subject matter did rub off. The obvious intellectual competitiveness, particularly between Fry and broacaster/comedian Natalie Haynes, also pepped up proceedings, and there was the added bonus that by the end of the half hour I had learned what a Melton Pad and a Piccadilly Weeper was - just in case I get asked at a dinner party in the near future.

Do you know what "Jedwood Justice" is? It is not, as the audience gathered for this new panel show obviously hope, some primeval punishment dished out upon the Grimes brothers. Fortunately, Stephen Fry knows exactly what it is, and host Gyles Brandreth is able to congratulate him with magniloquent verbosity.

Stephen Fry to return to stage acting after 17 years

Stephen Fry is to take to the stage in his first major role for 17 years, appearing in Twelfth Night at London's Globe later this year.

Video - Fry: British actors are the 'best' in the World

Stephen Fry has spoken about some of the reasons why British actors are so well respected in America.

The author and actor was speaking ahead of hosting the Orange British Academy Film Awards.

Fry first hosted the ceremony in 2001 and continued until 2006 when the role was taken on by Jonathan Ross.

The Bafta awards ceremony will be shown at 9pm on 12 February on BBC One.

Video: Stephen Fry says judges don't understand Twitter

Stephen Fry has said that British judges don't understand Twitter.

The author and actor was speaking in response to the appeal of Paul Chambers at the High Court. The 27-year-old was convicted and fined in May 2010 for posting a message threatening to blow up Robin Hood Airport in South Yorkshire.

He said the tweet was a joke and he was frustrated because snow had closed the airport. A judgement on whether to quash his convinction has been reserved.

Stephen Fry undergoes three hours of dental surgery

Stephen Fry underwent dental surgery during a mammoth three-hour session on Friday.

Radio 4's long-running The Unbelievable Truth, basically an update of Call My Bluff, seems to be the exception to the panel show rule in its capacity to entertain. This isn't surprising when you consider it was devised by the same people who dreamt up I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Granted, it has the same rotation of comedians - Jack Dee, Rufus Hound and Lee Mack were this week's guests - and is hosted by David Mitchell, a Stephen Fry-in-waiting who appears pathologically incapable of turning down work. But what it has going for it is an intellectual curiosity that this week turned up such invaluable facts as the radioactive properties of Brazil nuts, Florence Nightingale's love for her pet owl and Indonesia's 17 million boy scouts. The Unbelievable Truth wipes the floor with the competition. If only it could make the competition disappear altogether.

Stephen Fry wins celebrity Prime Minister poll

Stephen Fry has been named as the celebrity that most British people would like to see become prime minister, according to an online poll on Digital Spy.

Stephen Fry to judge H2G2 animation comp

TV presenter Stephen Fry is to judge an international competition, launched by literature and technology site The Literary Platform, to animate an audio recording of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams.