Alexander Armstrong Biography

Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong was born on March 2, 1970 in Rothbury, Northumberland, England as the youngest of three children of Henry Angus Armstrong, a physician, and Emma Virginia Peronnet, a magistrate.

He developed a passion for music at the age of seven while studying at Mowden Hall School in Stocksfield and later was a chorister at St Mary's Music School aged 11-13.

He studied at Durham School before attending Trinity College, Cambridge as a choral scholar and participated in its Footlights Dramatic Club in his final year before graduating with a third-class degree in English in 1992.

In 1992, Alexander Armstrong relocated to London with other Cambridge alumni,aiming to pursue a career in acting and comedy, and shared a flat with young playwright Jez Butterworth. With David Wolstencroft, his first comedy partner, he started a comedy club in Notting Hill where they were joined by fellow Cambridge graduate Ben Miller, who soon became his new partner.

Performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1996, Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller were nominated for the 'Perrier Award', following which they hosted the comedy sketch show Armstrong and Miller on the Paramount Comedy Channel in 1997. The next three seasons of the show aired on Channel 4 until 2001, and after a few years of break, the duo teamed up again for BBC's award-winning The Armstrong & Miller Show in 2007-10.

As an actor, he appeared as Strikja on the BBC 4 radio series Saturday Live, as Prince Charming in ITV's Christmas pantomime Cinderella, and as misanthropic, animal-hating vet Nick on the BBC One sitcom Beast. His other early works included performing on BBC Radio 4's The Very World of Milton Jones, providing voice over for animated series Stressed Eric and The Big Knights, and starring on various commercials.

He was the lead in the drama series Life Begins (2004-06), played the anti-hero John Weak on the sitcom Weak at the Top (2005-06), and served as chairman of Channel 4's Best of the Worst. He hosted ITV1's Don't Call Me Stupid in 2007-09, was the presenter and narrator of When Were We Funniest? in 2008, and appeared as a guest on Have I Got News for You several times.

In 2009, Alexander Armstrong began presenting the BBC One game show Pointless and also presented the BBC documentary Alexander Armstrong's Very British Holiday. He presented The Great British Weather and Epic Win in 2011, hosted Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask in 2011-13, and co-hosted Prize Island in 2012-13.

In 2015, he presented the documentaries Rome's Invisible City and Land of the Midnight Sun, and was announced to return to present the next three parts of the former. He was the presenter of Don't Ask Me Ask Britain in 2017, The Imitation Game and Saluting Dad's Army in 2018, and narrated Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad in 2019-20.

A classically trained musician, Alexander Armstrong had restricted singing primarily to his local parish church services or private events until he finally launched a cover band and went on a tour in September-November 2013. His debut solo vocal album, A Year of Songs, was released in November 2015 and reached the top of the UK Classical Chart, making an unprecedented record by a comedian-actor.

He spent the early 2016 touring across the UK with his band and released his second album, Upon a Different Shore, in October that year, reaching No.8 on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2017, his third album In a Winter Light was released, followed by his narration of Prokofiev's Peter and The Wolf for children, recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

On August 27, 2003, Alexander Armstrong married event organizer Hannah Bronwen Snow, the sister of food writer Esther Walker. The couple shares four sons: Rex (born 2007), Patrick (born 2009), Edward (born 2010), and Henry (born 2014).

Alexander Armstrong, who is involved with charities like Family Links, the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust and Just A Drop, participated in the 2013 music talent show Your Face Sounds Familiar that funded charities.