Tony Sarchet is a British television and radio writer for

alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

shows. Sarchet studied

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, where he was a member of the

University College Players The University College Players (or Univ Players for short) are the theatrical society of University College, Oxford. History The first production was in May 1941 when Shakespeare's ''The Comedy of Errors'' was performed in co-operation with Me ...

and wrote a revue called ''Gargoyles'' at the

Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfor ...

with

John Albery Wyndham John Albery, FRS (5 April 1936 – 3 December 2013) was a British physical chemist and academic. Early life Wyndham John Albery was born on 5 April 1936. His father Michael James Albery (1910-75), a barrister, was part of a sprawling ...

and Graham Wall in 1978.Univ. Players. ''

University College Record University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

'', 1978, pages 179–180. He started his professional career writing for hit shows including '' Three of a Kind'' and ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

'', and for comedians such as

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...

and

Jasper Carrott Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. Early life Born in Shaftmoor Lane, Acocks Green, in Birmingham, Carrott was educated at Acocks G ...

. In 1984, his Sony Award-winning

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' ...

satire ''

Delve Special ''Delve Special'' was a UK BBC Radio 4 comedy starring Stephen Fry as investigative reporter David Lander. It ran for four series from 1984 to 1987, each series being four 30-minute episodes long. It was written by Tony Sarchet and produced b ...

'' begun, a comedic parody of Roger Cook's investigative journalism series 'Checkpoint'. This time 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 starring ...

as investigative journalist David Lander. When Roger Cook moved to television, so did his parody, in the Tony Sarchet written series ''

This is David Lander ''This is David Lander'' is a TV show that parodies Roger Cook style doorstepping investigative journalism shows, starring Stephen Fry as David Lander and written by Tony Sarchet. It began as the BBC Radio 4 show '' Delve Special'', which bec ...

'' and ''

This is David Harper ''This is David Lander'' is a TV show that parodies Roger Cook style doorstepping investigative journalism shows, starring Stephen Fry as David Lander and written by Tony Sarchet. It began as the BBC Radio 4 show '' Delve Special'', which bec ...

'' (this last series with

Tony Slattery Tony Declan James Slattery (born 9 November 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' His ...

in the main role). Sarchet went on to write the

Screen One ''Screen One'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide, that was transmitted on BBC One from 1989 to 1998. A total of six series were broadcast, incorporating sixty individual films, ...

TV film ''Trust Me'' starring

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

and in 2001 the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

sitcom '' High Stakes'' with Richard Wilson. Tony Sarchet is married to the writer Andrea Solomons.

References

External links

*
Tony Sarchet at The BBC Comedy Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarchet, Tony Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of University College, Oxford English comedy writers British television writers British radio writers