# Clive Anderson
**Clive Anderson** (born 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister, best known as the host of the improvisational comedy show *Whose Line Is It Anyway?* on [BBC Radio 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-4) and [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) and of the chat shows *Clive Anderson Talks Back* and *Clive Anderson All Talk*.[1](https://catalogue.royalalberthall.com/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F5144&src=CalmView.Persons) • [2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175) He spent about fifteen years practicing as a criminal barrister in London before moving into full-time broadcasting, and he has remained a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 as host of *Loose Ends* and *Unreliable Evidence*.[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952, Stanmore, Middlesex, England[1](https://catalogue.royalalberthall.com/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F5144&src=CalmView.Persons) |
| Legal career | Called to the Bar by Middle Temple, 23 November 1976; practiced as a barrister from chambers in King's Bench Walk for the best part of 15 years[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175) |
| Signature show | Host of *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*, Radio 4 from 1988 and then Channel 4, ten series[3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson) |
| Chat shows | *Clive Anderson Talks Back* (Channel 4, 1989–1996); *Clive Anderson All Talk* (BBC One, 1996–1999)[3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson) • [4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) |
| Awards | British Comedy Award, Best TV Entertainment Presenter, 1991; TRIC Award Personality of the Year, 1995[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026536/awards) |
| Radio 4 roles | Host of *Loose Ends* from 2007 and *Unreliable Evidence* from 2007 to 2019[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/clive_anderson) |
| Middle Temple | Ordinary Bencher, Bench Call Date 6 April 2017[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175) |
## Education and the law
Anderson was educated at Harrow County School for Boys and read law at Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he served as president of the [Footlights](https://www.edgepedia.org/footlights) revue group from 1974 to 1975.[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175) • [4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) At Cambridge he became friends with the comedians and writers [Mel Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-smith), Griff Rhys Jones and [Douglas Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/douglas-adams).[7](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/a-law-unto-himself-1251365.html)
He was called to the Bar by [Middle Temple](https://www.edgepedia.org/middle-temple) on 23 November 1976 and practiced as a barrister in London from chambers in King's Bench Walk for the best part of 15 years, specializing in criminal law.[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175) • [4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) Throughout this period he wrote comedy scripts and performed stand-up. He wrote for BBC Radio 4's topical sketch show *Week Ending* from 1975 to 1977 and for [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two)'s *Not The Nine O'Clock News* from 1979 to 1982, and on 22 May 1979's opening night context he became the first comedian to perform at [The Comedy Store](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-comedy-store), the alternative comedy venue that opened in London's Soho in May 1979.[4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) • [3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson)
The two careers overlapped for several years. Anderson filmed *Whose Line Is It Anyway?* at weekends while still appearing in court, and he later described the period as a handy way of keeping life balanced. He took what he expected to be two years away from the Bar; as he put it, those two years became forever.[4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/)
## Whose Line Is It Anyway?
In 1988 Anderson was chosen to host the first BBC Radio 4 series of *Whose Line Is It Anyway?*, a six-episode celebrity improvisation show created by producers Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson.[3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson) Halfway through its only radio series the format was picked up for television. [BBC Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-television) executives hesitated over how improvisation could work on screen and eventually offered only a non-broadcast pilot; by then the first 13-week Channel 4 series was already being recorded.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/13/clive-anderson-whose-line-is-it-anyway-30th-anniversary-shows)
The television version ran for ten series on Channel 4 from 1988 to 1999 and became the most widely watched improv-format television program in British comedy history, according to the Improv Archive; Anderson's own retrospective account in the *Big Issue* gives the television run as 1988 to 1996.[3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson) • [4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) Each program featured four comedians improvising through a series of games, some suggested by the studio audience, with Anderson awarding arbitrary points and declaring a winner whose prize was reading the credits in a manner of his choosing.[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Guiness-Television-Encyclopedia-Evans-1995-22-06-06.pdf) • [10](https://theses.gla.ac.uk/1177/1/2002robinsonphd.pdf) The first radio line-up paired regulars [Stephen Fry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-fry) and [John Sessions](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-sessions) with guests [Lenny Henry](https://www.edgepedia.org/lenny-henry) and Dawn French; on television the show settled into a regular team of improvisers, with the North Americans Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie and Greg Proops becoming fixtures.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/13/clive-anderson-whose-line-is-it-anyway-30th-anniversary-shows)
