Jeremy Hardy – författare

Exploring family history is an urge that has gripped the nation, and it has gripped Jeremy Hardy too. In My Family and Other Strangers he sets out on the road and on the world wide web to find out all he can about the Hardy clan. His aim is to prove - or more likely disprove - his grandmother Becky''s dubious claims that they are descended from Sir Christopher Wren and that Jeremy''s great grandfather was personal bodyguard and confident to the King. Wild stories apart, Jeremy travels as far a field as his local library and the hostile waters around Malta in order to find family traits that go beyond a big nose and IBS.Whatever he finds, how will he know how much is in the blood and how much is coincidence? Might he discover a comedy gene? But perhaps what he will find is more important is to build up a picture of those relatives he knew too fleetingly as a small child, and the people who filled their world. Negotiating the living and the dead, the familiar and the distant, in My Family and Other Strangers Jeremy Hardy takes us on a fascinating and often hilarious journey into the world of family ancestry.

''The master of quietly inflammatory comedy'' - The Evening Standard''Made me drop the kettle in shock, but worth it'' - The Daily TelegraphFew can forget where they were in September 1993 when they first heard Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation. The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. Since that fateful first series, the show has gone on to win Sony awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry with lines like - "Kids should never be fashion slaves, especially in the Far East. My 12-year old daughter asked me for a new pair of trainers. I told her she was old enough to go out and make her own".Included here are all ten series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation, with episodes on topics like "How To Stay Alive As Long As You Possibly Can", "How To Have A Baby", and "How To Confront The Vexed Issue Of British Identity Without Getting In The Most Fearful Bate About The Whole Thing".This bumper collection also includes Jeremy Hardy''s New Year Cavalcade - an unmissable meditation on everything Yule and a healthy dose of comic Bisodol to flush away the memory of driving up the motorway for seven hours in the dark to spend quantity time with your family - and the memorial programme When Jeremy Hardy Spoke to the Nation. Not quite a biography, not quite a documentary, this final programme is narrated by his great friend and colleague Sandi Toksvig, and shines a light on how and why the man once described as ''an incendiary vicar'' stayed so funny and so beloved for over 30 years.Produced and directed by David Tyler.A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd(p)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The best of the best from the Comedians'' Comedian 2020''If you loved Jeremy Hardy, or if you know anyone who did, this is the most brilliant present because it''s got every part of his voice in it'' DAWN FRENCH''Well good evening, my name is Jeremy Hardy and I''m a comedian who likes to make wry witty satirical observations about the society we live in -- but I prefer to keep them to myself, thank you very much.''Edited by his wife, Katie Barlow and his long-time producer David Tyler, this comprehensive celebration of Jeremy Hardy''s work is introduced by Jack Dee and Mark Steel. Further reflections on Jeremy come from Rory Bremner, Paul Bassett Davies, Jon Naismith, Francesca Martinez, Sandi Toksvig, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Andy Hamilton, Graeme Garden and Hugo Rifkind. Katie Barlow also provides a moving Afterword.Jeremy Hardy, who died in February 2019, was perhaps the most distinctive and brilliant comedian to arise from the 80s Alternative Comedy circuit. He regularly entertained the millions who heard his outrageous rants on The News Quiz, his legendary singing on I''m Sorry I Haven''t a Clue, or his hilarious monologues and sketches on the award-winning Jeremy Hardy Speaks to The Nation and Jeremy Hardy Feels It.Often referred to as ''the comedian''s comedian'', Jeremy''s comedy could be both personal and political, ranging in topics from prison reform to parenting, from British identity to sex. His comedy could be biting, provocative and illuminating, but it could also be surreal, mischievous and, at times, very silly. And while Jeremy''s unwavering socialism was a thread that ran throughout his comedy, his greatest skill was that, whatever their political beliefs, Jeremy always brought his audience along with him.Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes is a fitting celebration of this brilliant comedian. Introduced by Jack Dee and Mark Steel and containing material from his stand-up to his radio monologues and political satire to the joyfully silly gems, as well as tributes from his friends and fellow comedians, it is curated to encompass everything about Jeremy that fans adored. Edited by Katie Barlow and David Tyler, Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes is wise, daft, outrageous, personal and, above all, very funny: like Jeremy himself.''Ground-breakingly brilliant, off-the-register funny'' JACK DEE''A one-off. Part genius, part naughty schoolboy'' SANDI TOKSVIG''Unfussy, unshowy, principled, self-deprecating, hugely loved and admired by his fellow comedians and funnier than the lot of us put together'' RORY BREMNER

