---
name: "Guy Jenkin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/guy-jenkin"
fi1m_id: "guy-jenkin"
imdb_id: "nm0420746"
tmdb_id: 122348
wikidata_id: "Q5622368"
roles: ["Writer","Director"]
born: "1 April 1955"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-07T12:52:42.882498+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Guy Jenkin

## Identity

Guy Jenkin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/guy-jenkin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** guy-jenkin
- **IMDb ID:** nm0420746
- **TMDB ID:** 122348
- **Wikidata ID:** Q5622368
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Jenkin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5622368, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420746/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/122348

Writer and director. Born 1 April 1955 in London, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Director
- **Born:** 1 April 1955, London, England, UK
- **Active:** 1990–2007
- **Frequently works with:** [Andy Hamilton](https://film.one/person/andy-hamilton.md), [Neil Pearson](https://film.one/person/neil-pearson.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 74 (1), 2000s 81 (2)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Comedy 2, Crime 1, Drama 1, Family 1, Mystery 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Jenkin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5622368, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420746/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/122348

## Streaming the US now

- **BritBox:** [*Life on Mars*](https://film.one/tv/life-on-mars.md) (84)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Outnumbered*](https://film.one/tv/outnumbered.md) (78)
- **Tubi:** [*Drop the Dead Donkey*](https://film.one/tv/drop-the-dead-donkey.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Guy Jenkin

> Guy Jenkin gives comic ensembles enough character to keep us watching. His partnership with Andy Hamilton is worth following, particularly when people’s shortcomings supply the comedy; jokes tied to old news are a less reliable attraction.

In *Drop the Dead Donkey* (1990), the newsroom gives everybody’s shortcomings a chance to become somebody else’s problem. Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton build a good workplace comedy from that arrangement, giving the staff enough definition to remain interesting between jokes about the news. We warmed to this lot because their failings affect the people beside them, rather than merely supplying a position in a debate. The ensemble is the reason we recommend it, with patience required for the topical material.

Jenkin came through radio and sketch writing in the late 1970s, working with Hamilton before their newsroom series. Most of each episode was written in advance, with plots, subplots and relationships established before the last-minute news references went in. That helps explain why the series remains watchable when the headlines have lost their interest. It also sets a limit on our enthusiasm: the ensemble lasts better than material that needs us to remember the news.

His contribution to *Life on Mars* (2006) was an episode written in 2007. We rate the series highly for its time-travel mystery, which has consequences we can feel, and the compelling pairing of John Simm and Philip Glenister. Its police stories and the arguments between the leads do begin to repeat. An episode credit matters, but the sustained work with Hamilton tells us more about how Jenkin writes.

With *Outnumbered* (2007), Jenkin and Hamilton moved from the workplace to the family, using semi-improvised dialogue from child actors to make domestic exchanges feel less rehearsed. That gives the children some freedom from having every word supplied by an adult. The pair extended that approach into *What We Did on Our Holiday* (2014), which they co-wrote and co-directed, though the film’s sitcom rhythms limit how much its more serious moments can move us. Start with *Drop the Dead Donkey* if good company matters more to the evening than catching every reference.

## Biography

Guy Jenkin is a British comedy writer, producer and director. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, and is best known for his long collaboration with Andy Hamilton on sitcoms including *Drop the Dead Donkey* (1990–1998) and *Outnumbered* (2007–2014).

Jenkin wrote the sixth episode of the second series of *Life on Mars* (2006). His other credits include writing and directing the 2003 film *The Sleeping Dictionary* and co-writing the 2014 film *What We Did on Our Holiday*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Outnumbered* (2007), Fi1m 78, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/outnumbered.md)
- *Life on Mars* (2006), Fi1m 84, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/life-on-mars.md)
- *Drop the Dead Donkey* (1990), Fi1m 74, as Removal Man (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/tv/drop-the-dead-donkey.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Outnumbered Christmas Special* (2024), Writer
- *The Uncertain Kingdom* (2020), Director
- *Kate & Koji* (2020), series, Writer, Producer, Creator
- *Outnumbered - Christmas Special 2016* (2016), Director
- *Power Monkeys* (2016), series, Creator
- *Ballot Monkeys* (2015), series, Director, Writer, Creator
- *What We Did on Our Holiday* (2014), Director, Screenplay
- *The Sick Party* (2012), Writer
- *Hacks* (2012), Director, Writer
- *The Broken Santa* (2011), Director
- *The Robbers* (2009), Director
- *Bike Squad* (2008), Director, Writer
- *Outnumbered* (2007), series, Creator — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/outnumbered.md)
- *Life on Mars* (2006), series, Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/life-on-mars.md)
- *Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit* (2005), Thanks — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/wallace-and-gromit-the-curse-of-the-were-rabbit.md)
- *The Private Life of Samuel Pepys* (2003), Writer
- *Comedy Connections* (2003), series, Actor
- *The Sleeping Dictionary* (2003), Director, Writer
- *Jeffrey Archer: The Truth* (2002), Director, Writer
- *Sex 'n' Death* (1999), Director, Writer
- *Mr White Goes To Westminster* (1997), Writer, Director
- *Crossing the Floor* (1996), Writer, Director
- *Lord of Misrule* (1996), Writer, Director
- *A Very Open Prison* (1995), Writer, Director
- *Look at the State We're In!* (1995), series, Writer
- *Sharman* (1995), series, Writer
- *Rebecca's Daughters* (1992), Writer
- *Drop the Dead Donkey* (1990), series, as Removal Man (uncredited) · Writer, Producer, Creator — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/drop-the-dead-donkey.md)
- *Spitting Image: Election Special '87* (1987), Writer
- *Tickets for the Titanic* (1987), series, Writer
- *Scotch & Wry* (1986), as Additional Writing
- *Screen Two* (1985), series, Director, Writer
- *The Kit Curran Radio Show* (1984), series, Co-Writer
- *Fools*, Director, Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/guy-jenkin