Stephen Fry

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.

This week the BBC attempted to re-launch Radio 4 chat show I've Never Seen Star Wars, where guests try out things they've never done before, for television. Why they needed to do so I don't know.

The TV version was first broadcast in 2009 on BBC Four with the host of the original radio version, Marcus Brigstocke, still hosting it. This new "pilot" was hosted by Jo Brand, and I do have to say that this edition does look better than the original series. The set is much crisper and cleaner, and they kept the original theme tune from the radio series rather the altered version from the first TV series. However, they still kept the annoying musical inserts between each item. They aren't needed and they end up just get up your nose.

The guest for this new edition was Stephen Fry. In this edition his first time experiences were his first ear piercing (an experience which gave a score of 8 out of 10), putting together flat-pack furniture (1 out of 10), watching Only Fools and Horses (9.5 out of 10) and boxing (10 out of 10). My favourite section was the furniture sequence, during which he sweat so profusely his skin looked like a waterfall. He looked like Lee Evans in the middle of a gig.

I've Never Seen Star Wars was an enjoyable show, but I still don't understand why they needed to replace Brigstocke with Brand. She was a decent enough host; but so is Brigstocke and I don't think there was any need for such a change...

Sir David's right royal carve-up

They say timing is everything in comedy. So let's call it a badly timed twist of fate that in the very week Stephen Fry called him 'one of the finest comedy actors in TV history', poor old David Jason had a bit of a 'mare. I speak, of course, of BBC1's The Royal Bodyguard. And I think it's only right and respectful that after today we all agree never to speak of it again.

Stephen Fry and his contestants don colourful scarves for a festive edition of the highbrow quiz show that loves a bit of low humour. Brian Blessed gets into the spirit on the subject of ice with some windy anecdotes about the Yeti and his love of husky dogs.

Sean Lock and Ross Noble are the quick wits riffing on Icelandic banking and prawns, while host Fry adopts his stern headmaster persona whenever his "class" seem to be having too much fun.

Like many teachers in the old-fashioned mould, though, he finds his own enjoyment peeking at the sight of one of his boys being humiliated... tonight, it's Lock falling off a chair.