Writer and star of Radio 4's "The Department" alongside Chris Addison and Andy Zaltzman . Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport related material. Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport-related material.. If you tuned in to that Radio 4 comedy warhorse, at some point you will have realised things were a touch more surreal than usual. Photograph: Zechariah Zaltzman. In the 1970's Andy "Noddy Holder" Zaltzman had a number of hits with the rock band Slade, including "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "The Lord Is My Keeper". The man is just not funny, not funny at all. The internet has opened up new ways for making comedy; it's enabled people not to have to go through a BBC commissioning process or do years on the standup circuit to be successful. If some listeners felt the quiz template had become a bit tired after 47 years on the airwaves, Zaltzman wants to make sure the new series is “not just questions and answers – to try to make the format slightly more dynamic than it has been at times in the past”. John Cornelius "Funky Stuff" Oliver is half of the superhuman duo (which also includes Andy "Pass Me The Zalt" Zaltzman) that is responsible for The Bugle, (default source of news worldwide).Oliver moved to New York city in the United States in 2006, and is therefore well placed to bring the news from the western side of the Atlantic to the Bugle. Ryan Lochte, Paralympics, and the world's biggest scrum - Andy Zaltzman's Summer of Sport. Sometime in 1974 he inexpliably shrank into a minor-grade fetus and implanted himself in the uterus of the woman who was to become his mother. Or maybe it was when another had a point deducted for “using facts” – leaving them trailing behind the audience, who were also asking the questions. I don't think I ever thought that "funny" was a commodity that I could use. His sister Helen Zaltzman is a comedian and podcaster. It was all bits and pieces of freelance, until I started making Answer Me This! John Cornelius "Funky Stuff" Oliver is half of the superhuman duo (which also includes Andy "Pass Me The Zalt" Zaltzman) that is responsible for The Bugle, (default source of news worldwide).Oliver moved to New York city in the United States in 2006, and is therefore well placed to bring the news from the western side of the Atlantic to the Bugle. I worked in TV for a bit, did stuff on radio and wrote for The Now Show. I thought it would be fun to have a pun run reading at our wedding and began to pester whomever reads The Bugle email in an attempt to get Mr. Zaltzman… I wanted to be a sports journalist.' ‘Now, please, everyone, leave me be.’”, The News Quiz airs on Radio 4 on Friday at 6.30pm. We find the same things funny, but our styles are very different. It actually looked like somewhere Caractacus Potts or … When I do listen to Andy on The Bugle, I can forget he's my brother. Since Oliver quit in 2016 to focus on his TV career, Zaltzman has skewered the news with a rotating line-up of guests – including his sister Helen, herself a famous podcaster – all united by their groaning disdain for his elaborate puns. I never really did standup because I saw a lot of Andy when he started, and it never appealed. Every week throughout summer 2016, Andy Zaltzman and guests so special we can’t say here, give their insight into the summer’s sporting bonanza: everything from the Rio Olympics to the Redneck Games, the Tour de France to the Toe Wrestling World Championships, and Wimbledon to the Wife Carrying Festival. They talk about why the festival circuit was important for Andy and other comics working their way up in the UK. Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport related material. But it highlighted that even then there was a concern for balance, not always directed in the right way.”, The Coronavirus pandemic has made this a difficult year for satire, and the landscape has darkened yet further with this week’s reports of a coming second wave. I get my regular dosage of John Oliver human from the Times Online’s “Bugle” podcast featuring John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman. But we don't really listen to each other's stuff. I work best in conversation and touring has never appealed to me. Last Friday, the 45-year-old took over as host of The News Quiz. Perhaps it was when one guest was interrupted by a robotic “cyber-satirist”. Andrew "Andy" Zaltzman (born 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely focuses on political material. I kept thinking, "I've got nothing." Neither Helen or I are natural clowns or performers, so verbal dexterity is our strength. There’s a reason “facts” are penalised: Zaltzman’s approach to the news usually involves a torrent of fake names and plausible-sounding lies. I got into comedy by accident. Last week the BBC’s new director-general, Tim