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Alexander Armstrong, the 51-year-old actor and TV host, has become such a familiar face on our screens over the years that it’s hard to remember where he started. These days he’s probably the most famous face of hit BBC game show Pointless – but Armstrong’s humble beginnings saw him working in several north London bars to fund his passions for acting and comedy while trying to make it a career .
Armstrong’s comedy double act with Ben Miller was quickly recognized as the hottest new talent at the Edinburgh Fringe, and before they knew it the couple had their own show, Armstrong and Miller, which ran from 1997-2001. It was Armstrong’s biggest comedy gig to date (though he’s appeared on Have I Got News For You many times since), as he made a conscious effort not to be “boxed” as a one-trick pony.
Instead, Armstrong chose to focus on his acting and presenting career instead. In 2009 he became the presenter of Pointless alongside Richard Osman, his friend since they were both 18, and in 2012 he co-hosted ITV’s Prize Island with Emma Willis.
CONTINUE READING: Richard Osman fans are raving about his engagement to the Doctor Who star, who has moved into his Chiswick home
(Image: BBC)
In his acting career, Armstrong has repeatedly played the supercomputer Mr Smith on Doctor Who, became the voice of Danger Mouse in the 2015 revival of the classic ’80s TV show, and played both Mr Wolf and Captain Dog on Peppa Pig. He also starred in Hotel Babylon, Mutual Friends and Reggie Perrin.
After such a long and prolific career in the public eye, it’s hardly surprising, but according to Celebrity Net Worth, Armstrong’s net worth is in excess of £3.7million. No wonder he can afford his 26-acre farm near Bledington in Oxfordshire, where he and his wife Hannah Bronwen Snow, 43, a former events organiser, moved to in July 2014.
(Image: Western Daily Press)
Armstrong married Snow in 2003 and the couple have four sons together – Rex (born 2007), Patrick (born 2009), Edward (born 2010) and Henry (born 2014). Although it’s only rumored that Armstrong is related to royalty, he found out he was a descendant of William the Conqueror during an episode of BBC One’s Who Do You Think You Are? in 2010.
However, the mindless host revealed he once played the game show with the Queen – who he thought was “totally adorable” and “got straight into it”.
Pointless Celebrities airs tonight (Saturday 11 June) at 8.35pm on BBC One. Tonight, Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman as Iain Stirling, Marek Larwood, Kitty Scott-Claus, Vanity Milan, Shaparak Khorsandi, Johnny Vegas, Bhavna Limbachia and Victoria Ekanoye take part in the general knowledge quiz where they try to come up with the least likely correct answers to a series of questions put to the public.
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