Alex Zane
Encyclopedia
Alex Zane is an English
television presenter and DJ
.
and attended Boston Spa School
before going on to study Medicine at University College London
, a course which he left after a year, and then Media and Communications at Goldsmiths College
.
to concentrate on his career, and before leaving medical school, he presented "The Alex Zane Show" on UCL
's student radio station Rare FM
. He also presented on Wired FM, which led to his own show on London alternative/Indie
station Xfm
. His radio show was heard by MTV
producers, who subsequently signed him up to present shows such as Screenplay and TRL
. From April 2007 to April 2009 he presented the weekday breakfast show on Xfm. Zane and his team (Marc Haynes
and Sunta Templeton) were suspended from the show in August 2008 after he broadcast a self-created song about rape, deemed to be offensive by the station. All three returned a week later, with Zane accusing Xfm of "over-reacting in the extreme" and claiming that his song had been misinterpreted.
As of April 2009 Alex Zane no longer presents the Xfm
Breakfast Show. It is understood that his contract has not been renewed by "mutual agreement."
In April 2010 it was announced Alex would jointly present a Friday evening radio show on NME Radio
with the creator of the indie club night Propaganda, DJ Dan. The Show launched April 30th and has a 6pm-8pm time slot. The show is presented live and blends Alex and DJ Dan's taste in music with the NME Radio playlist. In 2010 Alex performed at the Edinburgh Festival with his stand-up show 'Just One More Thing...'.
under an exclusive contract. He co-presented Popworld
and the accompanying Popworld Radio podcast
with Alexa Chung
until the programme ended in July 2007. He has narrated an E4 television show, Princess Nikki
, and made appearances on Channel 4 entertainment programmes such as The Law of the Playground, 8 out of 10 cats
and Balls of Steel. He presented E4's coverage of Channel 4's hoax reality show Space Cadets, as well as Death Wish Live
, the Digital Music Awards 2005 and Carling Live 24. He has also presented television coverage of several large scale music events, including the V Festival
, and the Wireless Festival
in London's Hyde Park
and more recently Orange Unsigned Act. He presented Celebrity Scissorhands
first on BBC Three
, then on BBC One
, as part of the BBC
's Children in Need
charity campaign in November 2006. He has presented Channel 4's variety show based on YouTube
videos, Rude Tube
, four times (February 2008, January 2009, January 2010 and October to November 2010). Zane also co-presented the Kerrang!
music awards 2008 with Cristina Scabbia
of Lacuna Coil
. He has done promotional presenting work with BBC Blast including a piece on what creativity means.
He had small acting roles in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
(2005), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Land of the Dead
and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
In July 2009, he co-hosted Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: A T4 Special with Rick Edwards
and hosted the Channel 4 coverage of Inglourious Basterds.
Zane also hosts a film show, Alex Zane's Guest List, on Sky Movies Premiere.
In early 2010 he appeared with Bill Bailey
as a team captain on birdwatching show 'Bill Bailey's Bird Watching Bonanza' for Sky 1
. Additionally, he also does the voice-over for Channel 4
TV show 'Ultimate Traveller'.
A Best of Rube Tube DVD, presented by Alex Zane, will be released on 21 November 2011.
(Channel 4
), Smack the Pony
(Channel 4), Brain Candy (BBC Three
), and The Sketch Show
(ITV1
). He also presents some shows on Kerrang! TV
. He is also the film reviewer for The Sun newspaper.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
television presenter and DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
.
Background
Zane was born in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and attended Boston Spa School
Boston Spa School
Boston Spa School and specialist Sports College is a mixed-gender school aged 11–19 years old on Clifford Moor Road in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, England. It is larger than other secondary schools in the area, with 1,880 students on roll, including 350 in the sixth form...
before going on to study Medicine at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, a course which he left after a year, and then Media and Communications at Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
.
Stand-up comedy and radio
Zane began his career at the age of 18 when he became a finalist on an open-mic competition called So You Think You're Funny. He moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to concentrate on his career, and before leaving medical school, he presented "The Alex Zane Show" on UCL
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
's student radio station Rare FM
Rare FM
Rare FM is the student-run radio station of UCL. The current station manager is Tom Riste-Smith.-Background:Rare FM was set up in 1998 as an affiliated society of UCL Union, headed at that time by Ed Jackson...
. He also presented on Wired FM, which led to his own show on London alternative/Indie
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
. His radio show was heard by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
producers, who subsequently signed him up to present shows such as Screenplay and TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
. From April 2007 to April 2009 he presented the weekday breakfast show on Xfm. Zane and his team (Marc Haynes
Marc Haynes
Marc Haynes is an English comedy writer and radio broadcaster.- Biography :Marc Haynes was brought up in London and won the 1998 edition of The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award for stand-up comedy, the finals of which also featured Stephen Merchant and Dan Antopolski.- Radio :From 2004 to 2007, he...
and Sunta Templeton) were suspended from the show in August 2008 after he broadcast a self-created song about rape, deemed to be offensive by the station. All three returned a week later, with Zane accusing Xfm of "over-reacting in the extreme" and claiming that his song had been misinterpreted.
As of April 2009 Alex Zane no longer presents the Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
Breakfast Show. It is understood that his contract has not been renewed by "mutual agreement."
In April 2010 it was announced Alex would jointly present a Friday evening radio show on NME Radio
NME Radio
NME Radio is the radio station from NME magazine, that broadcasts in a new commercially oriented alternative music format. It first began broadcasting on 24 June 2008.- History :...
with the creator of the indie club night Propaganda, DJ Dan. The Show launched April 30th and has a 6pm-8pm time slot. The show is presented live and blends Alex and DJ Dan's taste in music with the NME Radio playlist. In 2010 Alex performed at the Edinburgh Festival with his stand-up show 'Just One More Thing...'.
