Bob Servant
Encyclopedia
Neil Forsyth is a Scottish
journalist
, writer and author
best known for creating the character of Bob Servant.
and his first writing appeared in a Dundee United fanzine. He graduated from Edinburgh University and held several jobs including as a nightclub promoter before working as a freelance journalist. He is also a graduate of the New York Film Academy.
.
and Russia. They are characterised by Servant's increasingly surreal contributions and growing frustration on the part of the spammers. Servant talks to the spammers about his life in Broughty Ferry
, a suburb of Dundee
which is also the hometown of Forsyth. Forsyth has described the emails as a "slightly strange hobby". On publication the character of Bob Servant was compared to that of John Shuttleworth
and a number of reviewers drew comparison to Henry Root, the creation of Willie Donaldson. In 2009 Irvine Welsh
selected the then little-known Delete This At Your Peril as his choice in an Esquire Magazine poll for the Funniest Books Ever and along with support from a number of bands including Snow Patrol
and Belle and Sebastian, this created a word of mouth
campaign that attracted the attention of the BBC
.
In 2010 BBC
Radio Scotland
transmitted The Bob Servant Emails, an adaptation written by Forsyth that starred Brian Cox as Bob Servant and Felix Dexter
, Laura Solon
, Sanjeev Kohli
and Lewis Macleod
, as Internet spammers. In January 2011, the series was re-broadcast nationwide on BBC Radio 4
. Forsyth attracted Cox to the project after meeting a friend of the Dundonian actor in a pub in New York
.
In interviews Cox compared Bob Servant to the Dundonian poet
William McGonagall and said "We’ve had Billy Connolly
and Lex McLean
’s Glasgow
stories and traditions, but now we’ve got this Dundee
creature". Forsyth has noted McGonagall as an influence for the character along with Harry Flashman, the anti-hero of George MacDonald Fraser
's Flashman novels. In November 2010 Forsyth published Servant's autobiography
Bob Servant - Hero Of Dundee.
perform in Edinburgh
Forsyth wrote the novel
Let Them Come Through. Forsyth has said he saw in the medium
similar behaviour to methods used by Elliot Castro. He researched the psychic
world by attending live shows and speaking to experts including James Randi
. Let Them Come Through was published in the UK in 2009 and the US in 2010 and was praised for Forsyth's dark humour.
. He was appointed by Michael Bates, The Prince Regent of Sealand, on December 23, 2009.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writer and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
best known for creating the character of Bob Servant.
Early life
Forsyth grew up in Dundee where he attended the High School of DundeeHigh School of Dundee
The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in the city of Dundee, Scotland which provides both primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils...
and his first writing appeared in a Dundee United fanzine. He graduated from Edinburgh University and held several jobs including as a nightclub promoter before working as a freelance journalist. He is also a graduate of the New York Film Academy.
Other People's Money
Forsyth's first book Other People's Money told the true story of the Scottish fraudster Elliot Castro. Forsyth was living in Scotland and writing for men's magazines when he read about Castro's fraud conviction in a newspaper. He wrote to Castro in prison and gained his permission to write the biography. At publication Other People's Money received a large amount of coverage and while the book was well received, some newspapers questioned the book's moral purpose. "They thought it was wrong that we should profit from Elliot's crimes," Forsyth said in an interview, "But that's always something I protested against quite vigorously. Elliot was caught, and sentenced, and paid for his crimes." The film rights to Other People's Money were purchased by the producers of The Last King Of ScotlandThe Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland is an award-winning 1998 novel by journalist Giles Foden. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel is written as the memoir of a fictional Scottish doctor in Amin's employ. Giles Foden's novel received...
.
Bob Servant
Bob Servant is a fictional comic character created initially by Forsyth in his second book, Delete This At Your Peril. Delete This At Your Peril is a collection of email exchanges between "Bob Servant", the fictional author, and Internet spammers. It was released in the UK in 2007 and the US in 2008. The email exchanges in the book are genuine exchanges between Bob Servant and a series of Internet spammers, largely from AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Russia. They are characterised by Servant's increasingly surreal contributions and growing frustration on the part of the spammers. Servant talks to the spammers about his life in Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
, a suburb of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
which is also the hometown of Forsyth. Forsyth has described the emails as a "slightly strange hobby". On publication the character of Bob Servant was compared to that of John Shuttleworth
John Shuttleworth (character)
John Shuttleworth is a fictional singer-songwriter and radio presenter, created by English comedy actor and musician, Graham Fellows in 1986. Shuttleworth is in his late 40s and is from Walkley in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He has a quiet manner and slightly nerdish tendencies...
and a number of reviewers drew comparison to Henry Root, the creation of Willie Donaldson. In 2009 Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
selected the then little-known Delete This At Your Peril as his choice in an Esquire Magazine poll for the Funniest Books Ever and along with support from a number of bands including Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
and Belle and Sebastian, this created a word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
campaign that attracted the attention of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
In 2010 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio Scotland
Radio Scotland
Radio Scotland was an offshore pirate radio station broadcasting on 1241 kHz mediumwave , created by Tommy Shields in 1965. The station was located on the former lightship M.V...
transmitted The Bob Servant Emails, an adaptation written by Forsyth that starred Brian Cox as Bob Servant and Felix Dexter
Felix Dexter
Felix Dexter is an actor, comedian, and writer living in the U.K..-Early life:Dexter was born in St Kitts in the Caribbean, and moved to London with his family at the age of seven.-Radio:...
, Laura Solon
Laura Solon
Laura Solon is an English comedian, actor, writer, and winner of the 2005 Perrier Comedy Award, only the second woman to win as a solo performer .-Background:...
, Sanjeev Kohli
Sanjeev Kohli
Sanjeev Singh Kohli is a Scottish Asian comedian, writer and actor. He is most famous for his role as Navid Harrid in the sitcom Still Game and as Rajesh Majhu in the radio sitcom Fags, Mags and Bags.- Early life :...
and Lewis Macleod
Lewis MacLeod
Euan Lewis MacLeod is a prolific Scottish character actor, who can be heard as the voice of a huge number of television commercials, movie trailers and cartoons in his native UK. He voices characters such as Sebulba from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Postman Pat...
, as Internet spammers. In January 2011, the series was re-broadcast nationwide on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. Forsyth attracted Cox to the project after meeting a friend of the Dundonian actor in a pub in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
In interviews Cox compared Bob Servant to the Dundonian poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
William McGonagall and said "We’ve had Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
and Lex McLean
Lex McLean
Lex McLean was a Scottish comedian.Described as "almost certainly the last of Scotland's great music hall comedians" . He played to packed houses all over his country from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, when he had to semi-retire on the grounds of ill health.Known as "Sexy Lex" for his risque...
’s Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
stories and traditions, but now we’ve got this Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
creature". Forsyth has noted McGonagall as an influence for the character along with Harry Flashman, the anti-hero of George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
's Flashman novels. In November 2010 Forsyth published Servant's autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Bob Servant - Hero Of Dundee.
Let Them Come Through
After watching a mediumMediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
perform in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
Forsyth wrote the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Let Them Come Through. Forsyth has said he saw in the medium
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
similar behaviour to methods used by Elliot Castro. He researched the psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
world by attending live shows and speaking to experts including James Randi
James Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
. Let Them Come Through was published in the UK in 2009 and the US in 2010 and was praised for Forsyth's dark humour.
Political Life
Forsyth is the current President of the national Football Association of the Principality of SealandPrincipality of Sealand
The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognized entity, located on HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea 10 km off the coast of Suffolk, England, United Kingdom ....
. He was appointed by Michael Bates, The Prince Regent of Sealand, on December 23, 2009.