Philip James Hammond (born 1 January 1962) is a British physician, broadcaster, comedian and commentator on health issues in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his humorous commentary on the National Health Service. He first came into the public spotlight writing a column for The Independent newspaper, where he wrote with a strong pro-patient rights line and as Private Eyes medical correspondent "MD". Early life and education Hammond lived in Australia until the age of seven when his Australian father, Barrie Rees Hammond, Ph.D, a Cambridge-educated physical chemist, killed himself at the age of 38. His English mother moved the family back to England. Hammond was educated at Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School until its closure in 1975, then at its successor St John's Comprehensive, before obtaining a place at Marlborough College as his father had taught there. Hammond qualified as a doctor in 1987, having studied at Girton College, Cambridge and St Thomas' Hospital Medical School, London. Career Medical career Hammond has worked as a Lecturer in Medical Communication at the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol. He previously worked as a GP before retraining as an associate specialist in chronic fatigue syndrome. Performances He starred in his own show 59 Minutes to save the NHS at the Edinburgh Fringe and was one of two doctor-cum-comics who captained teams on a Channel Five medical quiz, Tibs and Fibs, hosted by Tony Slattery. As well as appearing on Channel 4's longest running programme, Countdown, Hammond has starred in the BBC Two TV series Trust Me, I'm a Doctor and in the BBC Radio 4 series Struck Off and Die and 28 Minutes to Save the NHS. He has appeared on the BBC TV news quiz Have I Got News for You, as well as the original and longer-running The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4 and The Now Show on the same station. He also writes the Medicine Balls column in Private Eye, under the pseudonym "M.D." (use of pseudonyms is routine for Private Eye's regular columnists). He presents the Music Group on BBC Radio 4 and was a regular contributor to Gabby Logan's Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 5. He also has a Saturday mid-morning show on BBC Radio Bristol between 9am and 12noon. Hammond toured the UK between 2011 and 13 with Dr Phil's Rude Health Show, which was released on DVD in two parts: Dr