Late Starter
Paul is from a modest family in South London, an area from which he adopted the name: Merton, as opposed to his real name, Martin. His father was a train driver on the London Underground and his Mother was a nurse. The family shared a council flat with his grandfather. Paul didn't shine at school. He failed his eleven-plus, and received an unclassified grade for metal work at CSE before moving on to Wimbledon College. After school Paul took a job at Tooting Employment Office where he stayed for ten years before treading the boards at the Comedy Store in Soho in April 1982.

Deadpan man
Paul is best known for his sharp wit and intelligent deadpan humour. Keeping it clean, he never resorts to cheap language and crude expressions. He excels at slightly surreal and inventive gags. His forte is babbling about unlikely scenarios and surreal stories keeping a straight face. He loves to take hold of a subject and stretch it to its limits, often taking it into the realm of the absurd. This is part of his natural gift for improvisation and makes him the ideal team captain on Have I Got News For You.

Break a leg!
His breakthrough at the Edinburgh festival was put on hold when he was mugged and ended up in hospital in 1986. The following year his show received good reviews, but fate wasn't on his side and he soon broke his leg during a game of football with other comedians. In hospital he had a pulmonary embolism and caught hepatitis A. As well as financial loss, Paul suffered from morale setback. In the late 80's Paul even had a serious mental breakdown and spent six weeks in a psychiatric hospital. Sadly, ill health continued to blight his life.

TV Break
Paul's first break on television came with the improvisation show: Whose Line Is It Anyway? Behind the scenes he continued to write gags for colleagues, such as Julian Clary's Sticky Moments show. By 1988 he was a regular on Whose Line and just two years later, Have I Got News For You made him a household name. He soon signed up for his own sketch show and series. In 1999 he became the host of Room 101 where he discovers his guests pet hates and makes them disappear.

A love life less ordinary
After being married to Caroline Quentin from 1991 to 1998 Paul fell for Sarah Parkinson, a TV producer. She became his wife in 2000 after the couple had an unofficial blessing in the Maldives. Three years later Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer and the couple tied the knot officially in East Sussex. The bride and groom both wore white. Paul, a Beatles fan, wore a Sergeant Pepper style jacket, while Sarah wore a vintage embroidered dress and left the church on a white horse called Zebedee.

Fighting Cancer with laughter
Instead of opting for chemotherapy Sarah decided on an alternative approach believing in the goodness of organic fruit and vegetables as well as laughter. Sadly, Sarah died on 23 September 2003. Paul said: "After her initial devastating diagnosis Sarah successfully lived with the disease for the next 19 months. She refused chemotherapy because she knew it would finish her off. Instead, she boosted her immune system with a mixture of nutritional therapy, yoga, meditation, positive thinking and laughter."

Did you know?

Paul Merton is a lofty fellow at 6' 3".

Paul is the patron of the Citizen's Advice Bureaux.

His mum, Betty is of Irish origin.

When Paul Merson, a football player for Arsenal, was caught doing drugs, Paul Merton got the flack!

Like a Christmas tree
Paul's decorations are numerous. After being nominated for seven Baftas, he finally won one in April 2003. In the same year he was also listed as one of the 50 funniest Brits in The Observer, while a poll of comedians on Channel 4 in 2005 saw him placed at the 20th spot for 'funniest comedian in the universe'.