Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English comedian, actor and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. He is also known for his roles as Bough in the Johnny English film series, DI Richard Poole in the BBC crime drama series Death in Paradise and James Lester in the ITV sci-fi series Primeval.
Miller moved to London to pursue a career in comedy.[11] He was introduced to fellow Cambridge graduate Alexander Armstrong in 1992, at the TBA Sketch Comedy Group, a comedy club which ran at the Gate Theatre Studio, Notting Hill throughout the 1990s. They performed their first full-length show together at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1994 and returned in 1996, when they were nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award.[12]
Their success resulted in the commission of the television series Armstrong and Miller, which ran for four series from 1997 to 2001 – one on the Paramount Comedy Channel and three on Channel 4. In 1998, the duo also had their own radio show with the same name on BBC Radio 4, which featured many of the sketches and characters from their TV series. After a six-year break,[13] the show was recommissioned for Hat Trick Productions as The Armstrong & Miller Show and three series have been produced.[14] In 2008, they also had a second radio show, Children's Hour with Armstrong and Miller.[15]
In 2009, Miller appeared with Rob Brydon in an episode of QI (Series6.9). The two have often been mistaken for each other,[5][17] and as a joke they dressed in similar shirts for the episode and shared an on-screen kiss.[8][20]
In 2010, he made his directorial debut with the film Huge.
In January 2011 he presented an episode of the BBC science series Horizon titled "What is One Degree?". Later in 2011 he reprised his role as James Lester in the TV series Primeval. From November 2011 he played the role of Louis Harvey in The Ladykillers at the Gielgud Theatre.
On 23 July 2012, Miller began touring for his book, It's Not Rocket Science, from the Royal Society in London. He also appeared at the British Comedy Awards with Armstrong on Channel 4. In 2013, Miller took part in an episode of Room 101 and a Comic Relief special of game show Pointless. On 13 December 2014, he appeared in a Christmas edition of The Celebrity Chase.
From 2011 until the series three premiere in 2014, Miller starred in the BBC-French co-produced series Death in Paradise as Detective Inspector (DI) Richard Poole.[21] A third series of Death in Paradise was commissioned for early 2014.[22] On 9 April 2013 it was announced that Miller would be departing the series,[23] to be replaced by actor Kris Marshall. Filming began in March 2013, and Miller left in May after completion of the first episode, in which his character was murdered. Miller reprised his role for a cameo appearance in a dream sequence during the tenth series in 2021.
Miller explained he had personal reasons for the change: "It was the job of a lifetime, but logistically I just didn't feel I could continue. My personal circumstances just made it too complicated, but I will miss it like a lung. I love it here."[24] Miller's wife had discovered she was pregnant after he had begun filming the first series. Their time apart caused strains on his relationship with her and their sons, so he wanted to spend more time with his family.[24]
Since October 2015, Miller along with Ruth Jones and Will Close, appears in adverts for British supermarket Tesco as Roger with Jones as his wife Jo and Close as their son Freddie. In 2016, Miller co-presented the ITV entertainment series It's Not Rocket Science alongside Rachel Riley and Romesh Ranganathan.
In 2018 he returned to the role of 'Bough', sidekick again to Rowan Atkinson's title character, in the film Johnny English Strikes Again. In September of that same year he played the role of Wolf Hall on the BBC sitcom Upstart Crow.[32]
In November 2022, Miller released his seventh children's book Secrets of a Christmas Elf.[33] In 2024, Miller acted as children's author Jullian Hartswood in the comedy drama Austin for Australian television network ABC TV, and produced by Northern Pictures and Lincoln Pictures.[34]
Personal life
Miller dated actress Rachel Weisz while they were both studying at Cambridge University during the early 1990s.[5] He married actress Belinda Stewart-Wilson in 2004, and they had a son before divorcing in 2011. He married production executive Jessica Parker, the daughter of musician Alan Parker, in September 2013; they have a son and daughter.[35][36][37]
Despite reports to the contrary[18], in an interview with Roman Kemp on BBC Radio 5 Live in December 2024, Miller said he could not play the drums and did not know where this claim came from [39]
Sir David John White, known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Detective Inspector Jack Frost in A Touch of Frost, Granville in Open All Hours and Still Open All Hours, and Pop Larkin in The Darling Buds of May, as well as voicing several cartoon characters, including Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows, the BFG in the 1989 film, and the title characters of Danger Mouse and Count Duckula.