Davie, used his introductory speech to stress the importance of impartiality – prompting articles asking whether the corporation’s comedy was impartial enough. Rick is a proper human being who works in business, but he's our black sheep. Zaltzman, who lives in London with his wife Miranda and the children, was speaking before heading to our shores to perform at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival – where he is currently performing – and the Sydney Comedy Festival, which opens on April 24. Oliver met his wife, Kate Norley , when he was covering the 2008 Republican Convention for The Daily Show (1996). Often writes and performs with friend Andy Zaltzman. Andrew "Andy" Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political material. Zaltzman hopes “to bring a bit of inventiveness” to the show, he tells me on the phone from south London, where he lives with his barrister wife and two children, 11 and 13. Satirist For Hire is going on tour. I didn't want to be a classicist or a comedian. If Zaltzman was more to the cricketers’ taste, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Zaltzman’s Wikipedia page mentions that in 2014 he “performed at the Lord’s Taverners charity Christmas lunch without incident.” Some wag has clearly added “without incident” as a joke directed at former News Quiz host and frequent Bugle guest Nish Kumar, who memorably had a bread roll thrown at him by an aggrieved audience-member during his own performance at that annual cricket-lovers’ do last year. Yeah, looking it at it this way, I'd rather they chose her path over mine. … Often writes and performs with friend Andy Zaltzman. Zaltzman hopes “to bring a bit of inventiveness” to the show, he tells me on the phone from south London, where he lives with his barrister wife and two children, 11 and 13. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Twitter: @helenzaltzman The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Every week throughout summer 2016, Andy Zaltzman and guests so special we can’t say here, give their insight into the summer’s sporting bonanza: everything from the Rio Olympics to the Redneck Games, the Tour de France to the Toe Wrestling World Championships, and Wimbledon to the Wife Carrying Festival. Rick was a baby and Andy was on the way when he decided to do it and he's still doing it, 40 years on. Helen is a podcasting legend. The recent hand-wringing about balance is nothing new. As he takes over Radio 4's satirical news quiz, the cricket-loving comic talks BBC bias and the challenges of joking through a pandemic. and I know she doesn't listen to The Bugle, so it's not something we exchange tips on. Helen and Andy Zaltzman. Every week throughout summer 2016, Andy Zaltzman and guests so special we can’t say here, give their insight into the summer’s sporting bonanza: everything from the Rio Olympics to the Redneck Games, the Tour de France to the Toe Wrestling World Championships, and Wimbledon to the Wife Carrying Festival. It was really, really awful, in a way that made me think, "I should not do this, ever again." We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/WeeklyYouTube Facebook: http://bit.ly/WeeklyFacebook Twitter: http://bit.ly/WeeklyTwitter Andy and Helen Zaltzman on where their humour comes from, All in the family: the Zaltzman comedy siblings, "When you’re a sculptor, you can’t tell your kids to go get a job" … Helen and Andy Zaltzman. I must be a huge fan of John Oliver, because the more I hear Andy Zaltzman, the more I hate him. When one of us said, "Dad, I don't really know what I want to do," or "I'm off to make a living from standup or something equally stupid" there was really no way our father could turn to us and say, "No, get a proper job." It happened to coincide with the Iraq War, and we were asked if we were going to make jokes critical of George W Bush that there should also be some critical of Saddam Hussein – which seems fairly ludicrous, in the sense that no one was suggesting that Saddam Hussein was right. He's really driven, while Andy and I only do things if they're due the next day. Zaltzman delivered his son at home due to his wife entering labour suddenly. It’s a kind of mischievous satire that will be familiar to fans of The Bugle, the cult comedy podcast he started in 2007 with John Oliver. The Corporation’s Director of Conspicuous Evenhandedness explained that the ‘silent Prom’ would allow everyone to imagine the music and lyrics they personally want to hear being played. He has worked extensively with John Oliver; their work together includes Political Animal, The Department, and The Bugle. We are both podcasters, but I don't listen to Answer Me This! I don't think either Andy or I ever consciously considered comedy; we just never ruled it out. • Andy Zaltzman's show Satirist for Hire will embark on a UK tour from 14 