Graham Linehan (born 1968) is an Irish writer who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written - or written for - a number of popular British comedies.

As a pair they have been responsible for segments in many high profile sketch shows including Harry Enfield and Chums , The All New Alexei Sayle Show and, notably, the Ted & Ralph characters in The Fast Show (though it should be noted that with a few exceptions, the actual Ted & Ralph sketches were written by Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse). They also contributed to various magazines and wrote surreal liner notes for the popular "Volume" series of alternative music compilations.

However, it was with Father Ted (3 series, 1995-1998) that Linehan & Mathews (as the pair are often referred to) made their biggest splash on the public imagination.

Linehan and Mathews both wrote the first series of the sketch show Big Train but Linehan bowed out for the second series.

Nevertheless, Linehan has continued to provide material for shows which are held in high regard, in particular Brass Eye.

Both Linehan and Mathews often make cameo appearances in programmes they have written. They also made a notable appearance in the hugely accomplished sitcom I'm Alan Partridge as two Irish men considering Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) for a contract. Typically, they went away with a strong urge to employ somebody else (Partridge: "Sunday Bloody Sunday. Really captures the frustration of a Sunday, doesn't it? The kids are running around, you've got all of the papers to read, and you think "Sunday, Bloody Sunday"

Linehan has also appeared in two episodes (episodes 3 & 6) of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.

With Dylan Moran, Linehan co-wrote the first series of Black Books, a series to which Mathews made a much smaller contribution.

In late 2003, he and Mathews were named one of the 50 Funniest acts in Britain by The Guardian. [1]

Further reading

• "Father Ted": The Complete Scripts -- Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews. (Paperback - Boxtree - October 20, 2000) ISBN 0752272357

External links

• The Guardian Newspaper's 50 Funniest People In Britain
• Graham Linehan's CV