Adam Buxton

Adam Offord Buxton (born 7 June 1969) is an English actor, comedian and podcaster. With the filmmaker Joe Cornish, he is part of the comedy duo Adam and Joe. They presented the Channel 4 television series The Adam and Joe Show (1996–2001) and the BBC Radio 6 Music series Adam and Joe (2007–2009, 2011).

Since 2015, Buxton has produced The Adam Buxton Podcast, in which he interviews comedians, authors, musicians and celebrities. He has appeared on panel shows including Would I Lie To You?, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Buxton has produced music videos, including several collaborations with the band Radiohead. He published a memoir, Ramblebook, in 2020, followed by I Love You, Byeee in 2025.

Buxton was born on 7 June 1969 in Shepherd's Bush, London, and spent some of his childhood in Wales. His father was the travel writer and wine critic Nigel Buxton, who later appeared on The Adam and Joe Show as "Baaad Dad". Adam's mother, Valerie (née Birrell), was Chilean. Buxton's parents met at an embassy in Tokyo in the early 1960s, while his mother was working as a steward for British Overseas Airways Corporation. They separated following financial problems.

Buxton was educated at Windlesham House School in Pulborough, West Sussex, then Westminster School, London. At Westminster, he befriended his future comedy partner Joe Cornish and the future documentarian Louis Theroux. He attended the University of Warwick for two terms before dropping out to study sculpture at Cheltenham College of Art.

Buxton's first television appearance was in an episode of Channel 4's Takeover TV. In 1995, he hosted the show itself. Buxton and Joe Cornish formed the comedy duo Adam and Joe, and with the production company World of Wonder created The Adam and Joe Show for Channel 4. It ran for four series from 1996 to 2001. In 1999, The Adam and Joe Book, a spin-off book written by Buxton and Cornish, was published.[ 11] Buxton and Cornish presented radio shows on Xfm and later BBC Radio 6 Music, which won a Silver Sony Award for Best Entertainment Programme in 2012. [ 12]

Buxton co-wrote and acted in the Channel 4 mini-series The Last Chancers, broadcast in December 2004.[ 13] In April 2003, for the 10th anniversary of the record label Warp Records, Buxton held a retrospective show at the BFI Southbank cinema in London.[ 14] In 2005, he performed character-driven comedy at Edinburgh Festival, with a show entitled I, Pavel, for which he grew a large beard.[ 15]

Buxton appeared as a future version of himself in the BBC Two comedy series Time Trumpet, which began a six-part series in August 2006.[ 16] In 2007, he portrayed the journalist Tim Messenger in Edgar Wright's film Hot Fuzz. He also appeared in the film Stardust, replacing Noel Fielding, who was ill.[ 17] Buxton appeared in the BBC Three comedy sketch show Rush Hour, which premièred on 19 March 2007.[ 18] He also featured in the 2007 film Son of Rambow as a teacher.[ 19]

Buxton has collaborated on several occasions with the band Radiohead. He assisted with a 2007 webcast from their studio,[ 20] directed the videos for their 2008 singles "Jigsaw Falling into Place"[ 21] and "Nude" with Garth Jennings,[ 22] and created a video vignette for their 2016 album A Moon Shaped Pool.[ 23]

Buxton released a number of videos on YouTube, and was commissioned to produce a pilot for the BBC based around work of this kind. It was broadcast as MeeBOX on BBC Three in June 2008.[ 17] Buxton guest-starred in the 2011 film The External World by David O'Reilly.[ 24] In January 2010, Buxton appeared in the BBC comedy The Persuasionists.[ 25]

In July 2012, Buxton appeared in a TV version of his tour Bug on Sky Atlantic, Adam Buxton's Bug. He started performing the show in 2007, and has continued to tour the Bug show[ 12] as well as host it regularly at the BFI in London.[ 26] He is the narrator of some books available on the Ladybird Classic Me Books iPad app, including "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Three Little Pigs".[ 27] He has since narrated several other titles on the Me Books app such as The Great Explorer, The Brave Beast and The Lonely Beast by children's illustrator and author Chris Judge.[ 28] He also appeared in the Doctor Who audio drama The One Doctor by Big Finish Productions.[ 29]

Buxton has appeared on Have I Got News for You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks,[ 12] The IT Crowd, Don't Watch That, Watch This and Look Around You among others.[ 18] He was also a panellist with Jonathan Ross for the Big Fat Quiz of the '80s.[ 30] Buxton has guest-starred in several episodes of the comedy gameshow 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, featuring in Dictionary Corner.[ 12] In 2015, Buxton became the voice of Messy for the children's TV animation Messy Goes to Okido, which aired on 7 September 2015 on CBeebies.[ 31] In 2017, he made regular cameo appearances as "Jarhead" in the revamped version of The Crystal Maze.[ 32] [ 33] He appeared in the 2013 video game Lego City Undercover and the 2021 Illumination film Sing 2.[ 34] Buxton is due to release an album, Buckle Up, in September 2025.

Since September 2015, Buxton has produced The Adam Buxton Podcast, in which he interviews cultural figures including comedians, writers and musicians. Guests have included Joe Cornish, Nile Rodgers, Paul McCartney, Chris Morris, Louis Theroux, Charlie Brooker,[ 35] [ 36] Jon Ronson, Caitlin Moran, Michael Palin and Brian Eno.[ 37] The Adam Buxton Podcast won Best Online Comedy Talk Show at the Online Radio Awards, Podcast Champion at the British Podcast Awards and the Internet Award from Chortle.[ 38]

Buxton's first memoir, Ramble Book, was published by HarperCollins in September 2020. It covers his childhood, including his time at Westminster School, his friendship with Cornish and Theroux, his relationship with his father, and his passion for 1980s pop culture, particularly the music of David Bowie. The audiobook, narrated by Buxton, features specially recorded jingles and a bonus podcast conversation with Cornish. Ramble Book was selected as a BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" and received positive reviews.[ 39] [ 40] [ 41]

Buxton's second memoir, I Love You, Byeee, was published by Mudlark in May 2025. It covers topics such as his creative partnership with Cornish, the evolution of The Adam and Joe Show, parenthood and the death of his mother.[ 42]

In 2001, Buxton married Sarah Evans-Lombe, daughter of the late High Court Judge Sir Edward Evans-Lombe. Adam and Sarah have three children: two sons, Nat and Frank, and a daughter, Hope. The family resides near Norwich in Norfolk. Buxton often features his dog, Rosie, a whippet-poodle cross, in the intros and outros of his podcast, which he records while walking in the East Anglian countryside. He has publicly spoken about caring for his father, who passed away in 2015.[ 43] [ 44] [ 45]