# Charlie Higson
**Charlie Higson** (born 1958 in Frome, Somerset) is an English actor, comedian, author, and writer and producer for television and radio, known as co-creator and performer of the BBC sketch comedy *The Fast Show* and as the author of the *Young Bond* novels and the young adult horror series *The Enemy*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383666/) • [2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) He has also worked as a pop singer, a painter and decorator, a television drama writer, and a presenter.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Frome, Somerset, England[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383666/) |
| Education | English and film studies, University of East Anglia, from 1977[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) |
| Comedy breakthrough | Co-writer of Loadsamoney for Harry Enfield, then co-creator and star of The Fast Show (1994-2000)[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-secret-of-my-success-charlie-higson-1186578.html) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) |
| Best-known characters | Ralph, Swiss Toni, Colin Hunt, Bob Fleming[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383666/) |
| Young Bond | SilverFin (2005) and four sequels; over a million UK copies, translated into over 24 languages[2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) |
| The Enemy | Seven-part young adult zombie horror series, 2009-2015, concluding with The End[6](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/01/charlie-higson-the-fast-show-was-never-meant-to-offend) |
| Television drama | Creator and writer of ITV's Jekyll and Hyde (2015), a 10-hour series set in the 1930s[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) |
| Family | Married to Vicky; three children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383666/) |
## Early life and music
Higson grew up in Kent, mostly in Crawley and [Sevenoaks](https://www.edgepedia.org/sevenoaks), the third of four sons of an accountant and management consultant, and was privately educated in Sevenoaks.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) At school he was in the art set, listening to [Bob Dylan](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-dylan) and the Velvet Underground, and he wrote science-fiction books for his own amusement from about age 14, influenced by [Michael Moorcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-moorcock) and later J. G. Ballard.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html)
At the [University of East Anglia](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-east-anglia), where he studied English and film studies from 1977, he adopted a punk identity, bleaching his hair and calling himself "Switch".[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) He met [Paul Whitehouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-whitehouse) there, and the two formed a short-lived band, the Right Hand Lovers, with Whitehouse on guitar and Higson on vocals; Whitehouse and the rest of the band were expelled from the university within a year for "enjoying themselves too much".[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) Higson then sang lead vocals for the post-punk band the Higsons, originally called the Higson 5 as a parody of the Jackson 5, for six years.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) • [4](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-secret-of-my-success-charlie-higson-1186578.html) After leaving university he worked as a painter and decorator, later with Whitehouse.[2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html)
## Comedy career
Higson moved to London in the mid-1980s, shared a flat with [Harry Enfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-enfield), and went into partnership with Whitehouse as comedy script writers through the Enterprise Allowance Scheme.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-secret-of-my-success-charlie-higson-1186578.html) The pair wrote for Enfield's television shows, including the Loadsamoney sketch, which made them, in Higson's words, "treated as established comedy writers" overnight; they also contributed to the early Stavros character.[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-secret-of-my-success-charlie-higson-1186578.html) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) They stockpiled characters Enfield rejected or that did not suit his persona, and, not wanting to remain "Harry's writers", built their own show around short, trailer-sized character pieces: *The Fast Show*, which ran from 1994 to 2000 on [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two).[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) • [7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html)
Higson co-wrote the show and performed in it, playing among many roles the tongue-tied aristocrat Ralph, who harbors unspoken love for his Irish gamekeeper Ted, and the used-car salesman Swiss Toni.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) The Ted and Ralph sketches were created by Arthur Mathews and [Graham Linehan](https://www.edgepedia.org/graham-linehan), later of *Father Ted*.[7](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) Higson has said the Ralph character drew on his own shyness and awkwardness with women and with working-class people.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) In 1998 he fronted the [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) film magazine series *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang*.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-air-television-film-critic-suits-you-sir-1176300.html)
Beyond the Fast Show, Higson wrote for *The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer*, wrote, produced, and starred in the remake *Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)* (2000-01), and co-wrote the thriller film *Suite 16* (1994).[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-air-television-film-critic-suits-you-sir-1176300.html) • [9](https://www.fandango.com/people/charlie-higson-300485/biography) With Whitehouse he co-produced the spoof radio series *Down the Line* for BBC Radio 4, which became the BBC Two television series *Bellamy's People*.[2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) In 2016 he loaned his Fast Show manuscripts, which he had nearly thrown away, to the University of East Anglia's British Archive for Contemporary Writing, alongside holdings by Malcolm Bradbury and [J. D. Salinger](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-d-salinger).[10](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/11/charlie-higson-donates-fast-show-scripts-uea-literary-archive) In 2020 he reprised Swiss Toni in the BBC Two lockdown sketch series *Comedians: Home Alone*, and he has since presented the podcast *Willy Willy Harry Stee...*, about England's kings and queens.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/01/charlie-higson-the-fast-show-was-never-meant-to-offend) • [11](https://www.comedy.co.uk/pro/features/members-ask-charlie-higson-part-1/)
