Simon Hoggart

Simon Hoggart at The Guardian Fringe meeting, Liberal Democrat Conference, Brighton, Autumn 2006

Simon David Hoggart (born 26 May 1946) is an English journalist and broadcaster. He writes on politics for The Guardian, and on wine for The Spectator. Until 2006 he presented The News Quiz on Radio 4.^[1] His journalist sketches have been published in a series of books.

Personal life

Simon Hoggart was born on 26 May 1946 in Ashton-under-Lyne,^[2] Lancashire and educated at Hymers College in Hull, Wyggeston Boys' School in Leicester, and then King's College, Cambridge.^[3] He is the son of the sociologist Richard Hoggart and Mary Holt Hoggart. His brother is The Times television critic Paul Hoggart. He lives in South London with his wife, Alyson, a clinical psychologist and their two children, Amy and Richard.

Career

Hoggart joined The Guardian in 1968, later becoming the American correspondent for The Observer, and occasional guest commentator on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Saturday. Hoggart then became the parliamentary sketch writer for The Guardian in 1993. He also writes a wine column for The Spectator.

In the early 1980s he chaired the radio comedy show The News Quiz, returning to the show in 1996. In 1998 he was part of BBC Radio 4's 5-part political satire programme Cartoons, Lampoons, and Buffoons.^[4] He was also a contributor to the Grumpy Old Men and in the past has written for Punch magazine and an occasional column for New Humanist magazine (last entry May 2005). Hoggart was also an occasional celebrity panelist on BBC2's antiques quiz show Going, Going, Gone.

After speculation appeared in the News of the World in December 2004 regarding a "third man" in the Kimberly Quinn affair, Hoggart issued a statement admitting that he had an affair with Quinn before her marriage. The political sex scandal involving Quinn contributed to the resignation of David Blunkett from the Cabinet.^[5][6]

In March 2006 Hoggart presented his last edition of The News Quiz commenting: "I'm getting a bit clapped out and jaded, and I think that's beginning to show."^[7]

Works

His published books to date form an eclectic list, including debunking the supernatural, anecdotes about Parliament, a biography, his thoughts about the United States, a serious political review, and collected Christmas round-robin letters.

Books

• The Hands of History: Parliamentary Sketches 1997-2007 (2007) ISBN 1-84354-679-5
• Don't Tell Mum: Hair-raising Messages Home from Gap-year Travellers (2006) by Simon Hoggart and Emily Monk ISBN 1-84354-539-2
• The Hamster That Loved Puccini: The Seven Modern Sins of Christmas Round-Robin Letters (2005) ISBN 1-84354-474-1
• The Cat That Could Open the Fridge: A Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round-Robin Letters (2004) ISBN 1-84354-357-5
• Punchlines: A Crash Course in English with John Prescott (2003) ISBN 0-7434-8397-9 – on Prescottese language
• Playing to the Gallery: Parliamentary Sketches from Blair Year Zero (2002) ISBN 1-903809-66-5 – parliamentary sketches
• Live Briefs: A Political Sketch Book by Simon Hoggart, Steve Bell (1996) ISBN 0-413-70970-1 – parliamentary sketches, with the Guardian political cartoonist
• House of Correction (1995) ISBN 0-86051-998-8 – parliamentary sketches
• Bizarre Beliefs by Simon Hoggart, Mike Hutchinson (1995) ISBN 1-86066-021-5 – on "the human desire to believe the unbelievable"
• America: A User's Guide (1991) ISBN 0-00-637602-9 – on his experiences living in the United States
• House of Cards: A Selection of Modern Political Humour edited by Simon Hoggart (1988) ISBN 0-241-12451-4
• House of Ill Fame (1985) ISBN 0-86051-350-5 – parliamentary sketches
• Back On the House (1982) ISBN 0-330-28148-8 – parliamentary sketches
• On the House: The Personalities and the Politics From the Irreverent "Punch" Column (1981) ISBN 0-330-26883-X – parliamentary sketches
• Michael Foot: A Portrait by Simon Hoggart, David Leigh (1981) ISBN 0-340-27600-2 – biography of politician Michael Foot
• The Pact: The Inside Story of the Lib-Lab Government, 1977-8 by Simon Hoggart, Alistair Michie (1978) ISBN 0-7043-3236-1
• Little Boxes: A Selection of Bryan McAllister Cartoons From "The Guardian" by Bryan McAllister, Simon Hoggart (1977) ISBN 0-85265-024-8

Audiobooks

• The News Quiz: The First 25 Years (BBC Radio Collection) (2003) ISBN 0-563-49402-6
• Simon Hoggart's Pick of "The News Quiz": Vol 2 (2002) ISBN 0-563-52923-7
• Simon Hoggart's Pick of "The News Quiz": Vol 1 (2000) ISBN 0-563-47762-8

References

Notes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Simon Hoggart

External links

• Simon Hoggart's columns in The Guardian with archives
• Simon Hoggart's parliamentary sketches in The Guardian with archives
• Simon Hoggart's column in New Humanist with archives
• BBC - The News Quiz
• Simon Hoggart at the Open Directory Project
• Simon Hoggart at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Simon Hoggart on Hot Dinners