Radio

Written by elookers

April 23rd, 2012 at 1:05 pm

Posted in Radio

Radio and TV Presenter Chris Tarrant OBE

Could you become a top TV presenter? Let the London Academy of Media Film TV help you!

EARLY LIFE

Chris Tarrant

Christopher John Tarrant was born on 10 October 1946 in Reading, Berkshire. He attended The King’s School in Worcester as a boarder between 1960 and 1964. Although Tarrant felt his schooldays were very strict, he played hockey and cricket for the school and achieved A-Levels in English, History and Ancient History. Turning down the opportunity to study at Oxford University, he went on to the University of Birmingham to study English.

FIRST JOBS

Chris worked as a teacher in Brockley. While teaching, he found himself homeless when he walked out on his girlfriend. Therefore, for around six months, he lived in his van on the grounds of the school. He became bored with teaching and decided to write to television companies to follow his dream of becoming a TV presenter. He gave up teaching and became a driver by day and a DJ by night. His letters to TV companies paid off when he was invited to audition at the now defunct ATV and was offered work as an ‘ATV Today’ newsreader.

In 1974, Chris rose to fame as co-presenter of the children’s TV show ‘Tiswas’ on Saturday mornings. Although aimed at children, it was viewed by many adults. Other hosts included Lenny Henry and Sally James. In 1982, he hosted ‘O.T.T.’ which was described as an adult version of ‘Tiswas’ but, sadly, the show was not a great success. He went on to work for ‘TV-am’, the breakfast TV station. Other shows include ‘Everybody’s Equal’, ‘Tarrant on Television’, ‘Lose a Million’, and, of course, the ground-breaking ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ on which further comment follows later.

WAKING UP LONDON

In 1987, Chris moved into radio as breakfast presenter on London’s Capital Radio 95.8. The show was extremely successful and increased Capital’s share of the audience. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that he stayed in post until 2004. After leaving, Chris concentrated on his TV work but, in 2008, also hosted a syndicated Saturday morning show on a network of radio stations owned by GMG including Smooth Radio in London, Scotland’s Real Radio and Century Radio in the north-west. This move put Chris in direct competition with Jonathan Ross’ BBC Radio 2 show. More recently, Tarrant has been heard providing holiday cover on BBC Radio 2.

Chris Tarrant

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

In 1993, Chris hosted a television show called ‘Lose a Million’ in which contestants had to lose a million pounds by answering questions incorrectly. The irony is obvious when, in 1998, Tarrant was hired to present ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ where the aim is to do exactly the opposite. Chris’ catchphrases are widely known – lines such as ‘Is that your final answer?’ and ‘But we don’t want to give you that’. He still hosts the show to this day and can claim to have hosted more full series of games shows than anyone else on British television.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Chris was married to Sheila Tarrant between 1971 and 1982 and this marriage produced two children, Helen and Jennifer. In 1991, he married Ingrid Dupre-Walsh having met whilst both were working for TV-am. They have two children, a daughter called Sammy and a son called Toby. Following revelations about Chris’ private life, they divorced in 2007.

In 2001, Tarrant was awarded a Sony Radio award for his “unique relationship with his listeners” and in 2004, Tarrant was awarded an OBE. Chris is also a keen fisherman and, in 2010, he launched an Apple iPhone application called ‘Fishing with Chris Tarrant’.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 31st, 2011 at 1:52 pm

Posted in Radio,Television,TV Presenter

Comedian, TV and Radio Presenter, Author, Paul O’Grady MBE

Could you be an actor or radio and TV presenter? Try the London Academy of Media Film & TV

EARLY LIFE

Paul James Michael O’Grady was born on 14^th June, 1955, in Birkenhead. He was educated at St. Joseph’s Catholic primary school and, subsequently, a private school called Redcourt, the Blessed Edward Campion R.C. Secondary Modern and Corpus Christi High School.

Paul was a massive fan of both the ‘Batman’ and the ‘Avengers’ television series’. He was an altar boy at church but was dismissed for laughing during a funeral.

