John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd (born 30 September 1951) is an English television and radio comedy producer and writer. His television work includes '' Not the Nine O'Clock News'', ''

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 comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

'', '' Spitting Image'', ''

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 R ...

'' and '' QI''. He is currently the presenter of

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 Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's ''

The Museum of Curiosity ''The Museum of Curiosity'' is a comedy talk show on BBC Radio 4 that was first broadcast on 20 February 2008. It is hosted by John Lloyd (Professor of Ignorance at the University of Buckingham, and later at Solent University). He acts as t ...

''.

Early life

Lloyd was born in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, England. His father, H. L. "Harpy" Lloyd, was an Anglo-Irish captain with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. As a child Lloyd lived in several different places, owing to his father's job. This led him to attend school properly only at the age of 9. He was educated at

West Hill Park School West Hill Park School is an independent, coeducational, day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3 years to 13 years. It is situated in Fareham, England close to the Hampshire coast, between Southampton and Portsmouth. History Wes ...

in Titchfield,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, a place where he claims bullying was "endemic", and later at The King's School, Canterbury. He read Law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and was a member of the Footlights. He became friends with fellow student

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 " ...

, with whom he later worked and shared a flat. Lloyd is the great nephew of the soldier John Hardress Lloyd.

Career

Lloyd worked as a radio producer at the BBC between 1974 and 1978 creating '' The News Quiz'', '' The News Huddlines'', '' To The Manor Born'' (with Peter Spence) and '' Quote... Unquote'' (with Nigel Rees). He wrote '' Hordes of the Things'' (as J. H. W. Lloyd) with Andrew Marshall, co-authored two episodes of '' Doctor Snuggles'' with Douglas Adams, and co-wrote the fifth and sixth episodes of the first radio series of ''

'' with Adams (Adams wrote all the previous and subsequent episodes solo, as well as the television adaptation). He pitched a story for '' Doctor Who'', ''The Doomsday Contract'', while Adams was script editor of the series, which was never made at the time but eventually became an audio play adapted by

Nev Fountain Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain (born 12 August 1969), is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme '' Dead Ringers''. Early life A native of Stamford, F ...

and produced by

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

. He also produced series three and four of '' The Burkiss Way'' on Radio 4. Lloyd then worked as a television comedy producer at both the BBC and ITV. As well as being associate producer of ''

'', he created '' Not the Nine O'Clock News'' (co-produced with Sean Hardie) and produced '' Spitting Image''. He also produced all four ''

'' series. Lloyd was originally to have been the host of BBC topical news quiz '' Have I Got News for You'', with the programme initially intended to be called ''John Lloyd's Newsround''. A pilot episode of the show was recorded under this name in mid-1990, with Lloyd hosting alongside team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. Lloyd subsequently decided to pull out of hosting the programme full-time and the pilot episode was never broadcast. Lloyd was replaced by Angus Deayton as host and the show was renamed ''Have I Got News for You'' in time for its debut on BBC2 later that year. His first new TV series for 14 years, '' QI'' starring

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starrin ...

( Sandi Toksvig from 2016) and Alan Davies, began on 11 September 2003 at 10pm on

BBC Two 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 ...

for a run of 12 episodes. In its eighth series, which started on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

in September 2010, Lloyd appeared as a panellist in one of the episodes. Lloyd has presented the radio series ''

'' (2011), which he co-created with producers Richard Turner and

Dan Schreiber Daniel Craig Schreiber (born 1984) is an Australian radio producer, writer, podcaster, and comedian based in London. He co-created the BBC Radio 4 panel show ''The Museum of Curiosity'' with host John Lloyd and co-producer Richard Turner and ...

and former co-host

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...

. In December 2011, Lloyd appeared as captain of the winning

, team on the '' Christmas University Challenge''. Lloyd was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2011

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark th ...

for services to broadcasting. Lloyd was also awarded an honorary degree from Southampton Solent University. In August 2014, Lloyd was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Lloyd's book ''1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways'', a collaboration with John Mitchinson and

James Harkin James Harkin may refer to: * James Bernard Harkin (1875–1955), Canadian conservationist * James Harkin (podcaster) James Harkin (born 29 September 1978) is a British podcaster, television host, and television writer. He is one of the four regu ...

