Rory McGrath

Patrick Rory McGrath (born 17 March 1956), known as Rory McGrath, is a British comedian, television personality, and writer. He came to prominence in the comedy show Who Dares Wins and was for many years a team captain on the gameshow They Think It's All Over. He acted in the sitcom Chelmsford 123 and appeared in the ITV reality show Sugar Free Farm.

McGrath was born in Redruth in Cornwall, England. He studied at Redruth Grammar School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, from which he received a lower second class degree in modern languages.

McGrath became a member of the Footlights while at Cambridge and met Jimmy Mulville, with whom he wrote and performed. After university, they wrote BBC radio scripts for Frankie Howerd and Windsor Davies. McGrath also co-wrote Black Cinderella Two Goes East with Clive Anderson for BBC Radio 2 in 1978. McGrath and Mulville went on to write for shows such as Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones, and they were part of the team of writer/performers behind the Channel 4 comedy sketch series Who Dares Wins.

In 1986, McGrath, with Jimmy Mulville and Denise O'Donoghue, co-founded the independent British TV production company Hat Trick Productions. An early production was Chelmsford 123 (1988 and 1990), which McGrath and Mulville wrote and performed. In 1990, he hosted the game show Trivial Pursuit on BBC One, but in 1992 he was dismissed from Hat Trick, allegedly for not pulling his weight. The confrontation came days after McGrath had left his wife and two young children. He was a panel member on the BBC comedy sports quiz They Think It's All Over (1995–2006). He was presenter of the series Rory's Commercial Breakdown (1997), where humorous adverts were shown from different countries. He has made two football DVDs, Own Goals and Gaffs - The Premiership in 2002 and More Own Goals and Gaffs in 2003.

Since 2006, McGrath has starred in the BBC's Three Men in a Boat series, alongside Dara Ó Briain and Griff Rhys Jones. The series has included the trio rowing up the River Thames (similar to the 1889 novel also named Three Men in a Boat), sailing from London to the Isle of Wight for a sailing yacht race, borrowing numerous vessels to make their way from Plymouth to the Isles of Scilly, taking to the Irish Canals and Rivers along with Dara's dog (Snip Nua), an escapade travelling throughout the Mediterranean to Venice and most recently attempting to find a boat to take to the anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, where in response to an ongoing challenge between Griff and Dara (who had each secured a boat and refused to give it up to use the other's) he secured the Nantucket Lightship to use. He also hosted Industrial Revelations: Best of British Engineering, series 5, first broadcast in 2008.

His first book, Bearded Tit - Confessions of a Birdwatcher, was published by Ebury Press on 1 May 2008 and was serialised by BBC Radio 4.

First airing in August 2008, McGrath co-starred in a 4-part television series with British comedian Paddy McGuinness, broadcast on Channel 5, Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure. McGuinness and McGrath embark on a nationwide road-trip, "on a mission to explore Britain’s sporting heritage by probing the hidden life of its towns and villages". The series focused on arcane sports such as cheese rolling, toe wrestling and swamp soccer.

In 2011, McGrath presented Pub Dig for History. He presented two series of The Lakes for ITV and in 2016, he took part in ITV's Sugar Free Farm which saw him go sugar free for 2 weeks.

McGrath is married to Nicola, whom he met at Cambridge and was devastated when she married someone else. After both their marriages failed, she contacted him and they restarted their relationship in 1995.

McGrath supports Arsenal. He and Peter Cook (a Tottenham supporter) used to have a friendly rivalry over their respective clubs. On the night that Cook died in January 1995, Tottenham had beaten Arsenal. McGrath found out about his friend's death after failing to receive Cook's usual abusive phonecall the next morning.

McGrath is a friend and fan of Ralph McTell. He contributed liner notes to Affairs of the Heart, a McTell compilation album.

In July 2013, McGrath received a caution for assaulting two people while he was "heavily in drink" in May that year.

On 26 January 2017 McGrath was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail, suspended for 18 months for harassment.

•   (story of the author's life among birds)
•   (A memoir of a lapsed Catholic who can’t quite fully escape)