Clive Anderson by profession is a barrister. He developed his flair for comedy and performing when he studied at Selwyn College, Cambridge between 1972 and 1975.
Clive Anderson is a man of many talents. He has several television writing credits to his name including, Not the Nine O’Clock News (BBC), Alas Smith and Jones(BBC) and Around Midnight (LWT). He is also an accomplished performer on Stage as a stand-up comedian in the early 80s, on Radio as host of The Cabaret Upstairs and on Television as host and Chairman of Whose Line Is It Anyway?.
Whose Line Is It Anyway:
Whose Line..? has been running for many years. The show appeared on BBC Radio 4 in 1988 before transferring to the small-screen on Channel 4. Clive Anderson was the Chairman for both. In 1998 the show was adapted and started appearing on American TV. It ran for 9 years and then was revived in 2013. Another long-running show Clive Andersen Talks Back ran for 10 series from 1989. Clive Anderson’s All Talk aired between 1996 and 2001 featuring Ben Elton, Frank Skinner and Steve Coogan.
In 2015 Clive hosted Whose Line Is It Anyway?... Live, the official worldwide première at the Adelphi Theatre in London. The show returned to the London Palladium for a limited run in 2016. Then again, in the Royal Albert Hall in 2018, celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Clive Anderson is not just known for comedy, he has presented several Documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. Following the success of the six part series for the BBC entitled Our Man In…, where Clive was sent around the World to out-of-the-way places. A further series was screened in early 96.
In 2018 along with anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota, Clive hosted Mystic Britain for the Smithsonian Channel. This was a series of ten programmes following Clive and Mary-Ann around Britain as they explored ancient places and rituals, investigating the strange and sacred beliefs of Britain’s past with the help of scientists, archaeologists and historians. The show was recommissioned in 2020.
Awards:
Clive Anderson was awarded the television industries Comedy Presenter of the Year Award in 1991. He also won an award from the British Comedy Awards for the Top Channel 4 Presenter in 1992.
He has also hosted several Awards Ceremonies – BAFTA Craft Awards and The Evening Standard Film Awards and hosted a live 2 hour special of The Channel 4 Debate during a General Election.
Clive has written articles for The Times, The Observer, The Listener and has a regular column in The Sunday Correspondent.