23 Facts About Nicholas Parsons

1. Nicholas Parsons challenges Tony Hawks, Pam Ayres, Miles Jupp and Gyles Brandreth to speak on a topic without hesitation, deviation or repetition for 60 seconds.

2. Nicholas Parsons made his acting debuts in the 1946 TV movie Hay Fever as well as the 1947 film Master of Bankdam.

3. Nicholas Parsons held the Guinness World Record for the longest after-dinner speech until it was reclaimed by former holder Gyles Brandreth.

4. Nicholas Parsons was awarded an honorary DA by the University of Leicester in 2007, and an honorary DL by the University of Lincoln in 2014.

5. Nicholas Parsons was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours for charitable services, especially to children's charities.

6. Nicholas Parsons was invited to stand as a Liberal Party candidate for Yeovil in the 1970s, but he turned down the opportunity in order to remain in the entertainment industry.

7. Nicholas Parsons was the president of the charity the Lord's Taverners from 1998 to 1999.

8. Nicholas Parsons is a leading member of the Grand Order of Water Rats charity, and a patron of the British Stammering Association.

9. Nicholas Parsons appears annually at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe presenting his comedy chat show The Happy Hour at the Cabaret Bar at the Pleasance, and has done so since 2001.

10. Nicholas Parsons wrote an autobiography entitled The Straight Man: My Life in Comedy, which was published in 1984, and he produced a book of memoirs in 2010 called Nicholas Parsons: With Just a Touch of Hesitation, Repetition and Deviation.

11. Nicholas Parsons was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1978 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.

12. Nicholas Parsons featured in the Stephen Sondheim musical Into The Woods at the Phoenix Theatre, London, for six months in 1988.

13. Nicholas Parsons started his career while training as an engineering apprentice; he was discovered by Canadian impresario Carroll Levis, and appeared in his radio show as an impersonator.

14. Nicholas Parsons gained valuable early experience in amateur concert parties.

15. Nicholas Parsons was offered a posting in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War, but he did not join the service due to ill health.

16. Nicholas Parsons suffered from migraines but nevertheless excelled at school.

17. Nicholas Parsons was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year Honours for services to drama and broadcasting.

18. Nicholas Parsons is a lifelong Liberal, having supported the Liberal Party and the Liberal Democrats.

19. Nicholas Parsons has been the host of the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game Just a Minute since it was first broadcast on 22 December 1967.

20. Nicholas Parsons became well known to TV audiences during the 1960s as the straight man to comedian Arthur Haynes.

21. Nicholas Parsons was born left-handed but was made to write with his right hand.

22. Nicholas Parsons was born at 1 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire; he was the middle child of the family, having an older brother and a younger sister.

23. Nicholas Parsons takes to the road with his one-man performance, which has been described as superb stand-up comedy, extravagant, vibrant and funny! Nicholas.