Alexei Sayle (born 1952) is a British comedian, actor, and author. Born in Liverpool to Jewish working-class parents who were active members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), Sayle was raised in a secular, Marxist environment often described as a “red diaper” upbringing. He attended Chelsea College of Art before entering performance art and stand-up comedy.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, Sayle became a key figure in the UK’s alternative comedy movement, serving as the first resident compere at The Comedy Store in London. He gained widespread public recognition through television appearances, including the BBC comedy series The Young Ones (1982–1984), and later wrote and starred in his own series, Alexei Sayle’s Stuff (1988–1991), which won an International Emmy Award. In addition to television and radio work, he is the author of several novels, short story collections, and two autobiographies.
Sayle is a Patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and an active supporter of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL). He has long endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and regularly speaks at anti-war demonstrations in London, using political satire to address UK foreign policy and human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Addressing accusations that opposition to Israeli state policy constitutes anti-Semitism, Sayle stated during a London demonstration: “I am a Jewish person, and I can tell you that standing up for Palestinian human rights has got absolutely nothing to do with anti-Semitism.“ He frequently argues that conflating Jewish identity with support for the Israeli state undermines both universal human rights and traditional Jewish internationalist values.