Paul O'Grady

FIRST JOBS

Paul’s first job was a paper round. Leaving school, he worked for the DHSS and part-time in a bar. He joined the Carlton Players, an amateur dramatics society.

Paul left the DHSS and moved to Surrey. Returning to Birkenhead, he became involved in the Liverpudlian gay scene and worked in bars.

Paul considered himself to be bisexual and formed a relationship with a friend called Diane. O’Grady’s mother suffered a heart attack when he was 18 and, consequently, his father suffered one some hours later. His mother recovered but his father died.

Paul’s life became tougher when he discovered Diane was pregnant with their daughter.

He worked as assistant clerk at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court and in bars but could not support his daughter on his wages so he moved to London. He mixed with drag queens but soon returned to Birkenhead. He was accountant for an abattoir before working 3 years at Conny Home in West Kirby, caring for abused and disabled children.

He busked in Camden Town, had a job as a physiotherapist’s assistant and worked at a gay club called the Showplace. He befriended a Portuguese lesbian called Theresa Fernandes and they married in 1977 to prevent her deportation. After leaving the Showplace, he did not see her again and they divorced in 2005.

He put together a drag act using his mother’s maiden name. Lily Savage’s debut was in 1978 at the Black Cap Pub.

Paul O'Grady as "Lily Savage"

‘Lily’ performed all over Europe. At the Goldsmith’s Tavern, New Cross, he was the warm-up act for ‘Vic Reeves Big Night Out’. He spent 8 years at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern and also appeared at The Edinburgh Festival.

TELEVISION AT LAST

He appeared in ‘The Bill’ from 1988 to 1990 and was the ‘on the bed’ presenter for ‘The Big Breakfast’. Lily even became host of ‘Blankety Blank’.

In 2000, Paul started working as himself including ‘Paul O’Grady’s Orient’ and ‘Paul O’Grady’s America’. In 2002, he hosted ‘Outtake TV’ and in 2003, was in the BBC sitcom ‘Eyes Down’

In 2004, O’Grady retired Lily. She re-appeared in 2010 for the pantomime ‘Aladdin’ at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.

‘The Paul O’Grady Show’ aired at teatime on from 2004 until 2009. It was successful but he switched from ITV to Channel 4 after 3 series due to a disagreement.

Paul agreed to an £8 million contract with ITV to host a Friday night chat show to rival ‘Friday Night with Jonathan Ross’.

Paul O'Grady

Paul debuted on Radio 2 in 2003 covering for Jonathan Ross. He presented Bank Holiday ‘one-offs’ including covering for Elaine Paige. In 2009, he started his own show, ‘Paul O’Grady On The Wireless’, each Sunday.

BOOKS

In 2008, Paul published the first part of his autobiography, ‘At My Mother’s Knee……And Other Low Joints’. Two years later, part two was published, ‘The Devil Rides Out: The Second Coming’. O’Grady has said there will be a third part.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Paul’s partner of 20 years and business partner, Brendan Frank Murphy, died in 2005. O’Grady has a farm in Kent and became a grandfather in 2006 when Sharyn, his daughter, gave birth to a son, Abel.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 30th, 2011 at 5:14 pm

Posted in Radio,Television,TV Presenter

Tagged with amateur dramatics society, drag queens, gay club, gay scene, lily savage, london academy, media film, showplace

Comedian and TV/Radio Presenter, Graham Norton

Could you be a Radio and TV presenter? Try the London Academy of Media Film & TV

Graham Norton

Graham was born as Graham William Walker on 4^th April 1963 in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin. Brought up as a Protestant, he grew up in Bandon in County Cork.

Norton attended University College Cork for a while but decided to move to San Francisco. In California, he trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama to become a drama teacher.

FIRST JOB IN BROADCASTING

In the early 1990s, Graham became a comedian and panellist on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Loose Ends’ on Saturday mornings.

