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What Have I Done?
- Author
- Ben Elton
- Narrator
- Ben Elton
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 9 October 2025
- Run Time
- 15 hours 59 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Autobiography: arts and entertainment, Comedy and stand-up, Memoirs, Humour, Television, Individual actors and performers
- Rating
- 5.0 (2 reviews)
What to expect
Read brilliantly by the author, Ben Elton. From The Young Ones and Blackadder theme music to snippets of his stand-up comedy shows, this audiobook includes bonus audio recordings showcasing special moments throughout Ben's incredible career.
‘What Have I Done? snaps, crackles and pops with wit, bravado and glorious Ben-ness. A triumph’ – Stephen Fry
‘A big life chronicled by truly the Upstart Crow of our generation’ – Dawn French
Ben Elton has done everything and worked with everybody. Now, in this frank, forthright, and hugely entertaining audiobook, he tells the whole story.
Discover the truth behind iconic hits like The Young Ones, Blackadder, and We Will Rock You. Relive the pioneering stand-up of Saturday Live that birthed a comedy revolution. From being the BBC’s youngest-ever sitcom writer to his most recent, critically acclaimed stand-up tour, Ben reveals unique insights into his groundbreaking work.
He talks honestly about his relationships with brilliant friends, inspiring contemporaries, and occasional foes. His life off-screen has been just as challenging and funny as it has been on, and he unpacks it all with wit, insight, and of course, a ‘little bit of politics’.
For decades, Ben’s been making people laugh, think, and getting on plenty of wicks - these are the uncensored stories.
‘Funny and fascinating, it’s a story of triumph and disaster and is the closest you’ll get to understanding where great comedy comes from’ – David Mitchell
'Bloody marvellous' – Jo Brand
Critics Review
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What Have I Done? is easily one of the most honest, thoughtful celebrity memoirs of the decade
The Daily Express
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This exhaustive yet never dull memoir reminds us why he remains one of the giants of British comedy over the last four decades
The Mirror
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He has plenty of . . . superpowers. This hugely enjoyable book reminds you of all of them
The Times
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What Have I Done? snaps, crackles and pops with wit, bravado and glorious Ben-ness. A triumph
Stephen Fry, actor, comedian, and bestselling author of Mythos
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Funny and fascinating, it’s a story of triumph and disaster and is the closest you’ll get to understanding where great comedy comes from
David Mitchell, comedian and bestselling author of Unruly
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Gripping, funny, breathtakingly honest and endlessly entertaining
Richard Curtis
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A gloriously dizzying ride through Ben Elton’s long and (still) very successful career, taking in the highs, the lows, the accolades and the slights. Bloody marvellous
Jo Brand, comedian and author of Born Lippy
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A big life chronicled by truly the Upstart Crow of our generation
Dawn French, actress, comedian, and author of The Twat Files
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Ben Elton is one of the greatest comedy talents of all time, ever, in any era
Marina Hyde, award-winning columnist and author of What Just Happened?!
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Tragedy, comedy and honesty make this book possibly the best autobiography you'll ever read
Brian May
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What has he done? Written a brilliant memoir, that’s all. Funny, touching, dazzling
Gyles Brandreth, broadcaster and author of Odd Boy Out
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Ben writes smooth and fast - reading this book was like being on a surfboard attached to a rollercoaster being pulled along by a dolphin
Sir Lenny Henry, award-winning comedian, actor, and author of Who Am I, Again?
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Provocative, hilarious, compassionate, dodgy politically, acerbic yet full of love, the real Ben leaps from every wonderfully written page
Andrew Lloyd Webber, award-winning composer and author of Unmasked
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As wildly honest, funny and smart as the man himself
Kenneth Branagh, award-winning actor and author of Beginning
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Ben tells his life story with the same genius wit of his legendary stand-up, hilarious novels and iconic television series
David Walliams, actor, comedian, and author of Gangsta Granny
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Uproariously serious with trenchant bursts of truth, fury and incendiary fun
Neil Kinnock
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Ben has given joy to countless millions. This is a wonderful book. Every creative young person should read it
Harry Enfield
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This is a rich helping of sheer pleasure, overflowing with wit, intelligence and phenomenal anecdotes from one of Britain’s greatest ever talents
Victoria Coren Mitchell, presenter of BBC's Only Connect and author of Richer, For Poorer
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It’s a miracle Ben Elton managed to fit such an incredibly full life into one volume, but that’s testament to the fact that he is one of the most creative, inventive and prolific writers of the last fifty years. This book and his life are a triumph!
Between the Covers
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Beautifully written and a great insight into the prolific Ben Elton’s work and life - passionate, humorous, insightful and honest. You won’t put it down
Twiggy
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Funny, insightful, vulnerable . . . he is in the end undeniably one of the greatest comic minds this country has ever produced
David Baddiel, comedian and author of My Family
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Decades in the making, the comedian’s autobiography won’t disappoint his army of fans
Woman & Home’s Best Memoirs of 2025
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Very funny, with a tremendous sense of 20th-century history. A gem
The Times and Sunday Times, Best Books of 2025
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A fascinating tale of coincidences, the right people turning up at just the right time, and cunning plans
The Saturday Age
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Timely as well as nostalgic
The Australian Review of Books
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Everything you’d expect from Ben Elton - honest, real, funny, and touching.
From a man who has shaped my viewing and reading since I was a spotty teen, this is a perfect bookend to a brilliant career.
Though hopefully it isn’t really a bookend, and he’s still got a few more ideas to share with the world, to add to my laughter lines, break my heart, and expand the lexicon of phrases we can all use down the pub.
Contrafibularities, for the book, and all of the joy you’ve given.RabbitFishBoy 2025-11-12
Details
- Author
- Ben Elton
- Narrator
- Ben Elton
- Duration
- 15 hours 59 minutes
- Release Date
- 9 October 2025
- ISBN
- 9781035059980
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Autobiography: arts and entertainment, Comedy and stand-up, Memoirs, Humour, Television, Individual actors and performers
- Rating
- 5.0(2 reviews)
- Narration
- 5.0(2 reviews)
Synopsis
Read brilliantly by the author, Ben Elton. From The Young Ones and Blackadder theme music to snippets of his stand-up comedy shows, this audiobook includes bonus audio recordings showcasing special moments throughout Ben's incredible career.‘What Have I Done? snaps, crackles and pops with wit, bravado and glorious Ben-ness. A triumph’ – Stephen Fry‘A big life chronicled by truly the Upstart Crow of our generation’ – Dawn FrenchBen Elton has done everything and worked with everybody. Now, in this frank, forthright, and hugely entertaining audiobook, he tells the whole story.Discover the truth behind iconic hits like The Young Ones, Blackadder, and We Will Rock You. Relive the pioneering stand-up of Saturday Live that birthed a comedy revolution. From being the BBC’s youngest-ever sitcom writer to his most recent, critically acclaimed stand-up tour, Ben reveals unique insights into his groundbreaking work.He talks honestly about his relationships with brilliant friends, inspiring contemporaries, and occasional foes. His life off-screen has been just as challenging and funny as it has been on, and he unpacks it all with wit, insight, and of course, a ‘little bit of politics’.For decades, Ben’s been making people laugh, think, and getting on plenty of wicks - these are the uncensored stories.‘Funny and fascinating, it’s a story of triumph and disaster and is the closest you’ll get to understanding where great comedy comes from’ – David Mitchell'Bloody marvellous' – Jo Brand
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