Guy Jenkin is a British writer and director known for his television comedy and drama work. He co-wrote the sitcoms Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1998) and Outnumbered (2007–2014) with Andy Hamilton. His credits also include the political satire Ballot Monkeys (2015) and the 2002 comedy Jeffrey Archer: The Truth. His debut novel, Murder Most Foul (2025), is a Tudor noir detective story. Jenkin has won several BAFTA, RTS and Emmy awards.
Guy Jenkin attended Trinity College, Cambridge. He began his career in television as a writer and director for Hat Trick Productions. In 2002, he wrote Jeffrey Archer: The Truth, a satirical film starring Damian Lewis as the politician and author. The following year, he directed The Sleeping Dictionary, a drama set in colonial Sarawak starring Jessica Alba. He also contributed to the BBC series Life on Mars (2006–2007), writing an episode about racism and drug crime in 1973.
Jenkin continued to work with Hamilton on various projects, including Kate & Koji (2020–2022). In 2024, they reunited the original cast of Drop the Dead Donkey for a theatre tour. He also wrote and directed Fools, a film about the Tudors.
Murder Most Foul (2025) is his first novel. Set in 1593, it follows William Shakespeare as he is accused of murdering his friend and rival, Christopher Marlowe. Shakespeare meets Marlowe's sister, Ann, to clear his name. Their investigation leads them into a political intrigue and crime that inspires future plays.
Jenkin described the novel as a mixture of detective stories and history. "I had a health scare a few years ago," he said. "It made me think, as these things do, and I decided I wanted to write a novel." Writing for print was a change from television. "I discovered that novels are very long but very rewarding. I'm used to writing for the screen, and it's great to speak directly to the reader, with nothing in between".
Guy Jenkin lives in Balham, south London, with his wife, Bernadette Davis, the creator of Some Girls.