Lynda Bellingham OBE was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who, Second Thoughts and Faith in the Future. She was also known for her appearances as the mother in the long-running series of "Oxo Family" British TV advertisements between 1983 and 1999, and as a panellist on the ITV lunchtime chat show Loose Women between 2007 and 2011.
Michael Joseph Pennington, better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour.
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter and singer. He is the host of the BBC One game show Pointless, and is a weekday morning-show presenter on Classic FM.
Simon William Day is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show The Fast Show and the sitcom Grass.
Sarah Alexander is an English actress. She has appeared in British series including Armstrong and Miller, Smack the Pony, Coupling, The Worst Week of My Life, Green Wing, Marley's Ghosts and Jonathan Creek.
Bradley Walsh is an English actor, television presenter, comedian, singer, and former professional footballer.
Reeson Wayne Shearsmith is an English actor, comedian, writer and magician. He was a member of The League of Gentlemen, with Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Jointly with Pemberton, created, wrote and starred in the sitcom Psychoville and the dark comedy anthology series Inside No. 9. He had notable roles in Spaced and The World's End.
Simon Nye is an English screenwriter, best known for television comedy. He wrote the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, and all of the four ITV Pantos. He co-wrote the 2006 film Flushed Away, created an adaptation of Richmal Crompton's Just William books in 2010, and wrote the drama series The Durrells.
Lorraine Chase is an English actress and former model. She became well known for her strong south east London accent and frequent use of cockney slang, and found fame through a series of television adverts for Campari before embarking on an acting career. She is best known for playing the role of Steph Stokes in ITV soap opera Emmerdale from 2002 to 2006, with a brief return in 2013. Her partner, John Knight, died from cancer in 1996.
Douglas James “Dougie” Henshall is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series Primeval (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama Shetland (2013–2022).
Daniel Renton Skinner is an English actor and comedy writer, working in stage, film and television. Skinner often performs as the character Angelos Epithemiou, and is also one half of the Brian and Roger podcast.
Primeval is a British science fiction television series produced for ITV by Impossible Pictures. Primeval follows a team of scientists tasked with investigating the appearance of temporal anomalies across the United Kingdom through which prehistoric and futuristic creatures enter the present, while simultaneously trying to stop a terrorist plot to bring about the end of the world. Primeval was created by Tim Haines, who previously created the Walking with... documentary series, and Adrian Hodges. It ran for five series, originally broadcast from 2007 to 2011.
Emma Rigby is an English actress and model. After rising to prominence for her role as Hannah Ashworth in Hollyoaks, she later played Gemma Roscoe in the BBC One drama series Prisoners' Wives and as the Red Queen in the American fantasy-drama Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She also played the lead role of Angie in Movies 24's A Cinderella Christmas, directed by Tosca Musk.
Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith, professionally known as Doc Brown, is an English actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, producer and voiceover artist. He portrayed DS Joe Hawkins in the television series Law & Order: UK. He is also known for portraying Nathan Carter in the CBBC television series 4 O'Clock Club from 2012 to 2015, and Imperial Security Bureau agent Lieutenant Supervisor Blevin in Andor.
Kayvan Novak is an English actor and comedian. He co-created and starred in the comedy series Fonejacker (2006–2008) and Facejacker (2010–2012), winning the BAFTA Television Award for Best Comedy in 2008.
Andrew-Lee Potts is an English actor and director. He is best known for his role as the quirky Connor Temple on ITV's British science fiction programme Primeval and Space's Canadian spinoff Primeval: New World. He also starred as the Hatter on the SyFy mini-series Alice and was a series regular on the long-running programme Ideal. Since 2006, Potts has written and directed short films through his production house, Keychain Productions. In 2008, he directed a documentary about the filming of Primeval called Through the Anomaly.
Naomi Bentley is an English actress known for her roles in Miranda, White Van Man, Primeval, Grownups, Dalziel and Pascoe and Casanova.
Death in Paradise is a crime comedy drama television series created by Robert Thorogood, starring Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Ardal O'Hanlon, Ralf Little and Don Gilet.
The fourth series of the British science fiction programme Primeval began on 1 January 2011 and concluded on 5 February 2011 after airing seven episodes. Primeval follows a team of scientists tasked with investigating the appearance of temporal anomalies across the United Kingdom through which prehistoric and futuristic creatures enter the present. Following the departures of key actors in the third series and the inability of some of the actors to return for the fourth series, several new main cast members were introduced, including Ciarán McMenamin, Ruth Kearney, Alexander Siddig and Ruth Bradley.
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