Nick Newman (born 17 July 1958) is a satirical British cartoonist and comedy scriptwriter.

Early life

The son of an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer, Newman was born in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and schooled at Ardingly College where his satirical career began, working on

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

with

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, writer, broadcaster, and editor of the magazine ''Private Eye''. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes and has been a team captain on the BBC quiz show ...

. In his last term at Ardingly, Newman was 'asked to leave' (thrown out), after wiring up the chapel to play rock music during a chapel service. Despite this incident Newman managed to secure a place at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

where he read history and continued collaborating with Hislop, who was studying English at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

Career

Hislop and Newman subsequently wrote for

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

and co-wrote several episodes of ''

Murder Most Horrid ''Murder Most Horrid'' is a British black comedy anthology series starring Dawn French. It was broadcast on BBC Two for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999. Created by Paul Smith (television writer), Paul Smith, who also co-created '' ...

'' for

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

. Newman and Hislop's credits also include two series of ''

My Dad's the Prime Minister ''My Dad's the Prime Minister'' is a British sitcom written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and was a co-production between CBBC and BBC Entertainment. It centres on the life of the Prime Minister, his family and his spin doctor. Its main cast inc ...

'' for

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, sketches for ''

The Harry Enfield Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', creating the character Tim Nice-But-Dim, and the

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' ...

series ''Gush'', a satire based on the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, in the style of

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...

. Writing for radio, he has co-written all episodes of '' Dave Podmore's World of Cricket'', ''Dave Podmore's Ashes'' and ''Strictly Dave Podmore'' with performer Chris Douglas and Andrew Nickolds and '' The News at Bedtime'' with long-time friend and schoolmate Ian Hislop. Also with Chris Douglas, he wrote 2 series of ''

Mastering the Universe ''Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea'' is a 2005 book by Roger Sweet and David Wecker that recounts Sweet's work behind the scenes of the corporate culture of the 1980s American toy industry. Descriptio ...

'' for

on Radio 4. In 2008 he co-wrote ''

A Bunch of Amateurs ''A Bunch of Amateurs'' is a 2008 British comedy film directed by Andy Cadiff, and stars Burt Reynolds, Derek Jacobi, Alistair Petrie and Samantha Bond. In November 2008, the premiere in Leicester Square was attended by Elizabeth II. The scr ...

'' – starring

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

, Sir Derek Jacobi and

Samantha Bond Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on ''Downton Abbey'' as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund ...

– which was the

Royal Film Performance The Royal Film Performance is a trademarked event owned by The Film and Television Charity, formerly the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund. The events showcases a major film premiere and is attended by members of the British Royal Family. The pr ...

for that year. Newman's career as a cartoonist began in 1976, when he sold his first drawings to ''Yachting Monthly'' – and by 1981 he was working regularly for ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

''. Since 1989, he has been pocket cartoonist for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''. His cartoons and strips have appeared in many other publications including ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' and ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

''. He also draws for ''

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'' (THE), ''Estates Gazette'', ''The Wisden Cricketer'', the ''Wisden Almanack'' and ''The Big Issue''. The Cartoon Art Trust voted him Pocket Cartoonist of the Year 1997 and Gag Cartoonist of the Year 1998 and 2005. He won the

Sports Journalists' Association The Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) is an association for British sports journalists. It represents the British sports media on the British Olympic Association's press advisory committee and acts as a consultant to organizers of major events ...

's award for Sports Cartoonist of the Year in 2005, 2007 and 2008. He has produced many cartoon anthologies and books, including three ''

Wallace & Gromit ''Wallace & Gromit'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise created by Nick Park of Aardman Animations. The series consists of four short films and one feature-length film, and has spawned numerous spin-offs and TV adaptations. The series ce ...

'' adventures (with Tristan Davies, published by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

References

External links

cartoons.ac.uk
A biography of Newman can be seen at the British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Nick 1958 births Living people People educated at Ardingly College Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford British satirists British cartoonists British comics artists Private Eye contributors The Spectator people