Geoffrey M. McGivern is a British actor in film, radio, stage and television, as well as a comedian.

Career

He played

Ford Prefect The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until 19 ...

in the

radio series A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

(1978–80) and subsequent LP releases of ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comic science fiction, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally The Hitchhiker's Guide to th ...

'' by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

whom he knew from University, and reprised the role for the four new series broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

between 2004 and 2018. A more recent radio broadcast was in ''

The Ape That Got Lucky ''The Ape That Got Lucky'' was a four-part radio series broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2005. Written by Chris Addison and Carl Cooper (author), Carl Cooper, it was based around Chris Addison giving a lecture on the evolution of man from "ugly ...

'' and has appeared in TV shows such as ''

Noel's House Party ''Noel's House Party'' is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 26 March 2000 on BBC One, a ...

'', ''

Press Gang ''Press Gang'' is a British children's television comedy drama consisting of 43 episodes across five series that were broadcast from 1989 to 1993. It was produced by Richmond Film & Television for Central, and screened on the ITV network in it ...

'', ''

Chef! ''Chef!'' is a British situation comedy starring Lenny Henry that aired as twenty episodes over three series from 1993 to 1996 on the BBC. The show was created and primarily written by Peter Tilbury based on an idea from Lenny Henry and produced ...

'', ''

Big Train ''Big Train'' is a British television sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan. The first series was broadcast on BBC Two in 1998, while the second, in which Linehan was not involved, aired in 2002. Overview The series starre ...

'', ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robins ...

the Third'' ("

Dish and Dishonesty ''Blackadder the Third'' is the third series of the BBC sitcom '' Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series is set during the Georgian Era, and sees the principal chara ...

"),

Chelmsford 123 ''Chelmsford 123'' is a British television situation comedy produced for Channel 4 by Hat Trick Productions. Chelmsford ran for two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, in 1988 and 1990. The series was set in the British town of Chel ...

, ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the titular character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solvi ...

'', ''

15 Storeys High ''15 Storeys High'' is a British sitcom, set in a tower block. It originated as two radio series broadcast in 1998–2000, transferring to television in 2002–2004. The main characters in the television series are Vince Clark, a depressed, sa ...

'', ''

Armstrong and Miller Armstrong and Miller are an English comedy double act consisting of the actor-comedians Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. They have performed in two eponymous television sketch shows, the satirical ''Timeghost'' podcast, and many individual ...

'', ''

Toast of London ''Toast of…'' is a British television sitcom, known either as ''Toast of London'' (when it was set in London) or ''Toast of Tinseltown'' (with episodes set in America). It was created by Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry and stars Berry as Steve ...

'' and series three of ''

Peep Show A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot. Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...

''. McGivern appeared in the first series of cult comedy show ''

'' in 1998, and later that year for the 1998 radio SciFi drama ''Paradise Lost in Cyberspace'' (Colin Swash, BBC) McGivern teamed up with old Hitchhiker's colleague Stephen Moore and

Lorelei King Lorelei King is an American actress, screenwriter and development executive who has been based in the United Kingdom since 1981. She has narrated audiobooks, acted in radio plays for BBC Radio 4 and appeared on television. Early life King spe ...

(member of cast in the 2005 Hitchhiker's radio show sequel). He later played the Supreme Ruler in

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's sci-fi comedy '' Hyperdrive'' (2006–2007). In 2007 he appeared in the BBC Radio 4 comedy ''

Peacefully in their Sleeps ''Peacefully in Their Sleeps'' is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series written by Chris Chantler and Howard Read. Paying tribute to fictional celebrities, it lampoons postwar popular culture using fake archive footage and interviews. Six episodes were pr ...

'' and in 2008 he appeared as Professor John Mycroft in the BBC2 science sitcom ''

Lab Rats A laboratory rat is a rat of the species ''Rattus norvegicus'' which is bred and kept for scientific research. Labrat, lab rat, or lab rats may also refer to: People and characters * Dunash ben Labrat (920–990), medieval Jewish commentator ...

'' and in the 2008 BBC series ''Little Dorrit'' where he played Mr Rugg. He also appeared in episode 5 of series 3 of the TV series ''

A Bit of Fry and Laurie ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and t ...

''. In 2015, he guest-starred in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' as Dickie Ticker, the crude comic brought in by

Mick Carter Mick Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' played by Danny Dyer, making his first appearance in the show in the episode originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2013. Dyer's casting was annou ...

for

Kush Kazemi The following are characters who first appeared, or returned, in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' during 2014 listed by order of first appearance. All new characters in 2014 were introduced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins, executive producer. ...

's stag night. In 2016, he appeared in four episodes of the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

musical drama '' The Lodge'', as Patrick. McGivern played the narrator Charlie Swinburne in the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

's 2013 six part dramatisation of

G.K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...

's ''

The Club of Queer Trades ''The Club of Queer Trades'' is a collection of stories by G. K. Chesterton first published in 1905. Each story in the collection is centered on a person who is making his living by some novel and extraordinary means (a "queer trade", using the ...

''. In 2017, he appeared in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

sitcom ''

Back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

'', written by

Simon Blackwell Simon John Blackwell (born 27 May 1966) is an English comedy writer and producer. He is best known for his work on ''The Thick of It'', '' In The Loop'' and ''Veep'', and for his collaborations with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain on ''Peep Show'', ...

, alongside David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Later that year, he began portraying the recurring role of Frank in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Free Rein ''Free Rein'' is a British drama television series created and written by Vicki Lutas and Anna McCleery. It stars Jaylen Barron, Navia Robinson (seasons 1-2) and Freddy Carter. Produced in the UK by Lime Pictures, the ten-part first series prem ...

''. Since 2019 he has appeared as occasional character Barclay Beg-Chetwynde in the BBC comedy ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

''. In 2022 he appeared as the main character Russ, in Radio 4 comedy ''No-Platformed''. The show's episode guide contains a humorous note about McGivern's extensive credit list, by starting a list of his credits and then adding "oh, hundreds of things".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGivern, Geoffrey Male actors from London Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge English male television actors English male radio actors English male film actors Living people People from Balham People educated at Archbishop Holgate's School Year of birth missing (living people)