The Observer chats to author and Fast Show star Charlie Higson after county visit - The Malvern Observer

The Observer chats to author and Fast Show star Charlie Higson after county visit

Malvern Editorial 14th Nov, 2015 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

MORE than 800 youngsters packed into a Malvern school to meet famous actor and writer Charlie Higson,

Higson, known to millions for his roles as Lord Ralph Mayhew and Swiss Toni in the hugely successful 1990s BBC sitcom The Fast Show, visited Hanley Castle High School to meet students and sign copies of his new book The End.

The title, which is published by Penguin and is available to buy now, is the final instalment of the talented writer’s bestselling The Enemy series. He is also well known for writing the Young Bond series of spy novels.

Higson spent the whole of Wednesday (November 4) morning with the pupils giving them a talk about the book and an insight into life as a successful writer and actor.




His visit is part of a UK tour to several schools and his visit to the county was made possible following the work of Worcestershire Schools’ Library Service bringing Reading for Pleasure to schools.

Speaking to The Observer, Higson said he was delighted to see so many youngsters attend his visit.


“It’s been brilliant to see so many youngsters from several schools coming in together and spread the word about books,” he said.

“I’ve been doing these type of school visits for the past 15 years so you could say I’m more used to talking to children than adults.

“The book finishes the story of the whole series. I didn’t want to write a completely ended series, I think it’s nice to give readers the idea that a story has a natural close to it.

“It’s all about kids versus zombies and kids trying to survive after a disease has ruined the planet.”

Before signing copies of the book, Higson spoke to the hundreds of youngsters about his career and how they can develop ideas into writing.

He added: “Kids love horror and zombies so I can talk to them about that and get on my side and then I can talk about all other stuff.

“So they think they’ve had a talk about zombies but really they’ve had an educational talk what it’s like to be a writer and how you go about writing stories. It’s good fun and you can range with many topics.”

Away from the book, Higson is currently writing and producing ten-part ITV action adventure series Jekyll and Hyde but to millions he is known for his hilarious roles on The Fast Show – which Higson told The Observer was a ‘dream’ to be part of.

“I’ve been writing since I was ten-years-old and that’s what ultimately got me into comedy. I had friends like Harry Enfield who needed someone to write material for them and so it started from there.

“I’ve always loved performing as well and when me and Paul Whitehouse had the chance to make our own show it was a chance for me to do a lot more performing.

“It was brilliant doing The Fast Show. Me and Paul (Whitehouse) were producing it as well so we were in charge and we could do what we wanted and create a show which would make us laugh. It was a dream job.

“It was great fun playing Swiss Tony because he could be very rude but I also really enjoyed playing Ralph in Ted and Ralph. He’s probably closer to my own character than Swiss Toni was!”

Hanley Castle High School headteacher Lindsey Cooke said: “Charlie’s visit has been a huge success and we thank him for his time.

“The children here love his books and it was great for them to get a really good insight into how he turns his ideas into writing.

“It’s also been good for our teachers who have seen Charlie in a different light to the children with his roles on The Fast Show.”

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