Andy Riley (born 1970) is a British author, cartoonist, and Emmy-winning screenwriter for TV and film. Riley has written and drawn many best-selling cartoon books, including '' The Book of Bunny Suicides'' (2003) and its sequels, and ''Great Lies To Tell Small Kids'' (2005). From 2002 until February 2010 he drew a weekly comic strip called ''Roasted'' in ''

The Observer Magazine ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', a collection of which was released in book form in 2007. Riley also publishes the King Flashypants series of children's books''.'' With Kevin Cecil, his friend since they attended

Aylesbury Grammar School Aylesbury Grammar School is a grammar school in Aylesbury situated in the English county of Buckinghamshire, which educates approximately 1300 students. Founded in 1598 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire by Sir Henry Lee, Champion of Queen Elizabet ...

, he created and wrote the sitcoms ''

Year of the Rabbit The rabbit ( 兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯. In the Vietnamese zodiac and t ...

'' for Channel 4 and IFC, ''The Great Outdoors'' for BBC Four, '' Hyperdrive'' for BBC Two and '' Slacker Cats'' for the ABC Family Channel. Their other television work includes ''

Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep' ...

'' (for which they each won an Emmy in 2015 in the Outstanding Comedy Series category), ''

Black Books ''Black Books'' is a British sitcom created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan, and written by Moran, Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley, Linehan and Arthur Mathews. It was broadcast on Channel 4, running for three series from 2000 to 2004. Starring Mo ...

'', the

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

one-off special ''

Robbie the Reindeer ''Robbie the Reindeer'' is a series of three animated comedy television specials co-produced by the BBC and the charity Comic Relief which were broadcast on BBC One between Christmas 1999 and 2007. Although the series is distributed commercially ...

'', for which he and Cecil won a BAFTA in 2000, '' Little Britain'', Tracey Ullman's Show, ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/ practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channel 4 ...

'', ''

So Graham Norton ''So Graham Norton'' is a British television chat show hosted by Irish personality Graham Norton. It aired on Channel 4 from 3 July 1998 to 1 March 2002. Theme The show was primarily adult-oriented, with host Norton dishing out many sexual in ...

'', ''

Smack the Pony ''Smack the Pony'' is a British sketch comedy show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from ...

'', '' The Armando Iannucci Shows'', ''

Harry and Paul ''Harry & Paul'' (originally titled ''Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul'') is a British sketch comedy show starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 13 April 2007. Prior to broadcast it was trailed as ''The Ha ...

'', '' Big Bad World'', '' Come Fly With Me'', and ''

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''. The

Radio Four 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 ...

panel game they wrote with

Jon Holmes Jon Holmes (born 24 April 1973) is a British comedian, writer, presenter and broadcaster known for his work on such programmes as ''The Now Show'', '' Listen Against'' (for BBC Radio 4), along with both music and spoken word radio. He has ap ...

and

Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...

, '' The 99p Challenge'', ran for five series from 2000. They wrote for the Miramax animated feature ''

Gnomeo and Juliet ''Gnomeo & Juliet'' is a 2011 computer-animated romantic comedy film directed by Kelly Asbury from a screenplay by Rob Sprackling and John Smith. It is loosely based on the play '' Romeo and Juliet'' by William Shakespeare and features the voi ...

,'' and its sequel ''

Sherlock Gnomes ''Sherlock Gnomes'' is a 2018 3D computer-animated mystery comedy film directed by John Stevenson. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the film serves as a sequel and spin-off to ''Gnomeo & Juliet'' (2011) ...

.'' Riley has co-written two TV adaptations of ''

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...

'' books: ''

Gangsta Granny ''Gangsta Granny'' is a 2011 British children's comedy fiction book, written by David Walliams, illustrated by Tony Ross and published by HarperCollins. A sequel, '' Gangsta Granny Strikes Again'', was released in 2021. Plot Ben, a curious ...

'' and '' The Boy in the Dress''. Riley was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. He is namechecked in the ''Father Ted Christmas Special'' as 'Father Andy Riley'.

Screenwriting credits

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

Standalone Cartoon Books * ''Roasted'' (2007) * ''D.I.Y. Dentistry and Other Alarming Inventions'' (2008) * ''Selfish Pigs'' (2009) * ''Wine Makes Mummy Clever'' (2011) * ''Beer Makes Daddy Strong'' (2011) * ''Puppy Versus Kitten'' (2017) Bunny Suicides * The Book of Bunny Suicides (2003) * Return of the Bunny Suicides (2005) * Dawn of the Bunny Suicides (2010) Lies to Tell Small Kids * Great Lies to Tell Small Kids (2006) * Loads More Lies to Tell Small Kids (2007) King Flashypants * King Flashypants and the Evil Emperor (2017) * King Flashypants and the Creature from Crong (2018) * King Flashypants and the Toys of Terror (2018)

References

External links

Andy Riley's official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Andy Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford 1970 births Living people English comics writers English comics artists English cartoonists English screenwriters English male screenwriters English television writers People educated at Aylesbury Grammar School British male television writers