Charlie Higson - 10.50am - On a panel with Johnny Mains hosted by Robin Ince

Charlie Higson is a successful author, actor, comedian and writer for television and radio. He wrote the phenomenally successful Young Bond series which has now sold over a million copies in the UK and has been translated into over 24 different languages. The series began with SilverFin and was followed by Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command. All five novels entered the children’s bestseller charts in the top five.

The writer’s later production has focused on apocalyptic themes, which he deals with from many different angles. Feelings and scenery of desperation revolve around the world of casinos, but also around police work, hospitals and basic everyday life.

Survivor narratives follow the course and trajectory of several characters at the same time. The characters’ professions include casino operator, nurse and florist.

Charlie is also renowned for his comedic work

He started writing for Harry Enfield with Paul Whitehouse and performing comedy. He came to public attention as one of the main writers and performers of the BBC Two sketch show The Fast Show (1994–2000). He also worked with Whitehouse on the radio comedy Down the Line.^[4] In 1994 Higson co-wrote (with Lise Mayer) the screenplay for the film thriller Suite 16.

He worked as producer, writer, director and occasional guest star on Randall & Hopkirk from 2000 to 2001. Subsequent television work has included writing and starring in BBC Three's Fast Show spin-off sitcom Swiss Toni. He first appeared as a panellist on QI in 2007. In 2010 he co-directed and starred in the series Bellamy's People.

In 2013 Higson adapted Agatha Christie's A Caribbean Mystery for ITV's Agatha Christie's Marple series. In 2015 Higson reimagined the novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson for ITV Studios into a ten part adventure series, set in the 1930s titled Jekyll and Hyde. In 2017, Higson appeared as Ian Winterman in series three of Broadchurch and as Ronnie Maguire in series three of Grantchester.

2020 saw Higson compete on Richard Osman's House of Games.^[5] alongside Chizzy Akudolu, Kate Williams and Tom Allen.^[6]

Higson has also starred in Lobby Land, a radio sitcom on BBC Radio 4, as Tom Shriver MP.^[7]

Books

Time Out has described Higson as "The missing link between Dick Emery and Bret Easton Ellis".^[8]

Higson wrote a series of five Young Bond novels, aimed at younger readers and concentrating on James Bond's school-days at Eton starting with SilverFin, released in 2005, and ending with By Royal Command (2008).^[9] Higson had been at school with Jonathan Evans, former Director General of MI5.

Higson wrote a post-apocalyptic, zombie-horror series of books for young adults. The eponymous first book in the series, titled The Enemy, was released in 2009.^[10] At a school event at Abingdon School on 14 September 2011, Charlie told children: "Originally it was going to be three books and then my publisher, Puffin, said make it five, and now we're up to it being seven."^[11] The seventh novel, The End, was published in 2015.^[12]

In 2018 Higson wrote a Fighting Fantasy gamebook titled The Gates of Death, which was published by Scholastic books as part of their campaign to relaunch the Fighting Fantasy franchise. He is a long term FF enthusiast, having attended Fighting Fantasy Fest 2 in London the previous year and also made a cameo appearance in the Ian Livingstone gamebook Blood of the Zombies.^[13]

In May 2023 Higson released his first adult Bond novel, On His Majesty's Secret Service, to mark the Coronation of King Charles III and support the National Literacy Trust.^[