Ian McFadyen

Last updated

Ian McFadyen
Born (1948-07-08) 8 July 1948 (age 77)
Pascoe Vale, Victoria, Australia [1]
Occupations
  • Television actor
  • director
  • producer
  • writer
Spouses
  • Jo McFadyen,
​
(divorced)​

Ian McFadyen (born 8 July 1948) is an Australian television writer, actor, director and producer, is best known for the Australian television comedy series The Comedy Company and Let the Blood Run Free .

Contents

Early life

McFadyen used to paint while he was at school and university, until about the age of 22. [2]

Career

McFadyen played the part of Detective Mears in the iconic Australian TV series Prisoner , in 1983. He wrote the 1988 comedy feature film The Bit Part , starring Nicole Kidman, Chris Haywood and Maurie Fields. [3]

After filming an unaired pilot, McFadyen used the remaining funding to produce a series of eight one-hour shows, called The Eleventh Hour, which aired late nights on Channel Seven. A pre-cursor to The Comedy Company , it introduced characters such as Uncle Arthur, who was portrayed by Glenn Robbins. [4]

From 1988, McFadyen created, produced and appeared in multi-award winning Australian satirical sketch series The Comedy Company . The show ran for 80 episodes across three seasons, [5] [6] from 16 February 1988 to 11 November 1990, [7] and starred Mary-Anne Fahey, Glenn Robbins, Mark Mitchell, Russell Gilbert and Kim Gyngell. [6] While short-lived, the series went on to out-rate current affairs show 60 Minutes and launched numerous iconic catchphrases and characters, including Kylie Mole, Con the Fruiterer and Col'n Carpenter. [4] One of McFadyen's most memorable characters on the show was 'David Rabbitborough', a parodic impersonation of British naturalist David Attenborough. [7]

McFadyen next directed, wrote episodes for and performed in spoof soap opera Let the Blood Run Free (based on the hit stage show of the same name), opposite Jean Kittson and Peter Rowsthorn. [8] [9] The series was, in part, a send up of medical soap opera The Young Doctors . [4] From 1992 to 1993, he wrote, produced and directed comedy series Bingles , starring Shane Bourne and Russell Gilbert. [10] He was also a writer on 1992 Crawford Productions sitcom Newlyweds , starring Sandy Gore, Annie Jones and Cathy Godbold. The series ran for four seasons, until 1994. [11]

During this time, McFadyen also hosted the Australian version of 'whodunnit' game show Cluedo , [12] which ran from 1992 to 1995, for 26 episodes. [13] In 1995, he was a writer on Terror, a drama series of six telemovies focused on investigations of the Australian Federal Police, starring Robert Taylor and Angie Milliken. [14] That same year, McFadyen began starring in children's series The Genie from Down Under , as Roderick 'Bubbles' Ackrington-Smyth, reprising his role in the second season three years later. [15]

In the mid-1990s, with television sketch shows beginning to fall out of favour and little demand for new shows, McFadyen relocated to Queensland to work on a film and a sitcom. [16]

In 2000, McFadyen wrote animated series Wicked! , based on the children's bestseller by Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings. The series ran for 26 episodes. [16] Further writing continued with animated series Mormel Spots in 2003. [17]

In 2006, McFadyen created the Network Ten sketch comedy show The Wedge , [12] which starred Rebel Wilson. He also wrote a 2010 episode of K-9 (a Doctor Who spin-off sci-fi series, focusing on the adventures of the robot dog K9), called "The Bounty Hunter". The same year, he played a vampire in an advertisement for Australian Lotteries. [18]

McFadyen has also authored numerous books, including Mind Wars: The Battle for Your Brain (2000), published by Allen & Unwin. [19] He co-wrote the satirical novel Going Out Backwards (2015) with Ross Fitzgerald, [20] part of the pair's Grafton Everest series, which also includes The Dizzying Heights (2019), The Lowest Depths (2021) and Pandemonium (2023). [21] His most recent collaboration with Fitzgerald is the satirical novel, Chalk and Cheese: A Fabrication (2025). [7] [22]

Personal life

McFadyen was once married to actress, comedian and former collaborator Mary-Anne Fahey, with whom he had a son James McFadyen, born on 12 July 1990. The couple parted ways in 1992.[ citation needed ]

In the mid-1990s, McFadyen and his wife Jo relocated to Brisbane, [16] where he taught for nearly a decade, before working at Masters Timber and Hardware until his retirement in 2015. [2] At the age of 58, he resumed his hobby of painting, while working on talkback radio, on 4BC. [2]

