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No Joke: Ben Elton speaks his mind on Boris, Corbyn and Trump

As the Blackadder writer makes his return to stand-up comedy after a 15-year break, he tells of his struggle to satirise today's world leaders - and his deep interest in Jewish history

September 12, 2019 11:05
Ben Elton
6 min read

We meet in the office of Ben Elton’s publicist in Regent Street, central London, to conduct what both of us believe to be the comic, author and sitcom writer’s first interview with the JC.

Seven years ago, Elton wrote Two Brothers — a novel inspired by his father’s experience as a refugee from Nazi Germany. But he didn’t agree to a JC interview (we had to make do with a profile). A “committed atheist” , in the past he declined most invitations to talk about his Jewish roots. His mother once joked: “Why does no one ever ask about my Church of England background?”

But now Elton, 60, is happy to chat, and is quite blunt. “I am well aware there are some aspects of me that are Jewish and that some people identify me as Jewish,” he reasons. “I don’t mind.” 

“I don’t know any Jewish holidays,” he says. “I know a lot about Jewish history but that’s because I’m interested in history in general. The cultural thing is incredibly important.”