He is part owner of the production company Celador, which makes Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1998). From which he has become a Millionaire many
times over.
His career began when as a school boy he used to go to a friends house and listen to his mothers comedy records then moved onto those by such as Bill Cosby, Shelly Berman and Bob Newhart.
In 1995, to celebrate the centenary of the university, he was awarded the Aston University Centennial Medal along with Sir Adrian Cadbury, Mr Douglas Ellis, Lord Howell of Aston Manor, Mrs Anne Kenrick, Mr Chris Oakley and Mr Robert Taylor.