Alexander Armstrong

Alexander Armstrong

Alexander Armstrong is a brilliant British comedian, actor and television presenter, known for being one half of double act Armstrong and Miller (with Ben Miller) and as a frequent presenter of the satirical panel show Have I got News For You.

He graduated in 1992, soon after he moved to London with some friends to pursue a career in acting and comedy. In 1996, he and Ben Miller performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and were nominated for the Perrier Award. Alexander Armstrong co-starred in four series' of Armstrong and Miller from 1997 to 2001. The duo decided to take a break and split for several years to forge their own solo careers. Armstrong renewed his partnership with Miller for the award-winning The Armstrong and Miller Show in 2007. Between September and November 2010, Armstrong took The Armstrong and Miller Show on tour in the UK, completing 62 dates. This was only the second time The Armstrong and Miller Show had gone out on the road, the first tour being in autumn 2001. He appeared on the BBC Radio 4's The Very World of Milton Jones, broadcast between 1998 and 2001, and between early 2000 and early 2001. He has also been the star of a series of TV commercials for Pimm's. Armstrong was chairman of the comedy panel show Best of the Worst which also featured team captains David Mitchell and Johnny Vaughan. On BBC Radio 4, he has played the part of John Weak in the office sitcom Weak at the Top by Guy Browning. Armstrong also played Martin Baine-Jones, alongside Ben Miller's Craig Children, for the Times Online's "Timeghost" podcast, as they discussed the cultural zeitgeist. He is a frequent guest host on the BBC's satirical panel game Have I Got News for You, having appeared 19 times. His most recent appearance as host was on 21 October 2011. Armstrong has, to date, made the most appearances of any guest, whether as host or panellist. He has been the presenter of the BBC One game show Pointless alongside former university mate Richard Osman since it began in 2009. He also presented a documentary, Alexander Armstrong's Very British Holiday, for the BBC on 8 November 2009 about the history of the "great British summer holiday" and his attempts to explore its modern version. Also in 2009, he played a school sports instructor on the Sky1 TV movie Skellig, based on the prize-winning children's novel, alongside Tim Roth (in the title role), John Simm and Kelly MacDonald. In July 2011 Armstrong became a co-presenter on BBC One's "The Great British Weather". In August 2011 he began presenting a game show on BBC One titled Epic Win.

Other Work

Armstrong was the narrator of the cartoon series The Big Knights which first appeared on the BBC1 over the Christmas Season of 1999-2000 With Miller, he has formed a production company called Toff Media. In February 2011 Armstrong became President of the Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle upon Tyne, more commonly known as the Lit & Phil Library. He launched their million pound appeal at a special gala event. Alexander Armstrong is still a familiar face in the television scene and his entertaining speeches are in demand at events and seminars nationwide.