Trivia

He was a frequent contributor to the satirical magazine, "Private Eye". In collaboration with Richard Ingrams, he wrote the long-running "Mrs. Wilson's Diary" column (satirising the then Prime Minister's wife) and later the "Dear Bill" column (also with Ingrams), which purported to be the private letters of the husband of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He turned both columns into successful plays (without Ingrams). Wells was always known around the "Private Eye" office as "Jawn", as a result of his being telephoned at the office by Princess Margaret, whose drawling tone was much imitated by other "Eye" staff members. This rather annoyed him.

He was once a junior house-master at Eton College, but his occasional forays into television proved so successful that he abandoned his teaching career for show business.

Father of actress Dolly Wells.