The show's legacy outlasted its run. It established short-form competitive improv as mass entertainment, produced the American version hosted first by [Drew Carey](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-carey) and later by [Aisha Tyler](https://www.edgepedia.org/aisha-tyler), and introduced performers such as [Colin Mochrie](https://www.edgepedia.org/colin-mochrie) and Ryan Stiles to international audiences.[3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/13/clive-anderson-whose-line-is-it-anyway-30th-anniversary-shows) Anderson returned to the format for live stage shows, including 30th-anniversary performances at the Royal Albert Hall in December 2018.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/13/clive-anderson-whose-line-is-it-anyway-30th-anniversary-shows)
## Chat shows and interviewing style
Simultaneously with *Whose Line*, Anderson hosted *Clive Anderson Talks Back* on Channel 4 from 1989 to 1996, a ten-series chat show known for a confrontational, anti-sycophantic interview style.[3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson) Contemporary profiles described him teasing and provoking guests in a music-hall spirit, conspiring with the audience against them; Jeffrey Archer and Roy Hattersley were among those who took offense.[11](https://www.the-independent.com/voices/captain-moonlight-m-learned-chat-show-host-1511313.html) The most celebrated example of the style was his interview with the Bee Gees, in which all three brothers walked off the set after repeated jokes at their expense; Anderson's own account dates the incident to 1997 on *All Talk*, while the Improv Archive places it in 1996.[4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) • [3](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson)
In 1996 he moved to BBC One with *Clive Anderson All Talk*, which ran until 1999.[4](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/) The move to the BBC was followed by a leaner period: the successor program *Clive Anderson Now*, conceived as a current-affairs show for BBC One, underperformed, and in 2001 Anderson took over from Magnus Magnusson as host of a revival of *Mastermind*, made by the BBC for the Discovery Channel.[12](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/clive-anderson-turns-to-cable-tv-to-mastermind-his-comeback-9245174.html)
## Radio and later work
Anderson's radio career has been extensive. He presented *Clive Anderson's Chat Room* on BBC Radio 2 from 2004 to 2009, and from 2006 he first deputized for and then permanently took over *Loose Ends*, the long-running Radio 4 cultural magazine program, after the death of Ned Sherrin.[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/clive_anderson) From 2007 to 2019 he hosted *Unreliable Evidence* on Radio 4, a series that returned to his legal roots by examining topical legal and ethical issues in discussion with experts.[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/clive_anderson)
His other work spans television documentaries on current affairs, politics, books, music, sport and foreign travel, guest appearances on panel shows such as *Have I Got News for You*, *QI* and *Would I Lie to You?*, hosting of live events and award ceremonies, a one-man stage show, *Me, Macbeth & I*, and the podcast *My Seven Wonders*.[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175) • [13](https://thespeakerhandbook.com/speaker/clive-anderson/pdf) He hosted the BBC's television coverage of the Last Night of the Proms in 2009 and co-presented the historical series *Mystic Britain* on the Smithsonian Channel.[6](https://notablepeopleproject.org/clive_anderson)
## Recognition
Anderson won the 1991 British Comedy Award for Best TV Entertainment Presenter for *Whose Line Is It Anyway?* and the 1995 TRIC Award for Personality of the Year.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026536/awards) In 2017 he became an Ordinary Bencher of Middle Temple, the Inn that called him to the Bar four decades earlier.[2](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175)
## References
1. [Anderson; Clive (10 December 1952), Royal Albert Hall catalogue record DS/UK/5144](https://catalogue.royalalberthall.com/Record.aspx?id=DS%2FUK%2F5144&src=CalmView.Persons)
2. [Clive Anderson, Masters of the Bench, Middle Temple](https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view/35175)
3. [Clive Anderson, The Improv Archive](https://improvarchive.org/people/clive-anderson)
4. [Clive Anderson: 'I think it's good not to be a sycophant', The Big Issue, 29 April 2023](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/clive-anderson-i-think-its-good-not-to-be-a-sycophant/)
5. [Clive Anderson – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026536/awards)
6. [Clive Anderson, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/clive_anderson)
7. [A Law Unto Himself, The Independent, 18 July 1997](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/a-law-unto-himself-1251365.html)
8. [Clive Anderson on Whose Line – making it up as we went along, The Guardian, 13 December 2018](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/dec/13/clive-anderson-whose-line-is-it-anyway-30th-anniversary-shows)
9. [Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Guinness Television Encyclopedia (Evans, 1995)](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Guiness-Television-Encyclopedia-Evans-1995-22-06-06.pdf)
10. [Robinson, PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2002](https://theses.gla.ac.uk/1177/1/2002robinsonphd.pdf)
11. [Captain Moonlight: M'learned chat show host, The Independent, 16 October 1993](https://www.the-independent.com/voices/captain-moonlight-m-learned-chat-show-host-1511313.html)
12. [Clive Anderson turns to cable TV to mastermind his comeback, The Independent, 17 August 2001](https://www.the-independent.com/news/media/clive-anderson-turns-to-cable-tv-to-mastermind-his-comeback-9245174.html)
13. [Clive Anderson, The Speaker Handbook](https://thespeakerhandbook.com/speaker/clive-anderson/pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Television presenters and hosts › Comedy and variety hosts*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 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