Angus Deayton

Brought up in Surrey, Deayton showed early promise as a footballer, and had a trial with Crystal Palace. A sporting career was not to be, and he read languages at New College, Oxford, where he was recruited into a satirical revue for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This led to the creation of the parody band the Hee Bee Gee Bees in about 1980. Their best selling single "Meaningless Songs" (plus the B-side "Posing in the Moonlight") was a parody of the falsetto style of countless disco hits from English pop group the Bee Gees. The parody songs were written by Richard Curtis and Philip Pope.

The foundation of Deayton's career was the parody of commercial/local British radio stations Radio Active transmitted on BBC Radio 4 between 1981 and 1987, which he both wrote and performed in. It transferred to television as KYTV between 1989 and 1993. 1990 was a busy year for Deayton as he was also cast as the Meldrews' neighbour Patrick Trench in the British suburban sitcom One Foot in the Grave and was selected as the host of the show that would make him a household name, Have I Got News For You. He also appeared in the award-winning Alexei Sayle's Stuff.

Deayton's suave manner as host of Have I Got News For You and a tabloid kiss-and-tell story by an ex-girlfriend led to him being nicknamed "TV's Mr Sex" in around 1993. He formerly lived with the Seventies singer/songwriter Stephanie de Sykes. He was much in demand as a presenter of television specials including the BBC's New Year's Eve show and the BAFTA Awards. He also featured in a series of advertisements for credit cards and the films Savage Hearts and Elizabeth.

In May 2002 he was embarrassed by tabloid revelations of a relationship with a prostitute and cocaine use, and his salary was reduced by the BBC. In October there were further reports of a long-standing affair, and he was asked to step down as the quizmaster of Have I Got News For You on October 29. The BBC said his position as a satirical commentator on the week's news had become untenable, though some observers suggested that as his position was essentially that of an actor reading a script he should have been allowed to continue.

He continues to work on other projects including a new episode of Radio Active which was broadcast in December 2002.

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