Tennis Balls, is described by Fry as a modern-day retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Fry defends Angus - 17/04/03
Actor and comic Stephen Fry has attacked Have I Got News For You, and has said he will not appear on the show again unless Angus Deayton is reinstated as presenter.

Fry said it was ’greasy, miserable, British and pathetic’ to fire Deayton over revelations about his drugs-and-easy-women lifestyle.

’I wouldn’t do [the show] any more because I’m very, very, very cross with the BBC and Paul Merton and Ian Hislop for allowing Angus to go,’ said an upset Fry.

BBC execs will be upset by Fry’s comments, as the actor had been tipped to take over hosting the satirical quiz, though it seems unlikely to persuade them to rethink their decision.

ITV have reportedly offered Deayton a significant amount of money to defect to a show similar in format to HIGNFY on the rival channel.


Fry lights up - 27/02/03
West Hampstead thespian Stephen Fry has received the Pipe Smoker of the Year Award 2003.

He has become the 39th recipient of the award which is voted for by The Pipe Smokers’ Council, to honour distinguished enthusiasts and raise cash for charity.

Fry said: "It is a singular and distinct honour and I’m entirely delighted. It makes me feel all grown up because pipes are very grown up. I am the most famous puffer in Britain - and you can take the ’er’ off that."

The 45-year-old who has just completed directing Bright Young Things, his adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies, revealed he first began puffing away not at tobacco but at tea.

He said: "I was about 14 and used to borrow my father’s pipe and smoke tea. I had read somewhere it gave you a buzz.

"I really started smoking properly before university while teaching at a prep school, Cundall Manor in North Yorkshire."


Stephen Fry fined £300 - 23/12/02
Stephen Fry has today been fined £300 after admitting speeding. 45-year-old Fry pleaded guilty in court to travelling at 99 mph on a dual carriageway near Cambridge in April.

Cambridge magistrates have endorsed his licence with five penalty points and order him to pay £35 costs. Fry said he was "relieved" to keep his driving licence after the hearing.

Fry who lives in West Hampstead had admitted speeding on the southbound A11 at Great Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire, in April.

He was on his way to perform in the 50th anniversary edition of the radio comedy quiz "I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue" when he was stopped by police.

As the actor left court, he wished the bench "Happy Christmas".


Stephen Fry begins filming directorial debut - 07/11/02
West Hampstead thespian Stephen Fry has begun filming his directorial debut called Bright Young Things. The film has an all-star cast including, Stockard Channing, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Harriet Walter.

The film will also feature cameos from the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Richard E Grant, Sir John Mills and Peter O’Toole.

The film is an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies and tells the story of a group of wild young London party people in the late 1920s.

Stephen Fry banned for speeding - Dec 14 2006
Actor and comedian Stephen Fry was given a six-month driving ban after being caught speeding.