Ben Elton is an atheist. Elton studied at Stillness Junior School and Godalming Grammar School in Surrey, South Warwickshire College in Stratford-upon-Avon and the University of Manchester. His first television appearance was a stand-up performance on the BBC1 youth and music programme, The "Oxford Road Show". His first TV success, at 23, came as co-writer of the television sitcom, "The Young Ones", in which he occasionally appeared. In 1983/84 he wrote and appeared in Granada Television's sketch show "Alfresco", which was also notable for early appearances by Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane. In 1985, Elton produced his first
Chapters: My Growth as a Writer to individual students of promise for its realism, its account of persistence (Duncan submitted consistently for three years before she received that first acceptance), its wisdom ("Every experience you have is stored away inside you, to draw upon as you need it for your writing"), its authentic voice, its record of growth over time.' Chapters: My Growth as a Writer Chapters: My Growth as a Writer is a 1982 autobiography by Lois Duncan. In "Chapters: My Growth as a Writer", Duncan describes how she included real life experiences in her short stories. Her stories include "The Fairy in the Woods",