Fred MacAulay

Frederick "Fred" MacAulay (born 29 December 1956) is a Scottish comedian. For 18 years, until March 2015, he presented a daily BBC Scotland radio programme MacAulay and Co. He has appeared on numerous TV shows.

Born in Perth, MacAulay was educated at Killin Primary School, at Rattray Primary School and Blairgowrie High School, both in Blairgowrie, and at Perth Academy. In 1978 he graduated from the University of Dundee with an MA in accountancy and jurisprudence. He went on to work as an accountant in a number of companies, including the Cairngorm Chairlift Company in Aviemore. In 1984 he married Aileen; the couple have three children.

MacAulay's first experience of stand-up comedy came at Bar Point in the "West End" of Paisley. He enjoyed vocal support from some close friends as he appeared alongside the established Glasgow comedian Bruce Morton. From there, in 1988 he performed at Mayfest festival in Glasgow, which burgeoned into a semi-professional career, including jobs as a warm-up act for TV programmes including Have I Got News for You and for comedians Paul Merton and Rory Bremner. His first on-screen appearance came on STV's stand-up programme The Funny Farm. MacAulay became a full-time professional comedian in 1993.

MacAulay has gone on to be a regular performer at the Edinburgh Fringe and at comedy festivals worldwide. He has presented BBC Radio Scotland's morning show since 1997, and for BBC TV he hosted one series of the talk show McCoist and MacAulay (with retired footballer Ally McCoist) and two seasons of Life According to Fred. He has appeared as a guest on comedy quiz programmes They Think It's All Over, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, The Unbelievable Truth, Just a Minute, QI, The News Quiz and Mock the Week, and made a return to Have I Got News For You as an on-screen guest. In 2009, he hosted a panel game on BBC Radio 4 entitled I Guess That's Why They Call It The News.

In 2001 he was elected the Rector of the University of Dundee and was formally installed in office on 3 May 2001. In 2007, he competed in Comic Relief Does Fame Academy and was the seventh student to be expelled.