## Novels
Higson's ambition from youth was to be a writer, and he published four adult thrillers in the 1990s: *King of the Ants* (1992), *Happy Now* (1993), *Full Whack* (1995), and *Getting Rid of Mr Kitchen* (1996); *King of the Ants* is an English-set thriller on Hackney Marshes.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/fast-show-star-charlie-higson-considers-setting-up-an-online-comedy-channel-7447140.html) • [2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) The success of [The Fast Show](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fast-show) sidelined this writing for a time.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/fast-show-star-charlie-higson-considers-setting-up-an-online-comedy-channel-7447140.html)
**Young Bond.** After the final Fast Show series, a former editor recommended Higson to the [Ian Fleming](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-fleming) estate, which wanted a [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) book for younger readers; he cites hard-boiled American writers Jim Thompson and [Elmore Leonard](https://www.edgepedia.org/elmore-leonard) among his influences.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/fast-show-star-charlie-higson-considers-setting-up-an-online-comedy-channel-7447140.html) • [13](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/fast-adventures-of-an-accidental-author-1.689613) The first novel, *SilverFin*, appeared in 2005 and depicts the 13-year-old Bond at Eton in the 1930s; to write it Higson re-read the complete Fleming Bond oeuvre for biographical clues.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html) He wrote five novels in the series, *SilverFin*, *Blood Fever*, *Double or Die*, *Hurricane Gold*, and *By Royal Command*; all five entered the children's bestseller charts in the top five, the series has sold over a million copies in the UK, and it has been translated into more than 24 languages.[2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) He has said the books began partly so he could spend more time with his three children, testing drafts on them while writing.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/01/charlie-higson-the-fast-show-was-never-meant-to-offend) A full-cast audio drama of *SilverFin* by Ian Fleming Publications and Big Finish Productions, with Higson cast as the Eton classics tutor Michael Merriot, was scheduled for release in October 2026.[14](https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/charlie-higson-joins-the-young-bond-cast)
**The Enemy.** His second series for young readers is a seven-part zombie horror set in a post-apocalyptic London in which a pandemic has turned adults into cannibalistic zombies, leaving children to survive on their own; the sick adults are known as the Sickos.[15](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/young-blood-1.750307) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) *The Enemy* was published by Puffin in September 2009, followed by *The Dead* in 2010, and the series concluded in 2015 with *The End*, a novel of some 900 pages.[2](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) Higson links the books' premise to the [Fisher King](https://www.edgepedia.org/fisher-king) myth and to the way society casts teenagers as a threat.[16](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/charlie-higson-the-author-and-actor-talks-zombies-dyed-hair-and-telling-dad-jokes-9709458.html)
## Jekyll and Hyde and later work
In 2015 Higson created and wrote *Jekyll and Hyde*, a 10-hour ITV drama updating Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella to the 1930s and centering on Dr Jekyll's grandson Robert, played by Tom Bateman, with a cast including Vic Reeves and Richard E. Grant.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) He chose the 1930s, the era of Indiana Jones and early Tintin and of his own Young Bond books, and modeled the show on the X-Men films; he noted the monster as internal, not external, as the story's lasting appeal.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html) The series began on 25 October 2015.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html)
In a 2013 public debate he argued that British sketch comedy had been squeezed out of schedules by cheaper panel shows, a view contested by the comedian David Mitchell.[17](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-star-david-mitchell-defends-panel-shows-after-attack-by-fast-show-cocreator-charlie-higson-8839444.html)
## References
1. [Charlie Higson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0383666/)
2. [About Charlie, charliehigson.co.uk](https://charliehigson.frequency.design/about/)
3. [Charlie Higson's Jekyll and Hyde: 'We are all the monster', The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html)
4. [The secret of my success: Charlie Higson, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-secret-of-my-success-charlie-higson-1186578.html)
5. [Charlie's Angle, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/charlie-s-angle-46118.html)
6. [Charlie Higson: 'The Fast Show was never meant to offend', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/01/charlie-higson-the-fast-show-was-never-meant-to-offend)
7. [Jekyll and Hyde feature, The Independent (the-independent.com edition)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/charlie-higson-s-jekyll-and-hyde-we-are-all-the-monster-a6701711.html)
8. [On Air: Television film critic - suits you, sir, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/on-air-television-film-critic-suits-you-sir-1176300.html)
9. [Charlie Higson Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/charlie-higson-300485/biography)
10. [Charlie Higson hands Fast Show scripts to UEA literary archive, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/11/charlie-higson-donates-fast-show-scripts-uea-literary-archive)
11. [Members Ask... Charlie Higson, part 1, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/pro/features/members-ask-charlie-higson-part-1/)
12. [Fast Show star Charlie Higson considers setting up an online comedy channel, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/fast-show-star-charlie-higson-considers-setting-up-an-online-comedy-channel-7447140.html)
13. [Fast adventures of an accidental author, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/fast-adventures-of-an-accidental-author-1.689613)
14. [Charlie Higson joins the Young Bond Cast, Big Finish Productions](https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/charlie-higson-joins-the-young-bond-cast)
15. [Young blood, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/young-blood-1.750307)
16. [Charlie Higson: The author and actor talks zombies, dyed hair and telling dad jokes, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/charlie-higson-the-author-and-actor-talks-zombies-dyed-hair-and-telling-dad-jokes-9709458.html)
17. [David Mitchell defends panel shows after attack by Fast Show co-creator Charlie Higson, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peep-show-star-david-mitchell-defends-panel-shows-after-attack-by-fast-show-cocreator-charlie-higson-8839444.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames H to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license