Mitchell Symons was educated at Mill Hill and the LSE. After working at BBC TV as a researcher and director, he co-wrote early British editions of Trivial Pursuit before becoming a full-time journalist and writer, and has devised many print and television formats. He has written regular columns for the Sunday Times, Punch and the Evening Standard, and currently writes a column for the Sunday Express. He has written 23 non-fiction books and two novels. He lives with his wife and two sons on the coast in Sussex.