All three series of the surreal sitcom set in the madcap world of four happy-go-lucky young folkJeremy Hardy and friends are an irrepressible gang of jolly japesters who are always up for laughter and merriment. Luckily, they all live near to each other: which means craziness is never far away. So good they named it twice, this zany sitcom was initially known as Unnatural Acts, before returning for its third series as At Home With the Hardys. But though the title may be different, the high jinks are as wacky as ever...Series 1 of Unnatural Acts sees Jeremy investigating his lineage, and Kit deciding it''s time to get in touch with a medium''s answerphone. When the pals decide to commune with Mother Nature it''s out with the picnic snacks and off to Sizefield nuclear power station - and when Caroline makes a special announcement at Kit and Jeremy''s wedding anniversary, it''s another success story for computer dating. There''s just one tiny problem... In Series 2, a slew of April Fool pranks escalates into a terrorist threat; a safari park throws up some unexpected attractions, including an exploding ostrich and a gorilla with a walkie-talkie; and Paul starts spring-cleaning Ashdown Forest - where he makes a very interesting discovery...There''s a new moniker, a new story, a new job and a new arrival for the crazy crew in Series 3, At Home with the Hardys. Someone, somewhere is having an affair - and Paul''s doing the catering. Adverts make the heart grow fonder as our four funsters bring you a cleaner, brighter programme with built-in lemon freshness. Meanwhile, a famous line from a famous film may not amount to a hill of beans, but it could be the end of a beautiful friendship - and as Jeremy and Paul get starry-eyed, Kit and Caroline come down to earth...Written by and starring Jeremy Hardy, Kit Hollerbach and Paul B. Davies, this riotous radio romp also stars Caroline Leddy.Production creditsProduced by David TylerCastJeremy - Jeremy HardyKit - Kit HollerbachPaul - Paul B. DaviesCaroline - Caroline Leddyand introducing Patty-JoFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:Series 1 (Unnatural Acts)Written by Jeremy Hardy, Kit Hollerbach and Paul B Davies. With Pete Sinclair, Steve Punt, Alison Renshaw, John Morrish and Dave CohenSeries 2 (Unnatural Acts)Written by Jeremy Hardy, Kit Hollerbach, Paul B Davies, Pete Sinclair and Caroline LeddySeries 3 (At Home with the Hardys)Written by Paul B. Davies, Jeremy Hardy, Kit Hollerbach and Pete Sinclair© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd''Radio 4''s best comedy by miles'' The Listener

Jeremy Hardy returns to the airwaves with four broadcasts of national comic import.

1. “How To Eat Food” In order to help explain one of our most fundamental acts as human beings, Jeremy picks up the topic of food with the chopsticks of enquiry and then drops it on his trousers of former cleanliness. Helping him tackle the subject will be special guests Vicki Pepperdine and Paul Bassett Davies

2. “How To Define Oneself In Terms Of Regional, Cultural And Geopolitical Identity Without Tears” In this post-Scottish-Independence referendum world, Jeremy dispassionately examines the questions of nationality, identity and accents. The noo. Helping him get to grips with the new world are Susan Murray and Moray Hunter.

3. “How To Be A Good Citizen” Jeremy attempts to understand citizenship, to examine the State and to spell surveillance. Looking over his shoulder at the script will be Gordon Kennedy and Carla Mendonça.

4. “How To Be Better, Theologically, Socially, Nationally, And In Terms Of One''s Own Personal Development, Responsibility And Interaction With The Fellow Humans With Whom We Share This Fragile Planet An Ting”. Using just the Bible, the Monarchy & Audrey Hepburn, Jeremy Hardy promises to build a whole new you. Helping him along will be Paul Bassett Davies & Carla Mendonça

Sandi Toksvig chairs seven episodes of the ever-popular topical comedy show.The News Quiz, ‘the finest topical comedy panel game known to radio’, has been providing headlines and punchlines since it first aired in 1977. In these seven episodes, long-standing panellists and guest players tackle issues diverse and diverting.

Jeremy Hardy returns with a brand new series that not only seconds that emotion but explains it too. Yes, BBC Radio 4''s most passionate polemicist returns to the airwaves with a new format which promises to be both personal and profound, and to present sides of Jeremy you won''t have heard before. He may even sing. (He won''t sing.)The News Quiz and I''m Sorry I Haven''t A Clue regular, proud progenitor of ten series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, and winner of numerous awards and almost certainly the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Jeremy is famous for lines like:"Kids should never be fashion slaves, especially in the Far East. My 12-year old daughter asked me for a new pair of trainers. I told her she was old enough to go out and make her own."and -"Islam is no weirder than Christianity. Both are just Judaism with the jokes taken out."His unique world view once lead him to be likened to "an incendiary vicar". Gillian Reynolds called him, "an idealist, a dissenter, a polemicist and moralist - he''s a salutary reminder that jokes can, and should, be about big things."The show is produced by Jeremy''s long-standing accomplice, David Tyler, whose radio credits include Cabin Pressure, John Finnemore’s Double Acts, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Marcus Brigstocke''s The Brig Society, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, Armando Iannucci''s Charm Offensive, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The Castle, The 99p Challenge, Deep Trouble, My First Planet, Radio Active and Bigipedia. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul Calf Video Diary, Coogan''s Run and exec producing Victoria Wood''s Dinnerladies.In the four shows, Jeremy is feeling - in turn - happy, sad, fearful and finally, hopeful!