Filmography

Director / writer / producer

YearTitleRoleTypeRef.
1970 Nothing Like Experience Production AssistantStudent film
1980Alive and KickingDirectorDocumentary short
1983 Home Writer4 episodes
1984 The Keepers Writer1 episode
The CleaningWriterShort film
Infinity Limited Writer5 episodes
1985The Eleventh HourProducer / Writer8 episodes [4]
Trapp, Winkle and BoxWriterTV series
1988 The Bit Part WriterFilm [3]
The Comedy Company Director / Producer / WriterTV series [4] [5] [6]
1989The Great TV Game ShowExecutive Producer16 episodes
1990The Big TimeProducer2 episodes
Larger than LifeProducerTV series
1990–1993 Let the Blood Run Free Executive Producer26 episodes [8] [9]
1992–1993 Bingles Executive Producer23 episodes [10]
Writer / Director / Producer
1993 The Feds: Terror WriterTV movie
1993–1994 Newlyweds Executive Producer52 episodes [11]
Writer / Additional Writer / Creator36 episodes
1995TerrorWriterSeries of TV movies [14]
1998Shadows of ParadiseWriterTV movie
2001 Wicked! WriterTV series [16]
2002 The Comedy Company: So ExcellentDirector / ProducerTV movie documentary
The Vector FileScreenplay / StoryTV movie
2003Mormel SpotsWriterTV series [17]
2006 The Wedge Co-Executive Producer / Producer / Writer26 episodes [12]
2010The VergeExecutive Producer10 episodes
Writer2 episodes
Special Guest Director
K-9 WriterEpisode: "The Bounty Hunter"
2011WAC! World Animal ChampionshipsWriterTV series
2018 In Like Flynn Stills PhotographerFeature film

Actor / performer

YearTitleRoleTypeRef.
1982 Snow: The Movie IanTV movie
1983; 1984 Prisoner Joe Timmons / Det. Fred Mears5 episodes
Carson’s Law Player 1 / Dorian / Brodie3 episodes
1984...And Where Lies the Justice?TV movie
Special Squad Evans1 episode
1985 Glass Babies Dr. B. BombarTV movie
One Summer Again Theodore FinkMiniseries, 3 episodes
The Eleventh HourVarious rolesTV series
1986 Malcolm Model Shop SalesmanFeature film
1988 Boulevard of Broken Dreams Hotel ClerkFeature film
A Cry in the Dark (aka Evil Angels)Attorney GeneralFeature film
The Bit Part Commercial DirectorFeature film
The Comedy Company David Rabbitborough / IanTV series [7]
1991 All Together Now Simon Carpenter1 episode
1992 Cluedo Host23 episodes [12]
1996 The Genie from Down Under Lord 'Bubbles' Uppington-Smythe10 episodes [15] [23]
1998The Genie from Down Under 2Lord 'Bubbles' Uppington-Smythe12 episodes
2003No Man or Woman is an IslandNarratorShort film
2004FlushedNarratorShort film
2005–2010 20 to 1 Himself5 episodes
2011DartworthDarren 'The Spider' TwineFilm
2015The LoversAideFilm
2015–2017 Stop Laughing...This Is Serious Himself4 episodes
2019 Bluey Bob (voice)1 episode
2020The EndMr Bogdanowicz3 episodes
RetconIan1 episode
2022 Troppo Vet1 episode
2022–2024 Rock Island Mysteries Old Faraz12 episodes [24]

References

  1. ↑ McFadyen, Ian: "Fond memories of a lost frontier", The Age , 1 November 1983.
  2. 1 2 3 Alston, Josh (18 November 2013). "The Comedy Company creator Ian McFadyen has found his niche as a painter in retirement and is tipping other baby boomers to join him". The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  3. 1 2 "The Bit Part 1988". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Knox, Davis (20 March 2015). "Comedy Company was "the end of an era"". TV Tonight . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  5. 1 2 "The Comedy Company 1988–1990". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Comedy Company Series 1 1988". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Phil (26 August 2025). "Revolting residents: Elders unite in Chalk and Cheese". www.indailyqld.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  8. 1 2 Lallo, Michael (7 July 2008). "The Life of Mammals". The Age .
  9. 1 2 "Let the Blood Run Free Series 1 1990". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Bingles". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Newlyweds Series 1 1992". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Dale, David: Humiliation becomes family fun Archived 30 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine , The Sydney Morning Herald Entertainment Blog, 5 December 2005.
  13. ↑ "Cluedo". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Terror 1995". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  15. 1 2 "The Genie From Down Under". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Wicked! 2000". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Mormel Spots 2003". Screen Australia . Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  18. ↑ Butler, Dianne (26 October 2009). "Ian McFadyen's new role as Dracula in Halloween lottery ads". The Courier Mail .
  19. ↑ "Bestsellers from Melbourne". New Scientist . 13 January 2001.
  20. ↑ Atfield, Cameron (29 November 2015). "A professor and a comedian walk into an authoring partnership..." The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  21. ↑ Brown, Phil (29 October 2023). "Everest reaches the summit and the world will never be the same". www.rossfitzgerald.com. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  22. ↑ "Chalk and Cheese: A Fabrication, by Ross Fitzgerald and Ian McFadyen". www.hybridpublishers.com.au. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  23. ↑ "The Genie From Down Under: characters". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  24. ↑ "Rock Island Mysteries". www.australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
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