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Mark Lawson





LIFE AND CAREER

Lawson was educated at St Columba's College in St Albans and took a degree in English at University College London , where one of his lecturers was John Sutherland .

Lawson has been a freelance contributor to numerous publications since 1984, beginning on '' The Universe '' in that year, and for '' The Times '' from 1984 - 86 . He has written a column for '' The Guardian '' since 1995 , having previously written for '' The Independent '' ( 1986 - 95 ), and has twice been TV Critic of the Year as well as winning many other journalism awards. His Guardian journalism has not been universally admired though. A former colleague Richard Gott (admittedly with gripes of his own) has commented that the "prevalence of the bland and the obsequious" on '' The Guardian '' is typified by Lawson's "embedded presence". Book Review of "The Bedside Years: The Best Writing from The Guardian, 1951-2000", ''New Statesman'', January 28, 2002

Lawson presented ''The Late Show'' on BBC2 in the 1990s and has presented its offshoot '' The Late Review '' (later ''Sunday Review'' and since 2000 '' Newsnight Review '') since 1994. The 2005 'review of the year' edition of ''Newsnight Review'', broadcast on December 16, marked the end of Lawson's association with the format. In 2004 , Lawson made a documentary for BBC Four called ''The Truth About Sixties TV'', criticising what he calls "golden ageists" who, he claims, have a rose-tinted view of television past.

Mark Lawson is one of the regular presenters of BBC Radio 4 's daily arts programme, '' Front Row ''. He has written several radio plays for the network, including ''St Graham and St Evelyn'' ( 2003 ) on the friendship between the Catholic novelists Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh and ''The Third Soldier Holds His Thighs'' ( 2005 ) on Mary Whitehouse's campaign against the Howard Brenton play '' The Romans In Britain ''. He has also written episodes of the television version of the BBC sitcom '' Absolute Power '', and is one of many celebrities impersonated by the Dead Ringers team, referred to as "Britain's brainiest potato" and "the thinking woman's potato" due to his baldness.


REFERENCE



BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • ''Enough Is Enough'' (Picador, 2005) ISBN 0330438034

  • ''Going Out Live'' (Picador, 2001) ISBN 0330488600

  • ''Idlewild'' (Picador, 1995) ISBN 0330341111

  • ''The Battle for Room Service: Journeys to All the Safe Places'' (Picador, 1993) ISBN 0330323849

  • ''Bloody Margaret: Three Political Fantasies '' (Picador, 1991) ISBN 0330323865



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