List of Open University people

This is a partial list of alumni and staff of the Open University.

Alumni
The OU has over two million alumni, including:

Politicians

 * Fleur Anderson, Labour MP
 * Ian Byrne, Labour MP
 * Laurie Bristow, British diplomat
 * Aimee Challenor, British politician and transgender activist
 * Barbara Follett, Labour MP
 * Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner, former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, completed his degree whilst serving as Chancellor of the Open University
 * Bill Henderson, member of the House of Keys (Isle of Man)
 * David Heyes, Labour MP
 * Adam Ingram, Labour Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office
 * Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative MP
 * Marat Khusnullin – Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
 * Peter Law, Welsh politician and Independent Member of Parliament for Blaenau Gwent
 * John McFall, Labour MP and Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
 * Wendy Morton – Conservative MP and former Chief Whip of the House of Commons
 * Chris Pond, former Labour Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions
 * John Reid – Former Labour Home Secretary and Minister.
 * Graham Smith, CEO of Republic
 * Meles Zenawi, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Entertainers

 * Joan Armatrading, singer/songwriter
 * Steve Backshall, naturalist and television presenter
 * Connie Booth, actress
 * Katy Cavanagh, actress
 * Julie Christie, actress
 * Lisa Coleman, actress and volunteer occupational therapist
 * Micky Dolenz, formerly of The Monkees
 * Lionel Fanthorpe, priest, entertainer, television presenter, author and lecturer
 * Romola Garai, actress
 * Hubert Gregg, radio presenter
 * Jerry Hall, model/actress
 * Frank Hampson, creator of Dan Dare
 * Sheila Hancock, actress
 * Lenny Henry, entertainer
 * Nadiya Hussain, chef, author, television presenter
 * Matthew Kelly, television presenter
 * Mylene Klass, actress, singer, model, pianist and media personality
 * Clare Nasir, meteorologist and television presenter


 * David Neilson, actor
 * Talulah Riley, actress
 * Dave Rowntree, drummer, politician, solicitor and composer
 * Julia Sawalha, actress
 * Graeme K Talboys, writer
 * Susan Tully, television producer and director; former actress
 * Holly Willoughby, television presenter

Scientists and engineers

 * Colette Henry, social scientist and Head of Department of Business Studies at Dundalk Institute of Technology
 * Nigel Roberts, computer scientist
 * Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England
 * Robin Wilson, mathematician

Law

 * Nigel Bridge, Lord Bridge of Harwich, retired Law Lord
 * Trevor Pearce, QPM CBE. Former director of the National Crime Agency.

Sport

 * Craig Brown, football manager
 * Ben Davies, footballer
 * Helen Richardson-Walsh, hockey player
 * Ran Sagiv (born 1997), Israeli Olympic triathlete
 * Frank Turner, three-times  Olympic gymnast

Military

 * Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge, Royal Air Force officer
 * Peter Cottrell, author, historian and former Royal Navy and British Army officer

Religion

 * Eric Nash Devenport, Bishop of Dunwich
 * Zerbanoo Gifford, author, human rights campaigner and President of World Zoroastrian Organisation

Miscellaneous

 * Elizabeth Arnold, children's writer
 * Nigel Benson, author and illustrator
 * Bobby Cummines OBE, charity chief executive and reformed offender.
 * J. Colin Dodds, President of Saint Mary's University (Halifax)
 * Christine Grosart, cave diver and explorer
 * Rose Hanbury, peeress, model and political staffer
 * Jeanette Henderson, author, academic, Specialist Lay Mental health Tribunal judge, social worker, radio broadcaster
 * Myra Hindley, convicted murderer and prisoner
 * Air-Vice Marshal David Anthony Hobart, Royal Air Force officer
 * Gerry Hughes, sailor, first single-handed crossing of the Atlantic by a deaf person.
 * Natalya Kaspersky, co-founder and co-owner of Kaspersky Lab
 * Paul Marsden, writer, businessman and former Labour/Liberal Democrat MP.
 * Ian Rankin, Scottish writer
 * Ken Robinson, educationalist
 * Gwyn Singleton, dyslexia educationalist
 * Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lincoln
 * Peter Ventress, businessman

Honorary graduates

 * Sir David Attenborough – British broadcaster and naturalist (honorary graduate)
 * Tim Berners-Lee – engineer, computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web; recipient of OU honorary doctorate
 * Mary Beard – classicist and television presenter (honorary graduate)
 * Gordon Brown – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (honorary doctorate)
 * Cerrie Burnell – actress, author and former television presenter (honorary graduate)
 * Sharon Corr – singer-songwriter and musician (honorary graduate)
 * Brian Cox – physicist (honorary doctorate)
 * Richard Dawkins – British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (honorary doctorate)
 * Edward Heath – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975 (honorary doctorate)
 * Prue Leith – restaurateur, television presenter and writer (honorary graduate)
 * Judy Murray – tennis coach (honorary graduate)
 * Terry Pratchett – English fantasy author
 * Benjamin Zephania – poet and author (honorary graduate)

Staff

 * Katharine Ellis, music historian
 * John Fauvel, historian of mathematics
 * Derek S. Pugh, Professor Emeritus for International Management
 * Robin Wilson, mathematician