Tony Roche (writer)
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Tony Roche is an English television, radio and film comedy writer and producer, best known as a writer of the HBO comedy ''
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'' ...
'', the BBC Television series ''
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 its film spin-off '' In the Loop''. He is credited with inventing the word
omnishambles Omnishambles is a neologism first used in the BBC political satire ''The Thick of It'' in 2009. The word is compounded from the Latin prefix ''omni-'', meaning "all", and the word ''shambles'', a term for a situation of total disorder. Origina ...
, which was named 2012 Word of the Year by the
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
.


Stand-up and radio

After graduating from
Warwick University , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
with a degree in English, Roche became a
stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
using material from a magazine he had produced in his final year. He was spotted at one of his stand-up comedy shows and asked to write jokes and topical sketches for radio. Roche's first radio assignment was writing for ''
The Alan Davies Show ''The Alan Davies Show'' was a short-lived radio program that aired from May – June 1998. The show revolved around Alan Davies playing himself as a struggling actor, and the relationship with his best friends Kate (Ronni Ancona) and Murray ( Al ...
'' radio programme and for John Shuttleworth on
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' ...
. He created the series ''
World of Pub ''World of Pub'' is a radio and television sitcom, set in a pub in the East End of London, written by Tony Roche, directed by Michael Cumming and produced by Jane Berthoud. The radio version had two series on BBC Radio 4, between 4 March 1998 ...
'' for BBC Radio, and later adapted it for television. He also worked on the radio series ''
The Sunday Format ''The Sunday Format'', "BBC Radio 4's first high-quality weekend broadsheet newspaper", is a British satirical radio comedy. The programme is a parody of British middle class newspapers, in particular the lifestyle supplements and glossy celeb ...
'',


Television

Working with the creator of ''The Sunday Format'', John Morton, Roche co-created its television equivalent ''
Broken News ''Broken News'' is a comedy programme shown on BBC Two in late 2005. The show poked fun at the world of 24-hour rolling news channels. The title of the show is a play on the phrase "breaking news". It had six thirty-minute episodes. Having previ ...
''. After making his move to television, Roche joined the writing team for
Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...
's '' Gash'', a satirical TV comedy 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 ...
. He later contributed to ''
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 ...
'', Iannucci's political satire set in the fictional government Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship. The first series debuted on 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. ...
...
in 2005, and became a critical success. Roche wrote for all four series of the programme, as well as its spin-off film '' In the Loop'', which was nominated for the 2010
Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...
. His other writing credits include ''
The All New Harry Hill Show ''Harry Hill'', later titled ''The All-New Harry Hill Show'' and also referred to as ''The Harry Hill Show'', was a British stand-up comedy sketch show, starring comedian Harry Hill, that ran for four series from 1997 to 2003, on both Channel ...
'' (
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
), ''
Alistair McGowan's Big Impression ''The Big Impression'', known as ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression'' for the first three series, is a British comedy sketch show. It features Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona impersonating personalities from entertainment and sport. Four series ...
'' (
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 ...
), '' Smith & Jones'' (
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 ...
), '' Dead Ringers'' (BBC Radio 4), '' Miranda'' (BBC Two) and ''
Cast Offs ''Cast Offs'' is a BAFTA-nominated comedy-drama mockumentary that follows a group of six disabled people sent to a remote British Island for a fictional reality show. The series is made up of six episodes, with each episode concentrating on on ...
'', '' Fresh Meat'' and ''
Back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...
'' for Channel 4. In 2011 Roche wrote ''
Holy Flying Circus ''Holy Flying Circus'' is a 90-minute BBC television comedy film first broadcast in 2011, written by Tony Roche and directed by Owen Harris. The film is a "Pythonesque" dramatisation of events following the completion of ''Monty Python's Life o ...
'', a fictionalised account of the controversy surrounding the 1979 release of ''
Monty Python's Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It wa ...
'' broadcast on
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
. Roche's script centred on the imagined build-up to the appearance of
Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...
and
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
on BBC chat show ''
Friday Night, Saturday Morning ''Friday Night, Saturday Morning'' is a UK television chat show with a revolving guest host. It ran on BBC2 from 28 September 1979 to 2 April 1982, broadcast live from the Greenwood Theatre, a part of Guy's Hospital. It was notable for being the o ...
'' to defend ''Life of Brian''. Roche's re-imagining of the event received criticism for its inaccuracies, including from former
Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...
John Cleese who was cited to have seen the script and commented that he was "disappointed by its content" because it was "not a fair reflection of the facts". Roche defended his reasons for writing the film as he did in an article in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'', stating: "The film isn’t an accurate re-telling of what happened. It doesn’t pay much attention to the facts. (Sorry.) Instead, it uses the story to discuss the nature of offence. Why did so many people get so offended?" Roche was a writer and
Co-Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
on Armando Iannucci's comedy series, ''
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
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
. For his work on ''Veep'', he won two
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
from six nominations: one for Outstanding Comedy Series and one for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Tony is currently working as an Executive Producer and Staff Writer for HBO's Succession.


References


External links

*
Tony Roche
at Curtis Brown Talent Agency {{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Tony Alumni of the University of Warwick British comedy writers British radio writers British television writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)