Who is Richard Ayoade and is he married?

FUNNYMAN Richard Ayoade is a familiar face to comedy fans, rising to fame on the IT Crowd.

Writer, actor, comedian and director Ayoade has been in a whole host of different shows but who is this deadpan comic?

Who is Richard Ayoade?

Richard Ayoade was born in Whipps Cross, London on May 23, 1977.

He first came into the public eye in the early noughties as part of a group of up-and-coming comedians that would frequently work together.

Their cult TV hits included The Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and Nathan Barley.

Other comedians from this group include Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt and Matt Berry.

Ayoade attended Cambridge University where he was president of Footlights - an amateur theatre group that launched the careers of many famous faces including Olivia Colman, John Cleese and Stephen Fry.

He won a Bafta for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2014 for his role in The IT Crowd.

Which TV shows has Richard Ayoade starred in?

Richard's most famed character is Maurice Moss - the computer-smart-but-not-so-streetwise nerd in the smash hit Channel 4 comedy, The IT Crowd.

The show, which began in 2006, brought him huge success after appearing in cult comedy The Mighty Boosh.

In 2020 he replaced Graham Norton as the host of the Bafta awards ceremony, which due to the coronavirus was a fully virtual event.

Since The IT Crowd, he has turned his hand to writing and directing films, and received high acclaim for the 2010 film, Submarine, which included a Bafta nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

Bands including Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend have also hired him to take the director's chair on some of their music videos.

Richard has become a staple character on Channel 4 after making repeated appearances on a series of panel shows - including the annual Big Fat Quiz Of The Year and 8 Out Of 10 Cats.

Richard has also hosted two factual television shows - Travel Man: 48 Hours in... and Gadget Man.

Travel Man sees Richard exploring new locations with a range of celebrity guests.

The 48-hour travel guide show launched in 2015 and has guest-starred Rob Beckett, Lena Dunham, Paul Rudd and his IT Crowd co-star Chris O'Dowd.

He makes regular appearances on various panel shows, including Have I Got News For You.

Richard became the host of The Crystal Maze after Stephen Merchant, who hosted the Stand Up To Cancer reboot, pulled out to focus on cracking Hollywood.

Rocky Horror Picture Show writer and star Richard O'Brien was the first and most recognised host of the Crystal Maze and presented the show from 1990 to 1993.

Is Richard Ayoade married?

Richard Ayoade married into the notable Fox family of actors and casting directors.

His wife, Lydia Fox, is the daughter of James Fox who appeared in several popular films in the 60s and 70s such as the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Her grandfather was Robin Fox, a theatrical director who married Angela Muriel Darita Worthington, an actress.

All three of Fox's sons entered the world of entertainment as actors and producers, as did many of their children too.

Lydia and Richard have three children together and live in London.