Fredrik Skavlan, a Norwegian journalist, cartoonist, and TV personality, was born on September 2, 1966. From 1998 to 2007, he hosted Norway's most popular talk show, Først & sist, which consistently attracted over one million viewers every Friday evening. His impressive hosting skills earned him the 1999 Norwegian Television Award for best host.
After taking a brief hiatus from Norway's public broadcaster NRK, Skavlan was persuaded to host his own show for Sweden's SVT in the spring of 2009. The show, also titled Skavlan, won the Swedish Television Award for Best Television Host, making him the first Norwegian to achieve this feat.
In the autumn of 2009, the program began broadcasting on both NRK and SVT, and since autumn 2013, it has also been broadcast on Denmark's secondary channel DR2. Danish criticism has been absent so far.
Prior to his television career, Skavlan worked as a journalist and cartoonist for several Norwegian newspapers, including Morgenbladet and Dagbladet. He has also illustrated several books, including Unni Lindell's children's book Nifse Nella og nattskolen (Spooky Stella and the Night School) in 2008.
