Former Have I Got News For You host Angus Deayton has revealed that meeting screenwriter Richard Curtis at Oxford University in the late 1970s transformed his life and launched his career in entertainment.
How Curtis Changed Deayton's Path
Deayton, 70, told City AM columnist Libby Brodie on The Inner Table: The Art Of Living Well podcast: 'I've had a fantastic life, a fantastic career, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I can't pretend that I would do something radically different.' He added: 'I have been fortunate in a couple of regards, I think. People I've met, for example, who have changed my life. Like Richard Curtis, who I met at Oxford University.'
Deayton explained that before meeting Curtis, he had never considered performing. 'I'd never even thought about performing at all – it was entirely his fault that I was goaded into performing on stage towards the end of my degree. Prior to that, I'd never even considered acting or writing. It was purely through meeting him.'
From Edinburgh Fringe to National Fame
Curtis 'drafted' Deayton to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after two performers dropped out. 'One thing led to another,' Deayton recalled. They recorded a Bee Gees parody track that topped charts in Australia and co-created BBC Radio 4's Radio Active, a spoof of British radio shows that ran for seven years. 'That was our big break,' Deayton said.
Breakthrough on Have I Got News For You
Deayton then auditioned for the BBC satirical panel show Have I Got News For You, which he hosted for 12 years. 'They auditioned two of us, and I got the job,' he said. 'Suddenly, once you're on TV, more work flows. But for about 10 years I just thought, 'I'm gonna have to retire because I'm never gonna get on TV.''
His career includes appearances in One Foot In The Grave, Waterloo Road, Pramface, Benidorm, Blackadder, and Mr Bean, as well as hosting Hell's Kitchen and Would I Lie To You?. He has won multiple Bafta TV awards for hosting Have I Got News For You.
Reflecting on a 'Fantastic Career'
Deayton, who also has a child, said: 'I maintain that every decade has been better than the one before. Partly because of the way my career has gone – and when I had my child and all those things. Every decade has had something that's made it better than the one before.'
The full episode of The Inner Table: The Art Of Living Well will be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube from July 21.
