About Christopher Stevens
Television critic, author and journalist – a passionate fan of classic television, the golden era of British comedy, and an autism campaigner. I am the official biographer of Carry On star Kenneth Williams, and of comedy geniuses Galton & Simpson.I am the Daily Mail TV critic, writing a daily review of the previous night’s viewing from Monday to Friday.
My latest book, WRITTEN IN STONE, traces the Stone Age words that are the basis of English. It unravels the DNA of our language, to show how prehistoric syllables are the source of everything we say and write. You will never think the same way about our ordinary, everyday words.
I’ve been a journalist since 1983. For 15 years I worked on provincial papers, before becoming a senior sub-editor at the Observer in London. Between 1998 and 2012 I was a regular contributor to the news pages, as well as an occasional leader writer. Read Daily Mail features here and my Observer stories here.
I’m the father of two teenage boys. A REAL BOY is the story of how my family coped with bringing up our younger son, who is profoundly autistic. It was endorsed by the National Autistic Society, whose president, Jane Asher, called it "wonderfully honest". A GIRL CALLED BARNEY is a novel about a single dad who must come to terms with his little girl's autism.
Ray Galton and Alan Simpson helped to invent situation comedy – MASTERS OF SITCOM is a celebration of their careers, and includes many extracts from their lost shows. Perhaps the most exciting discovery was the script for the feature film that they wrote for Tony Hancock but which was never made, The Day Off.
My biography of the Carry On star Kenneth Williams, BORN BRILLIANT, was authorised by his estate, and I was lucky enough to be entrusted with all his diaries and his archive of letters, more than five million words of golden comic history.
BORN BRILLIANT was serialised as a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and shortlisted for a Sherry, the Sheridan Morley Theatre Biography Prize.
My guide to mnemonics and traditional memory aids, THIRTY DAYS HAS SEPTEMBER, has been the best-selling reference book on Kindle for many weeks.
