Ian McFadyen (born 8 July 1948) is an Australian television writer, actor, director and producer, is best known for the Australian television comedy series The Comedy Company and Let the Blood Run Free.

Early life McFadyen used to paint while he was at school and university, until about the age of 22.

Career McFadyen played the part of Detective Mears in the iconic Australian TV series Prisoner, in 1983. He wrote the 1988 comedy feature film The Bit Part, starring Nicole Kidman, Chris Haywood and Maurie Fields.

After filming an unaired pilot, McFadyen used the remaining funding to produce a series of eight one-hour shows, called The Eleventh Hour, which aired late nights on Channel Seven. A precursor to The Comedy Company, it introduced characters such as Uncle Arthur, who was portrayed by Glenn Robbins.

From 1988, McFadyen created, produced and appeared in multi-award winning Australian satirical sketch series The Comedy Company. The show ran for 80 episodes across three seasons, from 16 February 1988 to 11 November 1990, and starred Mary-Anne Fahey, Glenn Robbins, Mark Mitchell, Russell Gilbert and Kim Gyngell. While short-lived, the series went on to out-rate current affairs show 60 Minutes and launched numerous iconic catchphrases and characters, including Kylie Mole, Con the Fruiterer and Col'n Carpenter. One of McFadyen's most memorable characters on the show was 'David Rabbitborough', a parodic impersonation of British naturalist David Attenborough.

McFadyen next directed, wrote episodes for and performed in spoof soap opera Let the Blood Run Free (based on the hit stage show of the same name), opposite Jean Kittson and Peter Rowsthorn. The series was, in part, a send up of medical soap opera The Young Doctors. From 1992 to 1993, he wrote, produced and directed comedy series Bingles, starring Shane Bourne and Russell Gilbert. He was also a writer on 1992 Crawford Productions sitcom Newlyweds, starring Sandy Gore, Annie Jones and Cathy Godbold. The series ran for four seasons, until 1994.

During this time, McFadyen also hosted the Australian version of 'whodunnit' game show Cluedo,Dale, David: Humiliation becomes family fun , The Sydney Morning Herald Entertainment Blog, 5 December 2005. which ran from 1992 to 1995, for 26 episodes. In 1995, he was a writer on Terror, a telemovie episode of The Feds, a series focused on investigations of the Australian Federal Police, starring Robert Taylor and Angie Milliken. That same year, McFadyen began starring in children's series The Genie from Down Under, as Roderick 'Bubbles' Ackrington-Smyth, reprising his role in the second season three years later.

In the mid-1990s, with television sketch shows beginning to fall out of favour and little demand for new shows, McFadyen relocated to Queensland to work on a film and a sitcom.

In 2000, McFadyen wrote animated series Wicked!, based on the children's bestseller by Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings. The series ran for 26 episodes. Further writing continued with animated series Mormel Spots in 2003.

In 2006, McFadyen created the Network Ten sketch comedy show The Wedge, which starred Rebel Wilson. He also wrote a 2010 episode of K-9 (a Doctor Who spin-off sci-fi series, focusing on the adventures of the robot dog K9), called "The Bounty Hunter". The same year, he played a vampire in an advertisement for Australian Lotteries.

McFadyen most recently appeared in children's series Rock Island Mysteries from 2022 to 2024, playing the role of Old Faraz.

McFadyen has also authored numerous books, including Mind Wars: The Battle for Your Brain (2000), published by Allen & Unwin. He co-wrote the satirical novel Going Out Backwards (2015) with Ross Fitzgerald, part of the pair's Grafton Everest series, which also includes The Dizzying Heights (2019), The Lowest Depths (2021) and Pandemonium (2023). His most recent collaboration with Fitzgerald is the satirical novel, Chalk and Cheese: A Fabrication (2025).

Personal life McFadyen was once married to actress, comedian and former collaborator Mary-Anne Fahey, with whom he had a son James McFadyen, born on 12 July 1990. The couple parted ways in 1992.

In the mid-1990s, McFadyen and his wife Jo relocated to Brisbane, where he taught for nearly a decade, before working at Masters Timber and Hardware until his retirement in 2015. At the age of 58, he resumed his hobby of painting, while working on talkback radio, on 4BC.

Filmography

Director / writer / producer Year Title Role Type Ref. 1970 Nothing Like Experience Production Assistant Student film 1980 Alive and Kicking Director Documentary short 1983 Home Writer 4 episodes 1984 The Keepers Writer 1 episode The Cleaning Writer Short film Infinity Limited Writer 5 episodes 1985 The Eleventh Hour Producer / Writer 8 episodes Trapp, Winkle and Box Writer TV series 1988 The Bit Part Writer Film The Comedy Company Director / Producer / Writer TV series 1989 The Great TV Game Show Executive Producer 16 episodes 1990 The Big Time Producer 2 episodes Larger than Life Producer TV series 1990–1993 Let the Blood Run Free Executive Producer 26 episodes 1992–1993 Bingles Executive Producer 23 episodes Writer / Director / Producer 1993–1994 Newlyweds Executive Producer 52 episodes Writer / Additional Writer / Creator 36 episodes 1995 The Feds: Terror Writer TV movie 1998 Shadows of Paradise Writer TV movie 2001 Wicked! Writer TV series 2002 The Comedy Company: So Excellent Director / Producer TV movie documentary The Vector File Screenplay / Story TV movie 2003 Mormel Spots Writer TV series 2006 The Wedge Co-Executive Producer / Producer / Writer 26 episodes 2010 The Verge Executive Producer 10 episodes Writer 2 episodes Special Guest Director K-9 Writer Episode: "The Bounty Hunter" 2011 WAC! World Animal Championships Writer TV series 2018 In Like Flynn Stills Photographer Feature film

Actor / performer Year Title Role Type Ref. 1982 Snow: The Movie Ian TV movie 1983; 1984 Prisoner Joe Timmons / Det. Fred Mears 5 episodes Carson's Law Player 1 / Dorian / Brodie 3 episodes 1984 ...And Where Lies the Justice? TV movie Special Squad Evans 1 episode 1985 Glass Babies Dr. B. Bombar TV movie One Summer Again Theodore Fink Miniseries, 3 episodes The Eleventh Hour Various roles TV series 1986 Malcolm Model Shop Salesman Feature film 1988 Boulevard of Broken Dreams Hotel Clerk Feature film A Cry in the Dark (aka Evil Angels) Attorney General Feature film The Bit Part Commercial Director Feature film The Comedy Company David Rabbitborough / Ian TV series 1991 All Together Now Simon Carpenter 1 episode 1992 Cluedo Host 23 episodes 1996 The Genie from Down Under Lord 'Bubbles' Uppington-Smythe 10 episodes 1998 The Genie from Down Under 2 12 episodes 2003 No Man or Woman is an Island Narrator Short film 2004 Flushed Short film 2005–2010 20 to 1 Himself 5 episodes 2011 Dartworth Darren 'The Spider' Twine Film 2015 The Lovers Aide Film 2015–2017 Stop Laughing...This Is Serious Himself 4 episodes 2019 Bluey Bob (voice) 1 episode 2020 The End Mr Bogdanowicz 3 episodes Retcon Ian 1 episode 2022 Troppo Vet 1 episode 2022–2024 Rock Island Mysteries Old Faraz 12 episodes

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