Peter Baynham

Peter Baynham is a Welsh screenwriter and performer. He is best known for appearing in a series of comedic Pot Noodle television adverts in the 1990s. His work largely represents collaborations with comedy figures such as Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan, Chris Morris, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Sarah Smith. Born in Cardiff, Baynham served in the Merchant Navy after leaving school and later pursued a career in comedy — first in stand-up, and then as a writer and performer for various news and sketch comedies in radio and television while enjoying personal fame starring in Pot Noodle adverts. He then became a writer in feature film.

In television, with Iannucci he is writer for I'm Alan Partridge, developing the character Alan Partridge as performed by Coogan, and as writer and host of the Armistice review shows. With Morris, he is writer for The Day Today, Brass Eye, and Jam. Baynham himself created the animated series I Am Not an Animal. In feature film, with Baron Cohen he is writer for Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), Brüno (2009), Grimsby (2016), and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020). With Smith, he is writer for Arthur Christmas (2011) and Ron's Gone Wrong (2021). With Iannucci and Coogan, he is writer for Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013). Other features as writer include Arthur (2011) and Hotel Transylvania (2012).