Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain (born 12 August 1969), is an
English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner
Tom Jamieson
Thomas Elmore Jamieson (February 16, 1924 – April 19, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey player with the East York Lyndhursts. He won a silver medal at the 1954 World Ice Hockey Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. He also played with the Quebec Ac ...
on the radio and television programme ''
Dead Ringers''.
Early life
A native of
Stamford, Fountain attended the
University of Warwick.
Career
While working at a series of odd jobs in
London, Fountain wrote a few fringe plays, including one called ''My Grandmother Is a Time Lord'', produced in 1995. In the same year, he began writing sketches for the radio programme ''
Week Ending''. It was while working on ''Week Ending'' that he met Tom Jamieson, with whom he has written most of his subsequent radio and television work.
Fountain and Jamieson contributed to many radio and television comedy programmes, including ''
Have I Got News for You'', ''
2DTV
''2DTV'' is a British satirical animated television series which was co-created and produced by Giles Pilbrow for ITV. It premiered on ITV1 on 14 October 2001 and was nominated for the Rose d'Or Award in both 2002 and 2003.
The programme was cons ...
'', ''
The News Quiz'', ''
Loose Ends'' and ''
Big Impression''. Their most notable work, however, has been for ''Dead Ringers'' in which Fountain occasionally makes cameo appearances. The pair are also responsible for the historical comedy ''
Elephants to Catch Eels'' and wrote "Txt Mssg Rcvd", a 2005 episode of the
BBC Three anthology series ''
Twisted Tales
''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell.
Publication history
''Twisted Tales'' was published on a bi-mo ...
''.
''Private Eye''
Fountain is also a staff writer on ''Private Eye'' magazine.
''Doctor Who''
Fountain is a fan of ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' and has contributed to several audio dramas based on the programme. His first licensed ''Doctor Who'' work was as script editor on the
webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...
''
Death Comes to Time''. He has also written several ''Doctor Who'' audio plays for
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...
, including ''
Omega'', ''
The Kingmaker'', and ''Peri and the Piscon Paradox''. In addition, he wrote the narration script for the DVD documentary "The Last Chance Saloon" about the casting of Sylvester McCoy in the role in 1987. He appears occasionally as a host or
MC at ''Doctor Who'' conventions.
In 2020, ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' announced that Fountain had adapted the audio story ''The Doomsday Contract'' for Big Finish, which had been originally pitched to the television series by comedy producer
John Lloyd John Lloyd may refer to:
Artists, writers, and entertainers
*John J. Lloyd (1922–2014), American art director and production designer
*John Lloyd (graphic designer) (born 1944), co-founder of design consultancy Lloyd Northover
*John Lloyd (journa ...
while
Douglas Adams had been its script editor.
Novelist
Fountain is also a novelist, and has written three humorous detective books and one serious thriller. The detective books, collectively titled 'The Mervyn Stone Mysteries', were published by Big Finish in 2010 and recount the exploits of an ex-script editor of science fiction television series called ''Vixens from the Void''. Mervyn Stone encounters murders wherever he goes, whether it be a sci-fi convention (''Geek Tragedy''), the recording of a DVD commentary (''DVD Extras Include: Murder'') or the revival of the aforesaid television series (''Cursed Among Sequels'').
The serious thriller is called ''Painkiller'', published by Sphere, and recounts the story of Monica Wood, a woman suffering from chronic neuropathic pain who discovers her own suicide note in a drawer - but she cannot remember writing it.
Personal life
He lives in
Shalford, Surrey.
Books
Mervyn Stone Mysteries
*''Geek Tragedy'' (2010)
*''DVD Extras Include: Murder'' (2010)
*''Cursed Among Sequels'' (2010)
''Painkiller'' (Thriller) published by Sphere (2016)
Audio
Doctor Who
*Omega (August 2003)
*The Kingmaker (April 2006)
*The Companion Chronicles: ‘Peri and the Piscon Paradox’ (January 2011)
*Destiny of the Doctor: 'Trouble in Paradise' (June 2013)
*Breaking Bubbles and Other Stories: 'The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time' (July 2014)
*The Widow's Assassin (October 2014)
*The Diary of River Song Series 03: 'The Lady in the Lake' (January 2018)
Bernice Summerfield
*The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: 'The Revolution' (June 2014)
Vienna
*Bad Faith (February 2014)
The Confessions of Dorian Gray
*The Immortal Game (August 2013)
Dark Shadows
*The Eternal Actress (May 2012)
*The Darkest Shadow (June 2014)
The Mervyn Stone Mysteries
*The Axeman Cometh (June 2013)
References
External links
*
Nev Fountainat the BBC Comedy Guide
including
Nev Fountain interview focusing on ''Omega'', at the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fountain, Nev
1969 births
Alumni of the University of Warwick
English comedy writers
English radio writers
English satirists
English television writers
Living people
People from the Borough of Guildford
People from Stamford, Lincolnshire