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Griff Rhys Jones

Griff Rhys Jones

  • Actor, Presenter and Comedy Writer
  • Travel Documentary Maker
  • After Dinner Speaker and Awards Host

Winner of a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, Griff Rhys Jones is a well-known Welsh comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. He made his name as a comedian in the 1980s, appearing together with his long-term comedy partner Mel Smith in Not The Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith And Jones.

Griff has also starred in numerous other TV favourites, including The Young Ones, Funnybones, Monty The Dog and It'll Be Alright On The Night, and in addition, has co-hosted on several Comic Relief programmes.

Griff’s first experience in TV studios was behind the cameras as a trainee producer at BBC Radio Light Entertainment, working on such shows as Week Ending and Brain Of Britain. He went on to produce Rowan Atkinson's show The Atkinson People for the BBC and appeared twice on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

In addition to his work as a comedian, Griff has also developed a career as a presenter of documentaries, including Bookworm, Mountain, Restoration, Greatest Cities Of The World, Rivers With Griff Rhys Jones, Hidden Treasures of Art, Slow Train Through Africa, and Britain's Lost Routes. Griff also journeyed together with co-stars Dara Ó Briain and Rory McGrath in the BBC2 series Three Men In A Boat (2006-2011) - the series saw the trio rowing down the River Thames on a wooden skiff (in their original recreation of Jerome K. Jerome's novel), sailing from London to the Isle of Wight for a sailing boat race, and borrowing numerous vessels to make their way from Plymouth to the Isles of Scilly.

Griff has most recently been on our screens as presenter of Griff's Great Britain, an eight-part series on ITV.

Griff is also a familiar voice on the radio. In 2002, he starred in a series of adaptations of comedic stories by Nikolai Gogol, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 under the umbrella title of Three Ivans, Two Aunts And An Overcoat.

A passionate campaigner on civic issues, Griff is President of the campaigning group Civic Voice, which encourages local residents to play a bigger role in determining the shape of their architectural environments. In 2004, he led a demonstration at the Senate House in Cambridge University for the purpose of saving architecture as a degree subject at Cambridge.

Griff published his autobiography, Semi-Detached, in 2007. The book concentrates on his early life, up until his TV career.

Griff Rhys Jones is one of Britain’s best-known and most popular TV personalities. To book him, contact a Prime Performers Booking Agent via the online booking enquiry form or alternatively call us on 020 3500 3331 to discuss your requirements.

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