Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, playwright, actor and director. He was a part of London's
alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on series such as
The Young Ones and
Blackadder, as well as continuing as a stand-up comedian on stage and television. His style in the 1980s was left-wing political satire. Since then he has published 15 novels and written the musicals
We Will Rock You (2002) and
Love Never Dies (2010), the sequel to
The Phantom of the Opera.