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:

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

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
Sheila Hancock, actress
Matthew Kelly, television presenter
Julia Sawalha, actress

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

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

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

Elizabeth Arnold, children's writer
Nigel Benson, author and illustrator
Bobby Cummines, 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

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)