Stephen Fry is back on telly for ITV’s new gameshow Jeopardy!.
The presenter is no stranger to appearing on screens – having been in the business for nearly five decades.
From a role in a Golden Globe Award-winning film to even a cameo in the *iconic* tween flick St. Trinian’s, Stephen has kept himself busy over the years! And now, he’s become the host of rebooted quiz show Jeopardy! on ITV.
But is Stephen married? Why did he quit QI after 13 years? And when did Stephen go missing? Keep reading to find out!
Who’s Stephen Fry?
Hailing from London, Stephen was born in Hampstead on August 24, 1957 – making him 66 years old.
He first shot to fame in the 1980s as one-half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie. He also had roles in Alfresco with Emma Thompson, as well as Blackadder with Rowan Atkinson between 1986 and 1989.
Since then, he’s turned his hands to an array of different career moves – from TV, movie and theatre roles to becoming a best-selling author.
Why Stephen Fry quit QI
Stephen hosted the British quiz show QI for 13 years – from 2003 to 2016. He confirmed he was leaving the show in 2016 after appearing in more than 180 episodes and called it “one of the best jobs on television”.
However, QI star panelist, actor Alan Davies, revealed in 2016 that the real reason for Stephen quitting was due to budget cuts at the BBC.
He said: “For budget reasons, they ended up making him do three shows in 24 hours. Sometimes he’d go upstairs and have a vodka and tonic and a lie down then come back and say, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ I sympathise, because I felt exactly the same way. It’s not fair.”
When did Stephen Fry go missing?
Stephen has been open about his battle with mental health over the years. He has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, something he previously said “explained the massive highs and miserable lows I’ve lived with all my life”.
In 1995, he had a nervous breakdown while appearing in a West End play, Cell Mates. He ended up walking out of the show and caused an early closure.
Stephen went missing for several days. He later revealed that he would have killed himself if he didn’t “have the option of disappearing,” as MailOnline reports. He then left the UK by Ferry, and resurfaced in Belgium.
When did Stephen Fry come out?
Stephen Fry has not specified the exact age he came out as a gay man. However, he has said in past interviews that he was aware he was gay while still a young child.
He famously quipped: “I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, that’s the last time I’m going up one of those.”
He has previously said he maintained celibacy from the years of 1979 and 1995. He said he chose to be celibate because he wasn’t always comfortable with the 80s and 90s gay scenes – and was waiting it out until he found true love.
Is Stephen Fry married?
Stephen Fry is happily married to comedian Elliott Spencer – who is 30 years his junior. The pair reportedly met in 2014 at a house party after being introduced by pals.
The couple then tied the knot in 2015. Speaking to The Independent about their relationship, Elliott, 36, said: “I don’t care what people think. Stephen is the love of my life, the light of my life.”
He added: “We laugh all the time. Humour is the binding thing in our life. I think that’s what brought us together.”
Stephen and Elliott do not have any children together. But Stephen previously hinted that he would like to have children with his husband. He said on Desert Island Discs: “I suddenly think, ‘Oh my goodness I’m such an age now’, but actually that’s rather good, but we better get on with it if we do.”
Meanwhile in 2022, during an interview with The Mirror, he admitted he regrets not having children and that it’s the “biggest hole” in his life experience. He said: “I’ve had opportunities, I suppose, to have had children. I could have sorted something out.”
He also said: “I have many godchildren now, nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews, but I’ll never experience a child growing up. It’s a slight sadness. I mean, that’s probably the biggest hole in my life experience.”
What’s Stephen Fry doing now
It’s fair to say Stephen has kept himself busy over the past couple of years! And this year, he took on the hosting gig for rebooted quiz show Jeopardy!.
Jeopardy! has been around for decades. The show first launched on NBC in 1964 and has been running pretty much consistently ever since on US TV.
The show is different from usual quiz shows, as it sees a contestant given clues to a question in the form of an answer. They must identify the person, place, thing, or idea that the clue describes, by phrasing it in the form of a question.
Speaking about the show, Stephen said: “In the United States, Jeopardy! is a phenomenon like no other.” He added: “Whenever I’m in America, I do my damnedest to catch it every weekday. The idea of hosting it here in the UK makes me dizzy with delight. Such a dedicated quizzing nation as ours will, I hope, welcome this uniquely beguiling and endlessly rewarding game.”
Read more: Jeopardy! host Stephen Fry ‘not the right guy’ to front reboot as viewers switch off
Jeopardy! airs weekdays from 4pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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