Rowland Rivron
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Rowland John Rivron (born 28 September 1958) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
writer, comedic actor and television personality.


Early career

Rivron played the comic character "Dr Martin Scrote" on the
Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
chat show ''The Last Resort'', and also played Scrote on
Night Network ''Night Network'', ''Night Time'' and ''Night Shift'' were names given to the overnight (usually between 12 and 6am) schedule of the ITV (TV network), ITV network in the United Kingdom. The first ITV company began 24-hour broadcasting in 1986, w ...
's ''Bunker Show''. This became a series for
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 ...
called ''Set of Six'' about Scrote and his brothers. In 1989 he and Jools Holland starred in ''The Groovy Fellers''. In the early 1990s he presented his own chat show, ''Rivron'', in which Rivron, his guests and the entire set floated in the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. He also made an appearance in the children's schools series ''Cats' Eyes''.


Music

Rivron played drums on
Fat Les Fat Les was a British band consisting of Blur bassist Alex James, actor Keith Allen, and artist Damien Hirst. Vocals on their singles were provided by Keith Allen (all), Alex James ("Vindaloo"), Lily Allen ("Who Invented Fish & Chips?"), An ...
's 1998 single "
Vindaloo Vindaloo or vindalho is an Indian curry dish, which is originally from Goa, based on the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d'alhos. It is known globally in its British Indian form as a staple of curry house and Indian restaurant menus, and is ofte ...
". As one half of the band "Raw Sex" (with
Simon Brint Simon Tracey Brint (26 September 1950 – 29 May 2011) was a British musician, best known for his role as part of the comedy duo Raw Sex with Rowland Rivron. He also composed for many British TV comedy and drama programmes. Early life Son of S ...
) he also featured regularly on BBC TV's ''
French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...
'' show. Rivron featured on drums in the "Sophisticated Fool" song and "All We've Got To Do Is..." song from ''
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 ...
'', also on BBC TV. He was a contributing writer to ''
Rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
'', a UK drumming magazine, and is a regular guest on Jools Holland's BBC shows, in which he once demonstrated a square snare drum made by Robert Daniels. Rivron appeared on the children's TV programme '' Blue Peter'' at age 15, playing the drums. For eighteen months Rivron drummed for
Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra (also known as Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra) is a rhythm and blues band led by boogie-woogie pianist Jools Holland. History Holland formed the band in 1994. In May 2022 the 17-piece ...
. He later played with the ''Idiot Bastard Band'', with
Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series ''The Young Ones (TV s ...
,
Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...
and
Neil Innes Neil James Innes (; 9 December 1944 – 29 December 2019) was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the M ...
.


Television


Presenting

Rivron regularly presented television shows such as ''
Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
'' and ''Summer Holiday''. Rowland Rivron presented the comedy
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
shows '' Jammin''' and ''Radio Rivron'', and starred in the Channel 5 programme ''
Trust Me - I'm A Holiday Rep Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...
''. He also co-presented the Saturday breakfast show on
BBC London 94.9 BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...
. Rivron also appeared on '' Richard & Judy's New Position'' as the celebrity barman. He also presented the video to promote ''
One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...
'' for the title of BBC Britain's Best Sitcom in 2004.


Game shows

Rivron acted as a team captain on ''Question of TV'' 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 network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
, and was a panellist on the first episode of '' Shooting Stars'' 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 an ...
. A special celebrity edition of the show " Incredible Games" was broadcast at the end of its first season with
Philippa Forrester Philippa Clare Ryan Forrester (born September 1968) is a British television and radio presenter, producer and author. Throughout her career, Forrester has presented shows such as CBBC, ''Tomorrow's World'', Crufts, ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' ...
and
Keith Chegwin Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 – 11 December 2017) was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' and ''Cheggers Plays Pop''. ...
appearing alongside Rivron as the contestants in place of the usual kids taking part (who were shown to be tied up before the games started). In 2004 he hosted the short-lived regional gameshow ''The Price of Fish'', starring local commercial radio presenters. The gameshow was filmed at The Talk venue in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and shown only in the
Anglia TV ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...
region. In 2006 Rivron was part of Channel 4's '' Come Dine with Me''. He was the first celebrity to be voted out on 2007's edition of '' Comic Relief Does Fame Academy''. In 2012, Rivron was a contestant on ''
Let's Dance for Sport Relief ''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...
'' with his take on the
Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
music video '' Weapon of Choice'', winning his heat and going straight through to the live final on
Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educat ...
, which he went on to win on 17 March 2012. On 1 December 2012, he took part in an episode of ''
Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...
'' 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 network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
, as well as a
Sport Relief ''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002. It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educat ...
special on 21 March 2014, paired with
Mark Durden-Smith Mark Durden-Smith (born 1 October 1968 in Soho, London) is an English television presenter best known for presenting ITV shows such as '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' and '' This Morning Summer'', Sky 1 shows such as ''The Matc ...
.


Acting

In 1984, Rivron appeared in the episode "Cash" of '' The Young Ones''. In 1994 he starred in the
improvised comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
film '' There's No Business...'', and in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
children's science programme '' Cats' Eyes'': in 2005 he appeared in the
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 network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
sitcom ''
Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...
''. In 1990 he appeared as the main characters – the six Scrote brothers – in '' Set of Six (TV series)''.


Activism

In October 2007, Rivron "waded into an unholy row" over plans for a
mobile phone mast A cell site, cell tower, or cellular base station is a cellular-enabled mobile device site where antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed (typically on a radio mast, tower, or other raised structure) to create a cell, or adj ...
planned for the tower of his local church in North London. After joining the mass protest, he explained: "It's not really needed... In the Good Book they turned water into wine and now they're turning masts into misery". Fellow campaigner Paul Barnard commenting: "We were very grateful to Rowland Rivron for his support and he managed to cheer people up with his quips and jokes".


Personal life

Rivron was born in
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
,Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. and brought up in
Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...
, and attended Abbotsfield Secondary School. He has two brothers, Richard and Raymond. He and his wife Monica (''née'' Appleby), have three children and two dogs. The couple are avid caravanners, and Monica is the author of ''The Caravan Cookbook''.


References


External links


Rowland Rivron Biography
Off the Kerb Productions
Ask Rowland Rivron transcript
BBC Chat Archive
Watch Rowland Rivron's story writing tips
BBC raw words {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivron, Rowland 1958 births Living people British television presenters People from Aylesbury People from Muswell Hill English male comedians The Comic Strip 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians