After Dinner Speakers: Lenny Henry, Wally Olins, Delia Smith

Lenny Henry has risen from being a cult star on children’s television to being an award winning comedian and one of Britain’s best known and loved personalities. He has had a crucial influence on the creation of black-centred comedy and characters in the UK. Lenny’s first television exposure as a comedian was on New Faces when he was just 17. Over the years his character creations have ranged from Brixton’s favourite wideboy Delbert Wilkins to the one man "sex machine" Theophilus P. Wildebeeste . Lenny and his various characters appeal across all classes, creeds and age groups. Recent television appearances by Lenny include two Christmas specials of Lenny Henry In Pieces in 2000 and 2001 on BBC ONE. The first won the prestigious Golden Rose Of Montreux award at the Montreux Television Festival. Lenny also appeared as the headmaster in three series of BBC ONE’s Hope and Glory. Other television appearances on the BBC include Lenny’s Atlantic Adventure in which Lenny crossed the Atlantic with sailor Tony Bulimore, The Man, Lenny Goes To Town, Lenny’s Big Amazon Adventure, Lenny Henry Gets Wild, Chef!, The Lenny Henry Show, The Lenny Henry Christmas Show, Lenny Henry: In Dreams, Bernard And The Genie, Comic Strip Presents Oxford, Comic Strip Presents South Atlantic Raiders, The Lenny Henry Special, The Delbert Wilkins Show, Lenny Henry Tonite, and Three of A Kind. On ITV Lenny’s appearances include White Goods, South Bank Show - Darker Than Me, South Bank Show - Hunt The Funk, Lenny Go Home, O.T.T., Tiswas, The Fosters, The Summer Show and New Faces. Lenny has also appeared in the films Goodbye Mr Steadman, True Identity and Live and Unleashed. Lenny is about to embark on a one man stand-up UK tour entitled, Have You Seen This Man.