Jim Lee (Radio)
Encyclopedia
Jim Lee is a freelance continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

, a newsreader and announcer at the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

 and also provides links for BBC Radio 7. He often reads the Shipping Forecast
Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast is a four-times-daily BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The forecasts sent over the Navtex...

.

Early life

He was born in Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and lived in Camp Hill (to the west towards Hartshill
Hartshill
Hartshill is a village in the borough of North Warwickshire, England.Hartshill is three miles from Nuneaton town centre but is still regarded as a suburb of the town despite being in the North Warwickshire borough....

). He went to the King Edward VI Grammar School in Nuneaton (now the King Edward VI College
King Edward VI College, Nuneaton
King Edward VI College is a sixth form college located in Nuneaton, England, in Warwickshire. Currently, it teaches subjects in preparation for AS and A-level Examinations, for students generally aged sixteen to eighteen.-Grammar school:...

). He worked for two years in a bank, then decided to go to college. At Liverpool Polytechnic (now Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...

), he studied Business.

Career

He worked in Hospital radio at Walsgrave Hospital
University Hospital Coventry
University Hospital Coventry is a large National Health Service hospital situated in the Walsgrave area of Coventry, West Midlands, England, from the city centre. It is part of the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust...

, and in 1980 was asked to join Mercia Sound in Coventry. He joined 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...

 in 1989. He did the Breakfast Show on BBC CWR
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....

 for 18 months from 1990, then the Afternoon Show for two years. The BBC then decided to merge BBC CWR with BBC WM
BBC WM
BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet...

 in Birmingham.

In the early 1990s he was involved in trials of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....

 – i.e. Digital Radio), but was made redundant on 2 May 1997.

Freelance

Shortly after he re-joined as a freelance continuity announcer on Radio 4 and the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

, and joined BBC Radio 7 in 2002. He is known for his distinctive accent, and often interjects humour into his announcements. After the Radio 4 UK Theme
Radio 4 UK Theme
The BBC Radio 4 UK Theme is an orchestral arrangement of traditional British airs composed by Fritz Spiegl which was played every morning on BBC Radio 4 between 23 November 1978 and 23 April 2006....

made it into the UK popular music charts, he introduced it by saying "You don't often hear a hit single on Radio 4...but here's the UK theme".

External links


Video clips

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