Richard Ingrams's Biography

Richard Reid Ingrams was born on 19 August 1937 in Essex, England.

Richard Ingrams was educated at Shrewsbury and University College, Oxford.

Ingrams served his National Service as a private in the Royal Army Service Corps, but failed to gain a commission and joined the satirical publication Private Eye in 1962. In the same year Ingrams married Mary Morgan.

The following year Richard Ingrams became editor of Private Eye - a post he retained until 1986.

Private Eye has been no stranger to legal disputes, but perhaps the most famous case was when Sir James Goldsmith sued it for criminal libel. The magazine gained tremendous financial support from its Goldenballs appeal.

Richard Ingrams was television critic for The Spectator and has been a long-standing columnist for The Observer as well as founding and editing The Oldie in 1992.

From 2005 to 2011, Richard Ingrams wrote a column for The Independent.

In the middle of the 2005 general election campaign, Richard Ingrams wrote in The Oldie:

"Unlike some editors I shall not be advising readers how to vote. You can, however, if you like, deduce something from our award of Opposition Spokesman of the year to the Lib Dems' Sir Menzies Campbell."

Richard Ingrams has written a number of spin-off books from Private Eye, as well as a biography of Malcolm Muggeridge.

Richard Ingrams's TV appearances include The Grumpy Guide to Romance.