The 8 Show - 2024 - S01 E04

Gordon Angus Deayton (/ˈdiːtən/; born 6 January 1956)[1] is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster.

Deayton was the original presenter of the satirical panel game show Have I Got News for You (1990–2002), the host of British panel show Would I Lie to You? (2007–2008), and a regular cast member of the David Renwick sitcom One Foot in the Grave (1990–2000). He also played George Windsor in the series Waterloo Road.

The youngest of three sons of a Prudential insurance broker/manager English father and a home economics school teacher Scottish mother,[2][3] Deayton was brought up in Banstead, Surrey, and attended Oakhurst Grange School and Caterham School. He showed early promise as a footballer and had a trial with Crystal Palace.[4][5] He was captain of the Caterham U16 Rugby team.

Deayton read French and German at New College, Oxford,[5] where, in 1978,[2] he was recruited into the Oxford Revue, performing with them at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This led to the creation of the parody band the Hee Bee Gee Bees in 1980, with the songs written by Richard Curtis and Philip Pope. Their best-selling single "Meaningless Songs (In Very High Voices)" (plus the B-side "Posing in the Moonlight") was a parody of the falsetto style of disco hits by the Bee Gees.

Deayton began his career on Radio Active, a parody of British local radio stations broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1981 and 1987, which he co-wrote and performed. It transferred to television as KYTV between 1989 and 1993. Deayton presented a tribute to Radio Active and KYTV colleague and friend (and long-time BBC producer) Geoffrey Perkins for BBC Radio 4 on 4 October 2008.

Deayton was frequently a straight man alongside Rowan Atkinson. He starred with Atkinson as a pool attendant and a man on a park bench in the Mr. Bean episode "The Curse of Mr. Bean" and appeared opposite Atkinson in the Black Adder episode "Born to Be King" (1983) as one of the Jumping Jews of Jerusalem.

From 1988 to 1991, Deayton was a featured player in all three series of the Emmy award-winning sketch comedy programme Alexei Sayle's Stuff. In 1990, Deayton was cast as the Meldrews' neighbour Patrick Trench in the British suburban sitcom One Foot in the Grave and was selected as host of Have I Got News for You. The same year, he featured on television advertising the Vauxhall Nova. Andre Ptaszynski tried to persuade him to take the lead role in Steven Moffat's sitcom Chalk, a role eventually taken by David Bamber.[6] Deayton worked with David Renwick again appearing in the miniseries If You See God, Tell Him.

Tags: