# Nev Fountain

Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain (born 12 August 1969), is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme Dead Ringers.

## Early life

A native of Stamford, Fountain attended the University of Warwick.

## Career

While working at a series of odd jobs in London, Fountain wrote a few fringe plays, including one called My Grandmother Is a Time Lord, produced in 1995. In the same year, he began writing sketches for the radio programme Week Ending. It was while working on Week Ending that he met Tom Jamieson, with whom he has written most of his subsequent radio and television work.
Fountain and Jamieson contributed to many radio and television comedy programmes, including Have I Got News for You, 2DTV, The News Quiz, Loose Ends and Big Impression. Their most notable work, however, has been for Dead Ringers in which Fountain occasionally makes cameo appearances. The pair are also responsible for the historical comedy Elephants to Catch Eels and wrote "Txt Mssg Rcvd", a 2005 episode of the BBC Three anthology series Twisted Tales.

### Private Eye

Fountain is also a staff writer on Private Eye magazine.

### Doctor Who

Fountain is a fan of Doctor Who and has contributed to several audio dramas based on the programme. His first licensed Doctor Who work was as script editor on the webcast Death Comes to Time. He has also written several Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish Productions, including Omega, The Kingmaker, and Peri and the Piscon Paradox. In addition, he wrote the narration script for the DVD documentary "The Last Chance Saloon" about the casting of Sylvester McCoy in the role in 1987. He appears occasionally as a host or MC at Doctor Who conventions.
In 2020, Radio Times announced that Fountain had adapted the audio story The Doomsday Contract for Big Finish, which had been originally pitched to the television series by comedy producer John Lloyd while Douglas Adams had been its script editor.

### Novelist

Fountain is also the author of several humorous detective novels and one serious thriller.
His first three detective books, collectively titled 'The Mervyn Stone Mysteries', were published by Big Finish Productions in 2010 and recount the exploits of an ex-script editor of science fiction television series called Vixens from the Void. Mervyn Stone encounters murders wherever he goes, whether it be a sci-fi convention (Geek Tragedy), the recording of a DVD commentary (DVD Extras Include: Murder) or the revival of the aforesaid television series (Cursed Among Sequels). He was played by John Banks in the audio adventure, The Axeman Cometh. In 2024 he launched a new detective series, 'The Kit Pelham Mysteries', that link to the Mervyn Stone series. The first volume, The Fan Who Knew Too Much, introduces Pelham, a podcaster and sci-fi superfan, who investigates the murder of her friend, also a podcaster, who promised to reveal secrets about Vixen from the Void, the TV show script-edited by Mervyn Stone. A second book, Lies and Dolls, is due to be published in July 2025.
The serious thriller, published by Sphere as by "N.J. Fountain" is called Painkiller and recounts the story of Monica Wood, a woman suffering from chronic neuropathic pain who discovers her own suicide note in a drawer - but she cannot remember writing it. The audiobook version was performed by Nicola Bryant.

## Personal life

He lives in Shalford, Surrey.