Benjamin Thomas Willbond (born 18 January 1973) is an English actor and screenwriter best known as a member of the British

Horrible Histories troupe The ''Horrible Histories'' troupe is a group consisting of Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, and Ben Willbond. They were originally in the TV show ''Horrible Histories'' and then also came toge ...

in which he appears in the TV series ''

Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...

'', '' Yonderland'' and ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

''. He is best known for his numerous roles in the CBBC children's programme ''Horrible Histories'', running from 2009 to 2013. As well as starring as various characters throughout the show's run, he also, along with the other five main actors, wrote numerous episodes. Again alongside the same five actors, he also stars as “Captain” in the 2019 TV series ''Ghosts''. Along with Laurence Rickard, he co-wrote the 2022 feature length television comedy ''We Are Not Alone''.

Early life

Willbond was educated at

Stamford School Stamford School is an independent school for boys in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the English public school tradition. Founded in 1532, it has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1920. With the girls-only S ...

in Lincolnshire, boarding at the school, and read Russian and French at

St Catherine's College, Oxford St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is the newest college admitting both undergraduate and graduate students. Tracing its roots back to 1868 (although t ...

Career

Along with Arnold Widdowson, Willbond was part of the comedy duo "Ben & Arn", who won

Perrier Award Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of th ...

for "Best Newcomer" in 1999, and formed the self-proclaimed "thinking man's French pop duo" Priorité à Gauche. He then went on to perform his solo character shows at several

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

s, the last being in 2005 which also starred Katy Brand and Jim Field Smith. He is perhaps best known for his regular role in

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...

's ''

'', in which he played a wide variety of historical figures, most memorably recurring roles as

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. Along with the five other members of the ''Horrible Histories'' starring cast, Willbond is also the co-creator, -writer and -star of '' Yonderland'', a family fantasy comedy series that premiered on

SkyOne Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 19 ...

on 10 November 2013. In addition he is the co-writer of ''

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

'', a BBC-produced comedy film based loosely around the early life of William Shakespeare, which involved the same starring troupe. Previously, Willbond had starred in a short-lived sketch show for ITV2 called ''Laura, Ben & Him'' with

Marek Larwood Marek Ryan Larwood (born 2 June 1976) is an English comedian and actor. He is best known for the BBC Three sketch show ''Rush Hour'' and for being one third of the comedy trio '' We Are Klang''. Early life Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Larwood lived ...

and sometime writing partner Laura Solon. He also appeared in Solon's

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's ...

sketch show, '' Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking''. Other notable television work includes the recurring roles of Steve Warwick in the BBC comedy '' Rev'', Adam Kenyon in

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

's ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...

'' and as a television director in the movie-length final episode of the

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad'' ...

comedy '' Extras'' (

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 a ...

). He has also appeared in ''

Katy Brand's Big Ass Show ''Katy Brand's Big Ass Show'' is a British comedy programme on ITV2. The show features comedian Katy Brand in skits of real life situations and stereotypes, as well and celebrities such as Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, ...

'' for

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, ...

and '' Mayo'' for

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, ...

. Willbond's other radio credits include

series '' Deep Trouble'', '' Double Science'' (co-written with Justin Edwards), ''Recorded for Training Purposes'' and the first series of '' Electric Ink''. He also starred in the YouTube romantic comedy "Nigel and Victoria." His 2010 short film '' Tooty's Wedding'', which he co-wrote with Solon, won numerous international comedy awards and was screened as part of the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

. Other notable film work includes the movie '' Starter for 10'' (2006). In 2007 he had a short appearance in '' St Trinian's'', as a nervous school inspector. He is currently starring in BBC's ''Ghosts'' with the other main ''Horrible Histories'' cast.

Personal life

Willbond is a keen cricketer and plays for the Thunderers.

Awards

Filmography

References

External links

Official Website
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Official Twitter Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willbond, Ben 1973 births British comedians English male stage actors English male television actors Living people People educated at Stamford School Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford