Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series Balamory. He also played John Duggan in The Thick of It, Nigel in the sitcom Rev, and appeared on many comedy panel shows. In September 2015, Jupp replaced Sandi Toksvig as the host of The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4. Early life Jupp was born in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne and spent most of his childhood in London. He is the son of a minister in the United Reformed Church. For much of his life, Jupp believed he was of Belgian stock, descended from 16th-century Huguenot immigrants. However, while creating a programme for BBC Radio 4 in 2015, he discovered his roots are actually in Sussex. He attended three independent schools: The Hall School in Hampstead, North London; St George's School in Windsor; and Oakham School in Rutland. He studied Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. While there, he performed with an improvised comedy troupe, the Improverts, and took part in pantomime productions with the Edinburgh University Theatre Company at Bedlam Theatre. Career Jupp won So You Think You're Funny?, Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2001 and was a Perrier Award Best Newcomer nominee in 2003 for his show Gentlemen Prefer Brogues. During his appearance on Celebrity Mastermind andTest Match Special in 2011, he claimed to have bluffed his way onto an England cricket tour to India as the cricket correspondent for both BBC Scotland and the Western Mail. He wrote Fibber in the Heat, a book about his adventures as a cricket journalist in India. Television and film Jupp played Archie, the Inventor in CBeebies' Balamory. He also had a role in the BBC Scotland comedy programme, Live Floor Show, where he played an eccentric, foul-mouthed comedian. In 2007, Jupp appeared fleetingly in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a television weatherman who complained about a hot drought. Jupp appeared in Series 3 and 4 of the political comedy, The Thick of It, as John Duggan, an incompetent press officer with a habit of making inappropriate comments. He appeared in BBC Scotland's comedy Gary: Tank Commander as Captain Fanshaw. In 2009, he appeared briefly in the film Sherlock Holmes as a waiter. In the same year,