26 Facts About Andy Zaltzman

Andrew Zaltzman was born on 6 October 1974 and is a British comedian and statistician.

Andy Zaltzman has worked with John Oliver, with their work together including Political Animal, The Department and The Bugle.

Andy Zaltzman first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1999, when he was a finalist in the prestigious So You Think You're Funny new act competition along with Josie Long, Russell Howard and David O'Doherty.

Andy Zaltzman performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the first time in April 2007, winning the coveted Piece of Wood Award, given to the best show as voted for by other comedians.

In 2011 Andy Zaltzman appeared as a guest stand-up comic on Russell Howard's Good News Extra.

Since mid-2014 Andy Zaltzman has toured Satirist for Hire, where questions and comments are solicited from potential or confirmed audiences before performing at venues, giving parts of the show a constantly evolving order and structure.

In December 2014, Andy Zaltzman performed at the Lord's Taverners charity Christmas lunch.

Andy Zaltzman has co-hosted The Bugle, a weekly satirical comedy podcast, since 2007.

In July 2009 Andy Zaltzman hosted a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 5 Live entitled Yes, It's The Ashes, taking a comic look at the 2009 Ashes.

Andy Zaltzman was a regular co-host, along with comedians Al Murray and Rebecca Front, of the satirical news programme 7 Day Sunday.

Andy Zaltzman is an occasional guest on the online cricket radio commentary station Test Match Sofa and on Talksport's cricket show Howzat.

Andy Zaltzman has appeared on The Weekly with Charlie Pickering on ABC Television in Australia since 2015.

In 2016 Andy Zaltzman became the scorer for Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 on the Sri Lankan tour of England.

Andy Zaltzman has been the permanent chair since 2021, with the exception of 2024 where he shared hosting duties with comics including Geoff Norcott due to cricket broadcasting duties.

On 5 January 2024 Andy Zaltzman was the winner of BBC's Celebrity Mastermind with a specialist subject of Auguste Rodin.

In November 2024 Andy Zaltzman won the eighteenth series of Taskmaster, beating Babatunde Aleshe, Emma Sidi, Jack Dee and Rosie Jones.

Andy Zaltzman has worked with Rory Bremner on a number of projects; these include Transatlantic, a US election special for BBC Radio 4, and several series of Bremner, Bird and Fortune.

Andy Zaltzman played the host of The Bug podcast in 2020's Watch Dogs: Legion, alongside his Bugle co-host Alice Fraser.

Andy Zaltzman is a huge fan of cricket and in November 2008 began a regular blog for Cricinfo, named "The Confectionery Stall" after a famous piece of commentary by Richie Benaud, where he described a shot by Ian Botham during his innings at the third Ashes Test Match at Headingley, in 1981 as having "gone straight into the Confectionery Stall and out again".

Andy Zaltzman's blog covered the 2011 World Cup for Cricinfo, supported by a number of podcasts.

Andy Zaltzman has appeared on the internet radio site Guerilla Cricket, and has played for the Authors XI cricket team.

Andy Zaltzman was the statistician on Test Match Special for the three-match Wisden Trophy series between England and West Indies in July 2020 and between England and Pakistan a month later.

Andy Zaltzman's wife is a barrister and they have two children, a daughter born in January 2007 and a son born in December 2008.

Andy Zaltzman delivered his son at home when his wife went into labour suddenly.

Andy Zaltzman's sister Helen Zaltzman is a comedian and podcaster.

Andy Zaltzman has played club cricket for Penshurst Park Cricket Club near Tonbridge in Kent.