EARLY SUCCESS

In the early days of Channel 5, Norton stood in for Jack Docherty as the host of a late-night talk show and won an award for his efforts. Graham went on to host a comic quiz show called ‘Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment’. The show did not achieve great critical acclaim but it did lift Norton’s reputation as a comic and TV presenter. In 1996, he moved to ITV to co-present a late-night quiz show called ‘Carnal Knowledge’ with Maria McErlane.

Again in 1996, Norton appeared in three episodes of the Channel 4 TV series ‘Father Ted’ playing the part of Father Noel Furlong.

Graham Norton

Graham went on to host chat shows on Channel 4 including ‘So Graham Norton’ and ‘V Graham Norton’ – the latter show was broadcast from May 2002 to the end of 2003. Guests would chat with Graham and indulge in games which usually had some sexual undertones.

Norton landed himself in trouble in 2003 for references he made regarding the recent death of Bee Gees singer Maurice Gibb. Both Channel 4 and Norton had to make individual apologies.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Summer 2004 saw Graham move to America to start a career in American television with the show ‘The Graham Norton Effect’. However, the following year he returned to the UK and moved to the BBC hosting the BBC 1 Saturday evening TV show ‘Strictly Dance Fever’ and a new chat show called ‘Graham Norton’s Bigger Picture’. Occasionally, you could even hear him reading children’s stories on the BBC CBeebies ‘Bedtime Hour’.

By 2006, Norton’s career was moving at a pace. He hosted ‘How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria’ which sought to find a lead actress for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End version of ’The Sound of Music‘. He hosted the three follow-up shows – ‘Any Dream Will Do’ in 2007, ‘I’d Do Anything’ in 2008 and ‘Over The Rainbow’ in 2010.

Other shows hosted since his return from America include ‘When Will I Be Famous’ and ‘The Graham Norton Show’ in 2007, ‘The One And Only’ in 2008 and ‘Totally Saturday’ in 2009 and regular stints hosting ‘The British Academy Television Awards’.

Now very much the face of the BBC and one of its biggest stars, in 2008 Norton was confirmed as the replacement for Terry Wogan as Presenter of the ‘Eurovision Song Contest’

RADIO

In May 2010, Graham provided holiday cover for Chris Evans on the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show and, shortly after that, it was announced that he would replace Jonathan Ross on the station’s Saturday morning show.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 24th, 2011 at 4:43 pm

Posted in Film,Radio,Television,TV Presenter

Radio/TV Presenter and Author, Chris Moyles

Could you wake up the nation? Try the London Academy of Media Film & TV

Chris Moyles

Christopher David Moyles was born on 22^nd February 1974 in Leeds. He attended the Mount St. Mary’s Catholic High School in the city. Chris was still at school when he started his broadcasting career with Hospital Radio. This took place at WBHS (Wakefield’s Broadcast to Hospitals Service).

FIRST JOB IN RADIO

He managed to get a job as an assistant at Aire FM, his local commercial radio station in Leeds. Whilst at Aire FM, he also presented for Radio Top Shop in Leeds.

EARLY SUCCESS

Chris was given his own Saturday evening show on Aire FM and occasionally stood in for other presenters. In 1992, he joined Radio Luxembourg as a Presenter and stayed there until the station closed.

It was 1993 when Moyles secured a job at The Pulse of West Yorkshire where he hosted the evening show. He was dismissed in 1994 for comments he made about the station’s previous Programme Controller. His next job came at Signal 1 in Stoke-on-Trent where he presented ‘The Evening Bit’ between 7-10pm.

Moyles’ moved south to the Chiltern Radio Network, initially presenting the evening show and then the late show which was also broadcast on Horizon Radio, Chiltern Radio, Severn Sound and Northants 96.

INTO THE CAPITAL

1996 saw Chris join Capital Radio where he hosted a Friday and Saturday evening show as well as standing-in for other presenters.

Moyles turned down an offer to host the breakfast show on Kiss 100 and turned instead to BBC Radio 1 which he joined in July 1997.

