David Quantick was born on May 14, 1961, in a mother-and-baby home in Wortley, Yorkshire, to a mother who had gone to stay with an aunt in Derbyshire to conceal her pregnancy. He was adopted by a family living in Sheffield and later moved to Plymouth.
Quantick spent his early years in Exmouth, where he attended Woodford Junior School and Plymouth College, before moving to Exmouth Comprehensive School. He studied law at University College London but found he had no aptitude for it and instead took a Civil Service exam, which he nearly failed.
After leaving university, Quantick began writing for the music publication NME in 1983, where he concentrated on comedy writing with Steven Wells until 1995. He also contributed material to British comedy shows such as Spitting Image.
In 1992, Quantick joined the writing team for the Radio 4 spoof news programme On the Hour, and later wrote for the television follow-up The Day Today in 1994. He appeared regularly on Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade on Radio 1 and The Treatment on BBC Radio Five Live.
In 1995, Quantick presented a pilot show called Now What? to Carlton Television but it was not picked up for development. He wrote with Chris Morris for Brass Eye in 1996 and Blue Jam on Radio 1 in 1997, as well as the subsequent television version Jam on Channel 4 in 2000. He also provided material for various other TV shows and radio programs.
In 2015, Quantick won an Emmy Award for his work on the TV show Veep.
