I was born in London and raised by distant relatives – my parents. That’s being English for you. Like most writers, my career has been part luck, part endeavour, with the disappointments dwarfed by acts of kindness. I sold my first joke at 18, then went on to wrote for dozens of UK sketch shows. I spent nine years at the Torygraph (as one of their house reds) wrote the book for a West End musical (Olivier nom) was head writer at Thomas the Tank Engine (BAFTA nom) and have written for more comedians than I care to remember. After penning a Sunday Times best seller ghost-writing came to my door and I’ve since written for ex-Mi5, the SAS, British MPs, and Putin’s lawyer in London (for which I am eternally sorry). I spent five years happy years as a producer at the BBC’s World Service (they had to drag me out when my contract ended). I’m currently working on The Kama Sutra of Comedy with London based US live comedy director Amanda Baker and UK comedian Jimmy Carr.