RADIO 1

Chris Moyles

Chris hosted his first show on BBC Radio 1 28^th July 1997, setting his alarm clock to present ‘The Early Breakfast Show’.

In May 1998, he was awarded a Silver Sony Award for ‘DJ of the year’. Moyles moved to the Saturday breakfast show and, subsequently, the Saturday morning show from 10am-1pm.

Chris was a regular stand-in for Zoe Ball and Kevin Greening on the breakfast show and then, in October 1998, he was moved to the weekday drivetime show.

Moyles spent five years on the drivetime show and then, on 5^th January 2004, he started presenting the breakfast show on a permanent basis and claiming he was the ‘saviour of Radio 1’. He managed to increase the audience figures for the show and, at the end of his first year on breakfast, readers of The Sun newspaper voted him ‘DJ of the year’. Audiences continued to swell and he won a Gold Sony Radio Award for ‘best entertainment show’ in 2006.

In 2008, the breakfast show was awarded its second Gold Sony Award for the best breakfast show.

TELEVISION

The early years of the decade saw Chris occasionally present Channel 4’s ‘The Big Breakfast’, ‘Big Brother’s Big Mouth’ as well as editions of ‘Top Of The Pops’.

In 2002, Moyles hosted ‘Live With Chris Moyles’ which aired five times a week and for a run of 13 weeks before he was replaced by Christian O’Connell.

In 2009, the ‘Chris Moyles’ Quiz Night’ launched on Channel 4 – a show featuring celebrity contestants

COMIC RELIEF

Chris was one of several people, including Cheryl Cole, Fearne Cotton, Alesha Dixon, Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating, Ben Shephard and Denis Van Outen, who climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief in 2009.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 15th, 2011 at 5:04 pm

Author, Journalist and Radio/TV presenter, John Humphrys

Could you be a Radio and TV presenter? Try the London Academy of Media Film & TV

John Humphreys

Desmond John Humphrys was born on 17^th August 1943 in Splott, Cardiff. His mother, Winifred, was a hairdresser and his father, Edward, was a French polisher. He passed the ‘11 plus’ exam and entered Cardiff High School.

FIRST JOB

Leaving school at the age of 15, he became a reporter with the Penarth Times before moving on to the Western Mail.

FROM NEWSPAPERS TO TELEVISION

Humphrys moved on to TWW (Television Wales and the West) which was based in Cardiff.

In 1966, he joined the BBC as a reporter based in Liverpool. After a spell as northern industrial correspondent, he covered Northern Ireland before making the jump to foreign correspondent with the India – Pakistan war being one of his first assignments overseas.

Initially, he would leave his family for periods of up to 9 months but he took his whole family with him when he was sent to the USA and South Africa.

John seemed to be in the right place at the right time in terms of journalism because he covered the Watergate affair and subsequent resignation of Richard Nixon as well as the change from Rhodesia into Zimbabwe.

In 1980, he returned from South Africa to take up a post as a diplomatic correspondent and, a year later, he became a presenter on the BBC’s ‘Nine O’clock News’.

GETTING UP EARLY FOR BBC RADIO 4

In January 1987, following the retirement of John Timpson, he joined Brian Redhead to present the ‘Today’ programme on BBC Radio 4.

During the 1990s, Humphrys still occasionally presented news bulletins on TV. From 1993, he hosted the political show ‘On The Record‘ until the programme ended its run in 2002. He has also presented ‘Panorama’.

As well as working on the ‘Today’ programme, John presents ‘On The Ropes’ for BBC Radio 4. He also took over the revamped ‘Mastermind’ show on BBC 2.

John has written a number of books including ‘Devil’s Advocate’, ‘The Great Food Gamble’, ‘In God We Doubt – Confessions Of A Failed Atheist’, ‘Beyond Words’ and ‘Lost For Words’ in which he comments on the misuse of English.