Television presenting
In 2006 Zane was signed by Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
under an exclusive contract. He co-presented Popworld
Popworld
Popworld was a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4, offering pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from the most recent top artists....
and the accompanying Popworld Radio podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
with Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung is an English television presenter, model and contributing editor at British Vogue.She currently hosts Gonzo with Alexa Chung for MTV UK, and is scheduled to host Thrift America for PBS in 2011...
until the programme ended in July 2007. He has narrated an E4 television show, Princess Nikki
Princess Nikki
Princess Nikki is a reality television show that stars former Big Brother 7 UK house mate, Nikki Grahame. It ran on Wednesday nights between 10:00 - 10:30pm on the digital and satellite television channel E4 from 6 September 2006, for a total runtime of 30 minutes. The show was devised by Endemol,...
, and made appearances on Channel 4 entertainment programmes such as The Law of the Playground, 8 out of 10 cats
8 Out of 10 Cats
8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organizations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by...
and Balls of Steel. He presented E4's coverage of Channel 4's hoax reality show Space Cadets, as well as Death Wish Live
Death Wish Live
Deathwish Live was a ground-breaking week of live shows from Channel 4 showcasing some of the world's leading exponents of death-defying stunts in the name of entertainment. The five nights each featured a particular artiste; Jonathan Goodwin, The Pain Men, Zamora The Torture King, Pyro Boy & The...
, the Digital Music Awards 2005 and Carling Live 24. He has also presented television coverage of several large scale music events, including the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
, and the Wireless Festival
Wireless Festival
The Wireless Festival is a music festival in England that takes place every year in Hyde Park, London, and took place at Harewood House, Leeds in 2006 and 2007. It is owned and managed by Live Nation....
in London's Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
and more recently Orange Unsigned Act. He presented Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands
Celebrity Scissorhands is a reality show that is part of the BBC's Children in Need charity campaign, in which celebrities attempt to cut people's hair to raise money for the campaign while trained and watched by professional hairdresser Lee Stafford...
first on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
, then on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, as part of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
charity campaign in November 2006. He has presented Channel 4's variety show based on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos, Rude Tube
Rude Tube
Rude Tube is a television show broadcast on Channel 4. The pilot aired on 16 February 2008. It listed the top 50 original videos on YouTube...
, four times (February 2008, January 2009, January 2010 and October to November 2010). Zane also co-presented the Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
music awards 2008 with Cristina Scabbia
Cristina Scabbia
Cristina Adriana Chiara Scabbia is an Italian singer, best known as one of the two vocalists in the Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil. She also writes an advice column in the popular rock magazine Revolver, alongside musician Vinnie Paul. Scabbia is featured in a Megadeth song, "À Tout le...
of Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...
. He has done promotional presenting work with BBC Blast including a piece on what creativity means.
He had small acting roles in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is the 2005 sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, from Happy Madison Productions. Rob Schneider returns in the role of a male prostitute Deuce Bigalow who visits his former pimp T.J...
(2005), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Land of the Dead
Land of the Dead
For the disambiguation page on anything else on this topic, come here to Land of the Dead .Land of the Dead is a 2005 horror film written and directed by George A...
and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse is a feature film spin-off of the popular British television comedy series The League of Gentlemen. Starring Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the film was written by the cast with Jeremy Dyson, and directed by Steve Bendelack...
In July 2009, he co-hosted Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: A T4 Special with Rick Edwards
Rick Edwards
Rick Edwards is a British TV presenter who mainly works on Channel 4 and E4. Rick has presented T4 with co-hosts Georgie Okell, Miquita Oliver, Jameela Jamil and Alexa Chung from which he left on 3 July 2011...
and hosted the Channel 4 coverage of Inglourious Basterds.
Zane also hosts a film show, Alex Zane's Guest List, on Sky Movies Premiere.
In early 2010 he appeared with Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
as a team captain on birdwatching show 'Bill Bailey's Bird Watching Bonanza' for Sky 1
SKY 1
The Box is an entertainment channel in New Zealand available on SKY Network Television.The channel shows are a variety of the most recent shows such as from the United States, for example CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Simpsons, Family Guy, World Wrestling Entertainments hit shows, and...
. Additionally, he also does the voice-over for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
TV show 'Ultimate Traveller'.
A Best of Rube Tube DVD, presented by Alex Zane, will be released on 21 November 2011.
Writing
Zane has written comedy material for The Eleven O'Clock ShowThe Eleven O'Clock Show
The 11 O'Clock Show was a satirical late-night British television comedy series on Channel 4, which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items.The series ran from 1998 to 2000, most notably while hosted by Iain Lee and Daisy Donovan...
(Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
), Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony
Smack the Pony is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Its title was intended to sound like a euphemism for female masturbation; the working title was Spot the Pony. The main performers and writers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips...
(Channel 4), Brain Candy (BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
), and The Sketch Show
The Sketch Show
The Sketch Show is a British television sketch comedy programme, featuring many leading British comedians. It aired on ITV between 2001 and 2003.A short-lived spinoff of the same title was produced in the United States.- Original line-up :...
(ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
). He also presents some shows on Kerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV is a digital television station owned by Box Television, which is loosely connected to the magazine, Kerrang!. As of 2005, all of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open scheduled, for text requests from their playlist....
. He is also the film reviewer for The Sun newspaper.
External links
- Alex Zane on IMDB
- Alex Zane's Myspace page
- Popworld official site
- Alex Zane online interview
- Alex Zane "This is Who I Am" Interview Heat World, June 2009
- Alex Zane's Guest List Episodes at Sky MoviesSky MoviesSky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland...