CULTURE
STARK TRUTHS
BEN ELTON
Forty years after his stand-up debut, the famously motormouthed comedian, author and scriptwriter still has something to shout about
REPORTS: EVE ROWLANDS. LAURA BENJAMIN.
The cast of Blackadder Goes Forth – the fourth Blackadder series, which Ben co-wrote from series two onwards alongside Richard Curtis
PHOTOS: ALPHA PRESS. BBC. SKY/HBO. TREVOR LEIGHTON. WALT DISNEY STUDIOS/LMK
World-renowned comic writer Ben Elton put his life as a stand-up comedian on pause back in 2006 to become a stay-at-home dad, “writing novels and making an awful lot of school lunches”.
Now, 15 years later, Ben is back on the British stage with a comedy show, Ben Elton Live, at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre next week. The move celebrates his 40 years in showbusiness – and, he tells HELLO! in our exclusive interview, it was encouraged by his wife Sophie, with whom he has twins Lottie and Bert, now 22, and Fred, 20.