Peter Baynham

Peter Baynham (born 28 June 1963) is a British screenwriter and performer. He often collaborates with Armando Iannucci, Chris Morris, Steve Coogan, Sacha Baron Cohen and has worked with Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. He has written for TV comedy series including The Day Today, I'm Alan Partridge, Brass Eye and Jam. In 2006 Baynham co-wrote the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan together with Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines and Dan Mazer, for which they received a 2007 Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Since then he has principally written movies, including Brüno, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and the animated features Arthur Christmas and Hotel Transylvania.

Baynham was first heard on Chris Morris's early radio DJ slots, often appearing in and writing for The Chris Morris Music Show, and wrote with Morris on the radio series Blue Jam. Other works include the "comic book in radio format" series The Harpoon and the animated sitcom I Am Not an Animal. He has appeared on the stand-up circuit as Mr Buckstead, the psychotic maths teacher and poet, played Terry the "Too Gorgeous" man in a series of mid-1990s Pot Noodle adverts (a campaign he co-wrote with Iannucci) and the role of "Peter from Balham" in the TV series Fist of Fun with Lee and Herring.

Baynham grew up in Cardiff, graduated from Fleetwood Nautical College and served in the Merchant Navy between the ages of 16 and 21. He is qualified to navigate a supertanker.

As a performer, he has appeared in the following programmes:

• The Chris Morris Music Show (radio show)
• Fist of Fun (radio and TV series)
• Lee and Herring (radio series)
• The Harpoon (radio series)
• Junkies (Internet video)
• The Day Today
• Friday Night Armistice and Saturday Night Armistice as himself
• This Morning with Richard Not Judy as himself
• I'm Alan Partridge
• Brass Eye
• The 99p Challenge (radio series)
• Look Around You

As a writer, he has contributed to the following programmes and films:

• The Harpoon (radio series) (1991-1994)
• The Day Today (1994)
• Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge (1994-95)
• In the Red (radio series) (1995)
• Saturday Night Armistice (1995-1999)
• Brass Eye (1997-2001)
• I'm Alan Partridge (1997-2002)
• Bob and Margaret (1998-2001)
• Big Train (1998-2002)
• Jam (2000)
• I am Not an Animal (2004)
• Monkey Dust (2003-2005)
• Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2005)
• Brüno (2009)
• Arthur (2011)
• Arthur Christmas (2011)
• Hotel Transylvania (2012)
• Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
• Grimsby (2016)
• Ron's Gone Wrong (2021)