15 Famous Alumni From University of Hertfordshire

If you are a current student, soon to be Herts Freshman or Alumni, you will definitely want to know some famous alumni from the University of Hertfordshire. 

1) Helen Lederer

She is an English writer, comedian and actress that emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s. She has been credited in the television industry for her role in the BBC One’s Absolutely Fabulous and the BBC Two sketch series Naked Video. Her comedy novel Losing It that was published by Pan Macmillan in 2015 got nominated for the Edinburgh Book Festival First Book Award and also the P. G. Wodehouse Comedy Literary Award.

2) Abdulaziz bin Abdullah

Prince Abdulaziz is the third son of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He is currently the Saudi deputy minister of foreign affairs where he has represented Saudi Arabia from 30 TO 31 August 2012 at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tahran. For fifteen years, he served in the Saudi Arabian National Guard in different positions.

3) Noah Cato

The Brighton born rugby union player plays for Wimbledon RFC as a fullback and wing in the National League 2 South. In 2008, he won the grand slam alongside his fellow England under-20 team. That same year, his team also reached the final of the IRB Junior World Championship. Before attending the University of Hertfordshire, he went to St. Aubyns School, Rottingdean and Hurstpierpoint College.

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4) Tony Banham

He was born in Norfolk into an academic family and studied Computer Science. The founder of the Hong Kong War Diary project has published four books which includes “Reduced to a Symbolical Scale” published in 2017, “We Shall Suffer There” published in 2009, “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru” published in 2006 and “Not The Slightest Chance” published in 2003.

5) Akif Çağatay Kılıç

He was born in West Germany to Turkish parents and studied Political Science. He is a Politician, Educator and an MP for Samsun Province of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

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6) Fiona Onasanya

She is a British Solicitor and Labour Party Politician of Nigerian ancestry. She was elected as a Labour Cambridgeshire County Councillor for King’s Hedges in Cambridge in 2013 and deputy leader of the Labour group on the council. In 2017, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough.

7) Luke Scheybeler

He is a British Entrepreneur and Creative Director. He is best known for his work in sportswear where he co-founded the cycling clothing brand Rapha in March 2004 with Simon Mottram. He also co-founded the running apparel brand Tracksmith in 2014 with former Puma marketing executive Matt Taylor in Boston, Massachusetts.

8) Alex Goode

The English professional rugby union player plays in the Aviva Premiership for Saracens. He is a fullback and fly-half player and has represented England at Under 16A and Under 18 level. He was part of the England under-20 team that won the grand slam in 2008 and also reached the final of the IRB Junior World Championship that same year.

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9) Kate Bellingham

She is an English Engineer and Television Presenter that lives in Hertfordshire. She is best known for her role presenting the BBC science show Tomorrow’s World from 1990-1994.  Kate is also the President of Young Engineers, the national network of engineering clubs in schools and colleges.

10) Iain Dowie

He is a former Northern Ireland international footballer that played from 1990 to 2000. He is currently a football manager and sports pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for clubs like Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Southampton. For his senior career, he has a total of 445 appearances and 116 goals scored.

11) Sachin Patel

The right-handed batsman was a former English Cricketer born in Wembley, London. He appeared in a single List A match where he represented the Middlesex Cricket Board and played against the Derbyshire Cricket Board in the 1st round of the 2003 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy which was held in 2002. He also scored 4 runs in his List A match.

12) Steve Borthwick

He started off being the captain of the Hutton Grammar School rugby team with whom he went on a tour to Australia. He has also played for Bath and Saracens for his senior career from 1998 to 2014. He also represented the senior England rugby union team at an International level from 2001 to 2010 where he captained them between 2008 and 2010. 

13) Sonia Deol

Her media career began at age 14 before she left school when she presented a one-off programme to raise money for Comic Relief on the BBC Local Radio station, BBC WM. She has been employed by Sunrise Radio, BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Corus Entertainment where she works presently at and so much more. She graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 1994 with a BA (Honours) in Humanities

14) Stevyn Colgan

The British writer, artist and speaker was a police officer in London from 1980 – 2010. He then became a researcher and scriptwriter for the BBC TV series QI and the regular QI Annuals, and for QI’s BBC Radio 4 sister show The Museum of Curiosity until 2018. His first published illustration work was for the book I Remember: Reflections on Fishing and Childhood (Summersdale 1995) by Joe Cowley, Frederick Forsyth, Roger Daltrey, Bernard Cribbins, George Melly and others.

15) Sanjeev Bhaskar

He is a British comedian, actor and broadcaster who is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and star of the sitcom The Kumars at No. 42. He travelled to India where he presented and starred in a documentary series called India with Sanjeev Bhaskar. He has had main roles in movies, The Indian Doctor and Unforgotten. In 2006, he was honoured with the Order of the British Empire.