After Dinner Speakers - Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor first started writing and acting at Cambridge University, where he was President of the famous Footlights Club. His fellow writers/performers in the 1963 revue, Cambridge Circus, included John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Graham Chapman and Graeme Garden. Cambridge Circus transferred to the West End and eventually, via New Zealand, ended up on Broadway.
Television series have included At Last the 1948 Show, Marty, Broaden Your Mind, Me and My Girl, You Must be the Husband and, of course, The Goodies. Tim, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie made over ninety Goodies programmes which proved to be popular all over the world. Due to a demand created by repeats on UK Gold, the BBC has recently released 2 x 3 programme videos of The Goodies.
He has appeared in numerous radio series including I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, Hello Cheeky and Hoax. He has also just completed the twenty fifth series of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue with Barry Cryer, Willie Rushton, Graeme Garden, Humphrey Lyttleton and the lovely Samantha.
Tim has worked regularly on stage including two notable successes in Australia with My Fat Friend and Privates on Parade. He has starred in the West End with Graeme Garden in The Unvarnished Truth, with Richard O'Sullivan in Run For Your Wife and recently with Edward Fox in The Philanthropist.
Films include Twelve Plus One, where he co-wrote and acted with Orson Welles and The Statue with David Niven.
In 1992, he co-starred with Brigit Forsyth in a UK tour of Colin Bostock-Smiths stage version of You Must Be The Husband, directed by Ian Talbot, which was followed by highly successful Derek Nimmo production of the same play in a tour of the Far and Middle East. He has appeared in two other Derek Nimmo tours, as Norman in Alan Ayckbourns Table Manners and, in 1994, he toured thirteen countries from Beijing to Mexico City with Wife Begins at Forty.
He has written three books - Rule Britannia, Tim Brooke-Taylors Cricket Box and Tim Brooke-Taylors Golf Bag. He is proud to have been elected Rector of St Andrews University where he was given an honorary doctorate. He was, for a time, Director of Derby County Football Club and is still a loyal fan. He is married to Christine and they have two large sons, Ben and Edward. And, I'm afraid, he's a keen golfer.