He has been criticised for his interviewing style with many politicians fearing on-air encounters with him. He has also brought criticism on himself for his sometimes outspoken views.

AWARDS

Humphrys was named ‘Journalist Of The Year’ in 2000, he won the Gold Sony Radio Award in 2003 and he was awarded a silver platter for ‘Crystal Clear Broadcasting’ by the Plain English Campaign.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

John married Edna Wilding in 1964 and that marriage produced a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Catherine. The marriage fell apart during the late-1980s.

Humphrys married again and, at the age of 56, he and his second wife, Valerie Sanderson had son named Owen James.

He is now in a relationship with journalist Catherine Bennett.

He formed the ‘Kitchen Table Charities Trust’ in 2005 which seeks to assist poor people around the world.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 15th, 2011 at 4:27 pm

Presenter and producer Chris Evans

Could you wake up the nation? Try the London Academy of Media Film & TV

Chris Evans

EARLY LIFE

Christopher James Evans was born on 1^st April 1966 in Warrington. His father died in 1979 when Chris was 13. Around this time, he worked part-time at a newsagent’s in Woolston. After leaving school, he worked in a number of jobs including a private detective agency and as a ‘Tarzan-o-gram’

FIRST JOB

Chris’ radio career began in 1983 at Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio where he had worked as a schoolboy. Evans assisted Timmy Mallett as well as working as a DJ in pubs while still getting up early to work at the newsagent’s.

RADIO

In 1984, Evans worked full time at Piccadilly where his duties included going to listeners’ houses in the radio car. He also worked as a producer and presented shows.

Chris moved to Richard Branson’s ‘The Superstation’ working on material for Jonathan Ross. He progressed to BBC GLR in London as a producer on Emma Freud’s morning show and Danny Baker’s ‘Weekend Breakfast’. In 1990, Evans presented Saturday afternoon shows on GLR followed by a Monday to Thursday weekday evening show called ‘The Greenhouse’.

In 1991, Chris presented his first TV show called the ‘Power Up’ breakfast show on the Power station on BSB. Evans continued working in radio presenting ‘Round At Chris’s’ every Saturday morning until 1993.

In March 1992, he made his debut at BBC Radio 1 replacing Phillip Schofield on Sunday afternoons. The show was called ‘Too Much Gravy’ but his career at Radio 1 was short-lived.

In April 1993, Evans decided to leave BBC GLR and began hosting ‘The Nescafe Big Red Mug Show’ on Saturday mornings on the new Virgin Radio.

TELEVISION

In September 1992, Chris and Gaby Roslin presented Channel 4’s ‘The Big Breakfast’. The show was a success but, after two years, he left the show and formed his own production company called Ginger Productions. Its first major production was ‘Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush’

which aired between 1994 and 1995.

RADIO……AGAIN

Evans returned to Radio 1 in 1995 to host the weekday breakfast show. Given a free rein, the listening figures peaked at £7.5 million.

From 1996, Chris presented ‘TFI Friday’ on Channel 4. It was around this time that some say Evans began to think he was indispensable at Radio 1, making the headlines on several occasions regarding his private life. In January 1997, Evans left Radio 1 when some of his demands were not met by management.

In October 1997, he joined Richard Branson’s Virgin Radio as breakfast show presenter. Sir Richard was hoping to sell Virgin to Capital Radio. Evans was not happy about working for Capital so he used his Ginger Productions company to buy Virgin Radio for £85 million.

In 2000, Evans sold Ginger Media Group for £225 million and he lasted until June 2001 on Virgin Radio before being dismissed.

RETURN TO RADIO

Evans returned to radio in 2005 hosting the breakfast slot on UK Radio Aid which aired on many commercial radio stations. He also started presenting ‘one-off’ shows for BBC Radio 2 which developed into a regular Saturday afternoon show. In 2006, he took over from Johnnie Walker on Radio 2’s Drivetime show and, upon Terry Wogan’s retirement from the breakfast show in 2009, Chris was lined up to replace him.

Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans and his wife Natasha Shishmanian

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Evans has a daughter, Jade, born in 1986 and a son, Noah, born in 2009. He is married to Natasha Shishmanian. He is a fan of fast cars and golf.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 14th, 2011 at 4:24 pm

Posted in Radio,Television

Tagged with 99s, bbc radio 1, breakfast show, ginger productions, glr, london academy, radio career, sunday afternoons, virgin radio, weekday evening, weekend breakfast

Irish broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan

EARLY LIFE

Terry was born in 1938 in Limerick, Ireland where his father ran a grocery shop. Aged 8, Wogan attended the Jesuit School of Crescent College which delivered a powerful religious upbringing. At 15, as a result of his father’s promotion, the family moved to Dublin where Terry attended Belvedere College.

Terry Wogan

After graduating, Wogan started a career in banking with the Royal Bank of Ireland. However, he saw a newspaper advertisement placed by Raidio Telefis Eireann (RTE) searching for radio announcers and decided to apply.

RADIO WORK

Wogan spent his initial two years at RTE where he would conduct interviews and present documentaries. He moved into light entertainment as a radio presenter and hosting various TV shows including ‘Jackpot’

In 1967, RTE dropped ‘Jackpot’ from the schedules prompting Wogan to contact the BBC. His first experience of the BBC was on the Light Programme hosting ‘Midday Spin’. When Radio 1 was launched, Terry presented ‘Late Night Extra’ on a Tuesday evening. He covered the Jimmy Young show in July 1969 which prompted the offer of his own afternoon show.

In 1972, Terry moved to the Radio 2 Breakfast Show. The show proved popular as demonstrated by peak listening figures of 7.6 million. During this period, Wogan found time to get into the Top 30 singles chart with his version of ‘The Floral Dance’

TELEVISION BECKONS

Towards the end of 1984, Wogan left the Radio 2 Breakfast Show to focus on TV. For seven years, he hosted the ‘Wogan’ TV chat show three times a week. He became the face and voice of ‘Song For Europe’ and ‘The Eurovision Song Contest’. Other TV credits include ‘Blankety Blank’ but perhaps he will most be remembered as the host of the BBC annual charity fundraiser, ‘Children In Need’.

RETURN TO RADIO

In 1993, Wogan returned to Radio 2 to host ‘Wake Up With Wogan’. He remained until his retirement from the show in December 2009. Early 2010 saw Wogan hosting a Sunday morning show on Radio 2 called ‘Weekend Wogan’.

HONOURS

In 1997, Terry received an honorary OBE and was made Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

Wogan was offered an honorary knighthood in 2005 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Taking on British citizenship (but retaining Irish citizenship) meant he could use the title ‘Sir’.

Wogan has always felt part of Limerick. Therefore, it was no surprise that in 2004, the University of Limerick honoured him with an honorary Doctorate and, in 2007, he was given ‘Freedom Of The

Sir Terry Wogan and wife helen

City’.

2009 saw Terry inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame but, perhaps, his most treasured award is the gold Blue Peter badge he acquired in 2004.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Terry married Helen Joyce on 25^th April 1965 and they have two sons, Alan and Mark, and a daughter named Katherine.

The Wogans live near Maidenhead in Taplow Buckinghamshire and also have a second home in Gacony in France.

Could you wake up the nation? – Try radio presenting at London Academy

Written by Mark Pryke

March 8th, 2011 at 11:55 am

Posted in Radio

Tagged with afternoon show, breakfast show, radio announcers, radio presenter, radio work, wogan

Broadcasting legend Tony Blackburn

Could you talk to the nation? Try the London Academy of Media Film & TV

EARLY LIFE

Tony was born in 1943 in Guildford, Surrey but, after a few years, his family relocated to Dorset. He was educated at Castle Court School in Parkston, Poole in Dorset and also Millfield School in Somerset. Upon leaving school , he went on to enrol for an HND course at Bournemouth Technical College. Initially, Tony tried to forge a career as a singer but then decided to work as a DJ for the off-shore pirate radio stations Radio Caroline and Radio London.

