Simon Fanshawe


Simon Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe OBE is a writer and broadcaster. He contributes frequently to British newspapers, TV and radio. He is also now a consultant and non-executive director of public and private organisations. Fanshawe is one of the founders of Stonewall and is a founder of LGB Alliance. He won the Perrier Comedy Award in 1989.

Career

Fanshawe first came to public attention as a comedian in the early 1980s. In 1984, he appeared on the Channel 4 comedy sketch/stand-up show The Entertainers, which showcased up-and-coming comedy talent, and later that year appeared in his comedy act Three of a Different Kind at the Edinburgh Festival. Following a nomination in 1987, he later won the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award in 1989. He had a stint as a presenter on the BBC television programme That's Life! in 1990.
Alongside working in comedy, Fanshawe has been a frequent contributor on a variety of subjects from arts to politics in newspapers and on many BBC radio and TV programmes. His BBC Radio 4 profile light-heartedly describes him as a "media tart".
Fanshawe has been involved in many community and campaigning groups and public bodies – often as a board member. He led the successful campaign to make Brighton and Hove a city in 2000. He was the chairman of the board for the Brighton Festival Fringe and is on the board of the Edinburgh Fringe. He founded and chaired the economic strategy body of his home town, The Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership. He was chairman of Brighton & Hove Local Radio Ltd from 1996 to 2000, when the company was acquired by Forever Broadcasting.
In 2006, Fanshawe made the documentary The Trouble with Gay Men, shown on BBC Three.
Fanswhawe is a founding member of Stonewall.. In 2019, he became a founding member of LGB Alliance, a group that defines itself as “asserting the right of lesbians, bisexuals and gay men to define themselves as same-sex attracted”.
In 2007, Fanshawe presented the first programme in the BBC's Building Britain series, concentrating his attentions on the key role of developers in making cities over the last two centuries.
In 2017, Fanshawe presented the BBC documentary Brighton: 50 Years of Gay in which he examined the landmark Sexual Offences Act 1967, which legalised male homosexuality in the UK, and its effect on the population of the City of Brighton.

Personal life

Fanshawe was educated at two boarding independent schools: Chafyn Grove School in Salisbury in Wiltshire, and Marlborough College in Wiltshire, followed by the University of Sussex near Brighton, where he studied law. He is now chair of the university's governing council. He was appointed OBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to higher education.
Fanshawe lives in the Kemp Town area of Brighton.

Newspapers and magazines

Fanshawe has contributed articles to the following publications:
Fanshawe has been a presenter or contributor on the following radio programmes: