Biography
Guy Jenkin was a comedy writer best known for collaborating with Andy Hamilton on such popular British entertainments as political satire "Drop the Dead Donkey" (Channel 4 1990-98) and the dysfunctional-family comedy "What We Did In Our Holiday" (2014). Much of their most popular work skewered powerful institutions, such as the mass media and the government. Jenkin was born in 1955 in London, England. He met Andy Hamilton in the late 1970s, when they both worked at BBC Radio. Their first television breakthrough was writing for the Rowan Atkinson-starring sketch comedy show "Not The Nine O'Clock News" (BBC 1979-1982). Jenkin went on to write for the sitcom "Shelley" (Thames Television 1979-1983) and for the puppet-based satirical show "Spitting Image" (Central Television 1984-1996). Jenkin and Hamilton created "Drop The Dead Donkey," a sitcom that skewered the news media, in 1990. Set in the offices of a large media corporation, it used real current events to comment on mass media corruption. The show was critically acclaimed, earning a BAFTA for Best Comedy in 1994. After co-creating the family sitcom "Outnumbered" (BBC 2007-2014), Jenkin and Hamilton directed and wrote the feature film "What We Did On Our Holiday," a family vacation comedy starring David Tennant and Rosamund Pike. They also served as writers and directors for "Ballot Monkeys" (Channel 4), a comedy that followed political organizers for the four British political parties leading up to the 2015 election.