, was published in 2014 by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

Personal life

Lloyd married Sarah Wallace in 1989, with whom he has three children, one of whom is Harry Lloyd (christened Hardress Llewellyn Lloyd), frontman and singer-songwriter of the band Waiting For Smith.

Influences

In a 2016 interview with the spiritual ''Beshara Magazine'', Lloyd talked about the process of self-knowledge, and explained his interest in the Indian

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

Nisargadatta Maharaj Nisargadatta Maharaj (born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli; 17 April 1897 – 8 September 1981) was an Indian guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya and Lingayat Shaivism. ...

's book ''I Am That'' and in Sufi mysticism, particularly the works of the writer, thinker and Sufi teacher

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Ark ...

. On BBC radio's
Desert Island Discs
', he chose ''The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are'', by Alan Watts.

Awards

Books

* ''Not! The Nine O'Clock News'' * ''Not 1982'' (Calendar) * ''Not 1983'' (Calendar) * ''Not the Royal Wedding'' * ''Not the General Election'' * '' The Meaning of Liff'' (1983, with

) * ''The Deeper Meaning of Liff'' (1990, with Douglas Adams) * ''The Appallingly Disrespectful Spitting Image Book'' * ''Spitting Image'' * ''Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485–1917'' (2000, with

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

and

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003–20 ...

) * '' The Book of General Ignorance'' (2006, with John Mitchinson and the QI Elves) * '' The Book of Animal Ignorance'' (2007, with John Mitchinson and the QI Elves) * ''The QI Annual E'' ditor(2007, with various authors) * '' Advanced Banter'' (2008, with John Mitchinson and the QI Elves) * ''The QI Annual F'' o-editor(2008, with John Mitchinson o-editorand various authors) * ''The QI Annual G'' ditor(2009, with various authors) * '' The QI Book of the Dead'' (2009, with John Mitchinson and the QI Elves) * ''If Ignorance is Bliss, Why Aren't There More Happy People? Smart Quotes for Dumb Times'' (2009, with John Mitchinson) * '' The Second Book of General Ignorance'' (2010, with John Mitchinson and the QI Elves) * '' 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off'' (2012, with John Mitchinson,

and the QI Elves) * ''Afterliff'' (2013, with Jon Canter) * ''1,339 QI Facts To Make Your Jaw Drop'' (2013, with John Mitchinson, James Harkin and the QI Elves) * ''1,411 QI Facts To Knock You Sideways'' (2014, with John Mitchinson, James Harkin and the QI Elves) * ''1,234 QI Facts to Leave You Speechless'' (2015, with John Mitchinson, James Harkin and the QI Elves) * ''The Third Book of General Ignorance'' (2015, with John Mitchinson, James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray and the QI Elves) * ''1,342 QI Facts To Leave You Flabbergasted'' (2016, with John Mitchinson, James Harkin, Anne Miller and the QI Elves) * ''1,423 QI Facts to Bowl You Over'' (2017, with John Mitchinson, James Harkin, Anne Miller and the QI Elves) * ''2,024 QI Facts To Stop You in Your Tracks'' (2018, with James Harkin, Anne Miller and the QI Elves) * ''Funny You Should Ask... Your Questions Answered by the QI Elves'' (2020, with the QI Elves) * ''Funny You Should Ask... Again'' (2021, with the QI Elves)

References

External links

* * *
The People Behind QI

The Idler Archives — Conversations: John Lloyd

(with John Mitchinson) discussin

John Lloyd
''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...

'', BBC.
Meet The Writers
Monocle 24 talking to Georgina Godwin {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, John 1951 births Academics of Solent University Advertising directors Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge BBC radio producers BBC television producers British male television writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English male writers English radio presenters English radio producers English radio writers English television directors English television producers English television writers Living people People educated at The King's School, Canterbury People from Dover, Kent