September, including six consecutive nights at the Soho Theatre from 22 September, How does one family produce two successful comedians? Yes, she is Andy’s sister. Zaltzman's wife is a barrister and they have two children, a daughter born January 2007 and a son born December 2008. Humour came late to me: I got into Python when I was about 14 or 15 and I discovered the radio show On the Hour and The Day Today on television. It isn’t easy to bring something fresh to a show in its 103rd series, but Andy Zaltzman seems to have managed it. . Thinking about it, the main reason we have two comedians in the family is simply: no one ever told us not to. In a sense, what is being sought is a balance of partialities. ‘Will that do?’ he said. For me, I was frankly hideous and weird at school, but I never got picked on because I could deflect with humour. Andy Zaltzman is bringing his show Satirist for Hire to Australia.. Zaltzman and Oliver shared a passion for politics and satire and soon found themselves working together on … Rowan Atkinson thinks The Big Bang Theory is funnier than modern British comedy – where’s he Bean? People ask, "Is there sibling rivalry between you two, as podcasters?" I had a brief go at the Edinburgh Festival when I was finishing university but then didn't do it again for a couple of years. Being on the circuit looked relentless. I must be a huge fan of John Oliver, because the more I hear Andy Zaltzman, the more I hate him. Andrew “Andy” Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport related material. Andy writes everything and prepares meticulously, whereas I research material and don't think about the delivery. Ask her about podcasting, or Serial. Coming to you live in glorious Sport-o-scope - every week throughout summer 2016 - Andy Zaltzman and guests so special we can’t say here, give their insight into the summer’s sporting bonanza: everything from the Rio Olympics to the Redneck Games, the Tour de France to the Toe Wrestling World Championships, and Wimbledon to the Wife Carrying Festival. Every week throughout summer 2016, Andy Zaltzman and guests so special we can’t say here, give their insight into the summer’s sporting bonanza: everything from the Rio Olympics to the Redneck Games, the Tour de France to the Toe Wrestling World Championships, and Wimbledon to the Wife Carrying Festival. His comment came after … By contrast, Zaltzman usually approaches the headlines with a sense of bemused or exhausted resignation – a mood captured in his News Quiz riff on the recent Proms palaver: “The BBC has announced that it will broadcast in full the first ever ‘silent Prom’, live from the Albert Hall. Our older brother, Rick, is also really funny but he's brusquer. I was quite a serious child. For starters, he is “obsessed with cricket”, and puts his encyclopaedic knowledge of batting averages to use in his other radio job, as Test Match Special’s scorer and statistician. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/WeeklyYouTube Facebook: http://bit.ly/WeeklyFacebook Twitter: http://bit.ly/WeeklyTwitter It will commence at the following dates.You are invited to email your satirico-query to satirisethis@satiristforhire.com, including the date of the show you’ll be attending, (“Strambert Hoggis, the minister for speculative policy announcements, explained...”) It dates back to his days as sports editor of Oxford’s student newspaper, when he would sneak in reports of entirely fictional matches. My wife is a criminal barrister, so they could go into legal reform, or the silly route. But my brother works in business, so it worked on the three of us in different ways. Satirist For Hire is going on tour. Andy and Helen Zaltzman on where their humour comes from. Oliver met his wife, Kate Norley , when he was covering the 2008 Republican Convention for The Daily Show (1996). He takes over the News Quiz chair at a time when BBC comedy is under the spotlight. I started mining the seam of bullshit when I was sports editor of a student newspaper: my articles were always an odd mix of inter-college rugby matches and absurd, made-up events that never happened. It’s French and Saunders to the rescue. Andy Zaltzman is joined by comedian Nish Kumar and the Guardian’s Paul MacInnes and Jacob Steinberg to discuss the future of the one-handed backhand, the Estonian hold in the Wife … His career gave us permission to take creative and financial risks: when you're a sculptor, you can't tell your kids to go get a job. With hits like Answer Me This and Radiotopia’s The Allusionist under her belt, her joining The Bugle is an issue the competition commission should have an issue with. Andy Zaltzman wrote a reading for my wedding My wife and I are big Bugle fans and have bonded over "bad" jokes, puns, and a generally quirky sense of humor. 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