Pan Macmillan to publish one-of-a-kind (and one volume only) autobiography from Ben Elton
The memoir, What Have I Done?, will be published in hardback, e-book and audio in October 2025, with the audiobook read by the author.
What has Ben Elton done?
Well, he’s pretty much done everything and worked with everybody and now he’s telling the whole story in one unputdownable volume. Sixty-five years in the making, this frank, forthright and hugely entertaining autobiography takes a deep dive into Ben’s life and times, both private and public.
He reveals the true stories behind iconic hits such as The Young Ones, Blackadder and We Will Rock You, his pioneering routines hosting Saturday Live, which birthed a revolution in stand-up comedy, and so much more. Ben recounts his life and uniquely varied career from his Catford childhood and being the BBC’s youngest ever sit com writer at twenty-one right up to the present day, with yet another hit sitcom, Upstart Crow; a surprise late-life BAFTA; and his most critically acclaimed stand-up comedy show to date.
‘I’ve been writing fiction all my life. This story is true. Well quite frankly you couldn’t make it up.’
Ben Elton
‘There is no one quite like Ben Elton. He’s a man who has worn many hats across his long and varied career that it’s hard to put him in a box. It’s been amazing to have the opportunity to work alongside Ben, get the inside track on many countless and acclaimed shows, novels and musicals – and see a writing genius at work.’
Sara Cywinski, publishing director
What Have I Done?
by Ben Elton
For forty-five years Ben’s been making a lot of people laugh, a lot of people think and getting on quite a lot of people's wicks. He’s full of stories and here he tells them unvarnished and uncensored – he’s sharing his truth, as they say these days, and he’s up to his neck in it!
Alongside unique insights into his ground-breaking work, Ben talks honestly and compellingly about his personal and professional relationships with two generations of brilliant friends, inspiring contemporaries, occasional foes, and the times in which they all lived. And Ben’s life has been just as challenging, rewarding and funny off screen as it has been on. He unpacks it all with wit, insight and complete honesty. And of course, there’s a ‘little bit of politics’.
Photograph © Trevor Leighton