FROM THE PIRATES TO THE BBC

After his pirate years, Tony joined the BBC in 1967 with initial appearances on the Light Programme. His main claim to fame is that he was the first DJ on BBC Radio 1 when it launched on 30 September 1967. The first words spoken were “…..and good morning everyone, welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1”

He was moved off the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in 1973 – something he was not happy about at the time – and took over the weekday mid-morning show. He claimed he was taken off the Breakfast Show because he got married. The change saw Noel Edmonds take over and, despite early animosity, the two went on to become good friends. As host of the mid-morning show, he introduced ‘The Golden Hour’. It proved very popular and was carried on by subsequent presenters Simon Bates and Simon Mayo.

In 1977, Tony was moved to the afternoon show and was going through a divorce from his wife, Tessa Wyatt, who had made her name in the TV sitcom ‘Robin’s Nest’.

During the 1970s, Tony made a number of television appearances on the BBC’s summer programme ‘Seaside Special’.

INTO THE 1980’S AND 1990s

In 1980, Blackburn was moved to weekends as host of ‘Junior Choice’. He did not like working at Radio 1 at the weekend because he felt there was no life there due to the building being empty by comparison with weekdays.

In 1984, Tony left Radio 1. He had already been presenting the afternoon show on BBC Radio London but moved to the mid-morning show playing soul music. In 1988, he left the BBC and joined commercial station Capital Gold in London presenting the breakfast show for a number of years before moving to the Drivetime slot. In 2002, he took over the weekday evening show playing soul music.

INTO THE NEW MILLENIUM

When Blackburn left Capital Gold in 2002, he continued to broadcast on various stations. His name was mentioned in the House of Commons in 2004 following his suspension from Classic Gold for playing songs by Cliff Richard. The Leader of the House, Peter Hain, voiced his support for Tony. He was reinstated at Classic Gold even though some claimed it was all just a publicity stunt.

His career received a boost in 2002 when Tony appeared in ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ which he eventually won.

BACK TO BBC NATIONAL RADIO

Following many years’ absence, Tony went back to BBC network radio to present the 60 top-selling hits of the 60s on 31 May 2010 on BBC Radio 2. Late 2010, Blackburn took over from Dale Winton on the iconic ‘Pick Of The Pops’ BBC Radio 2 show.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING

Tony lives with his second wife Debra in Arkley, near Barnet in Hertfordshire. He has been a vegetarian since he was just four years old.

Written by Mark Pryke

March 8th, 2011 at 11:52 am

Posted in Radio

How do I become a Radio Presenter?

How do I become a Radio Presenter? Over the years I have been asked this question more than any other about the radio industry. There is no easy answer, you will not wake up one morning and find a wanted ad in your morning newspaper for the next greatest talent to step forward and present your local radio stations breakfast show.

So where do you start? The answer to begin with is to take one step at a time. Get to understand the industry you want to work in by taking courses at The London Academy. Well I would say that wouldn’t I? The truth is though that the Academy Tutors have a wealth of practical knowledge that you can use; remember we have all trodden the path you wish to take.

Places like University Radio and Hospital Radio are also good starting points. They can give you an opportunity to shine and allow you to present a wide variety of shows. I started out on Hospital Radio and worked on a whole range of diverse shows from news to requests to a series I put together about the history of pop music! Well I was an overly confident teenager at the time.

Networking, finding other people who share your interest or work in the business also is another step in the right direction. Internships, which are often unpaid, are another opportunity to see the industry from the inside.

And remember practice makes perfect, sit down at home in front of your pc and make some radio shows. There is plenty of free software.

Finally a direct approach, find out who is in charge, get their name right, use it in your email, prove you listen to their station and ask if there are any opportunities?

Written by Steve Campen – Radio Professional LBC Radio

Tutor at London Academy of Media Film TV