Richard Bacon (television presenter)
Encyclopedia
Richard Paul Bacon is an English
television and radio presenter.
Bacon's first high-profile media role was as a presenter of Blue Peter
, from which he was sacked in 1998 following newspaper reports of him taking cocaine
. He then presented numerous shows, including The Big Breakfast
, and on radio stations Capital FM, and Xfm London
.
In January 2010, he started presenting the mid-afternoon programme on BBC Radio 5 Live
, having previously presented the station's late-night show.
, Nottinghamshire
and went to St Peter's CE Primary School on Bellamy Road, then Wellow House Prep School before moving to the independent school Worksop College
. He briefly began university as a Politics student but dropped out.
Bacon's first job in the media was as a reporter for BBC Radio Nottingham
, notably on the programme The Beat, for which he interviewed Nicole Kidman
. In February 1996, Bacon joined L!VE TV
as reporter, which saw him being banned from the State Opening of Parliament
and having a beer thrown at him by Damon Albarn
as he tried to interview him leaving a nightclub.
In October 2011, Richard announced on his podcast that he had been contacted by the Metropolitan Police, who advised him that his phone had been hacked by the disgraced Private Investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
, joining on 21 February 1997. Bacon presented with Romana D'Annunzio
, Katy Hill
, Konnie Huq
and Stuart Miles. He was the programme's first ever presenter to have his contract terminated in mid-season, on 19 October 1998, after the tabloid newspaper News of the World
published a report of Bacon taking cocaine
. By this time his tenure had lasted just over 18 months. After his dismissal the then Head of BBC
children's programmes, Lorraine Heggessey
, went on air to explain the situation to CBBC
viewers.
, Top of the Pops
, and the reality TV shows Back To Reality and Castaway Exposed
.
In August 2005, the band The Magic Numbers
walked out of Top of the Pops after Bacon made a remark that was perceived to be about the body shape of members of the band; during rehearsals, he referred to the band as a "big, fat melting pot of talent".
He guest hosted ITV
's This Morning
during 2005, Five's The Wright Stuff
on several occasions during 2007-08, and BBC Two
's Something for the Weekend
during 2008-09. He is the narrator for series 1-3 of Sky's police documentary Brit Cops
.
In June 2009 he recorded a pilot chat show for BBC Three
with Chris Underwood. However this was not commissioned for a full series.
In late 2010 Bacon presented Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club
on ITV4
. A second series was aired in late 2011.
Bacon has recently presented editions of BBC Three
's Young Voters' Question Time.
He has made several TV cameo appearance
s playing "himself", including Hotel Babylon
in 2007 (in which his character hires escort girls to play Scrabble
with him all night), the episode "Video Killed the Radio Star" of the TV series FM
and an episode of The Thick of It
, both in 2009.
In October 2011, Bacon hosted BBC Three's Up for Hire live which was an interactive series over the course of five nights tackling one of Britain's biggest issues - youth unemployment.
and the BBC
.
From November 2007 until December 2009, Bacon presented the BBC Radio 5 Live
late night programme, in which his sign-off ("Goodnight Great Britain, wherever you are") copied that of Jack Killian, the main character in the NBC
television series Midnight Caller
. Bacon also stood in for Simon Mayo
in the daytime film review programme on occasion, and stated that his favourite film is The Apartment
.
Since January 2010 he has been the regular presenter of the BBC Radio 5 Live mid-afternoon show (Mondays to Thursdays), where he replaced the departing Simon Mayo.
Bacon's afternoon show has since attracted criticism in terms of its content, which is classified by the BBC Trust
as "news". Rival broadcaster Talksport
made a general complaint in 2010 to the BBC Trust, claiming the BBC Radio 5 Live station was not providing its mandatory 75% news output, "with many items falling outside of the remit, such as 'entertainment-based interviews' ... and listener-generated features." Talksport's complaint "particularly singl[ed] out Bacon's two-hour weekday afternoon show for criticism", finding in a poll that only 20% of listeners considered Bacon's show to comprise "news". In their response, the BBC Trust rejected Tallksport's complaints, but admitted that a review was required to develop "'a more nuanced method of monitoring the proportion of news output' on 5 Live compared to the current system, which counts the whole of Richard Bacon's afternoon show as news".
to present his radio show. On 31 October 2011 his wife gave birth to a son, Arthur, which Bacon revealed on his Twitter account the day after.
where he is interested in their National Flood Appeal and international messaging services.
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 and radio presenter.
Bacon's first high-profile media role was as a presenter of Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
, from which he was sacked in 1998 following newspaper reports of him taking cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. He then presented numerous shows, including The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
, and on radio stations Capital FM, and Xfm London
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
.
In January 2010, he started presenting the mid-afternoon programme on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, having previously presented the station's late-night show.
Biography
Bacon grew up in MansfieldMansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and went to St Peter's CE Primary School on Bellamy Road, then Wellow House Prep School before moving to the independent school Worksop College
Worksop College
Worksop College is a co-educational day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 13 to 18 in England. Worksop is split into eight houses - Talbot, Mason, Portland, Pelham and Shirley for boys and Gibbs, Derry and School House for girls.- Origins :...
. He briefly began university as a Politics student but dropped out.
Bacon's first job in the media was as a reporter for BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham
BBC Radio Nottingham is a BBC Local Radio station serving the English county of Nottinghamshire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, and digital DAB radio from studios located on London Road in Nottingham city centre.-Transmission frequences:...
, notably on the programme The Beat, for which he interviewed Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
. In February 1996, Bacon joined L!VE TV
L!VE TV
L!VE TV was a British television station that was operated by MGN on cable television from 15 August 1995 - 31 October 1999. It was later revived for Sky Digital from 2003...
as reporter, which saw him being banned from the State Opening of Parliament
State Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
and having a beer thrown at him by Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
as he tried to interview him leaving a nightclub.
In October 2011, Richard announced on his podcast that he had been contacted by the Metropolitan Police, who advised him that his phone had been hacked by the disgraced Private Investigator Glenn Mulcaire.
Blue Peter
Bacon's TV break was as a presenter on the children's show Blue PeterBlue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
, joining on 21 February 1997. Bacon presented with Romana D'Annunzio
Romana D'Annunzio
Romana D'Annunzio is a former Scottish television presenter, who presented the children's programme Blue Peter from 1996 until 1998.From 2004, D'Annunzio studied English and Italian at Edinburgh university and worked as an English teacher in Rome. D'Annunzio completed her post-graduate in education...
, Katy Hill
Katy Hill
Katy Hill is an English television presenter, who worked on the BBC children's magazine programme Blue Peter for five years.-Biography:...
, Konnie Huq
Konnie Huq
Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008...
and Stuart Miles. He was the programme's first ever presenter to have his contract terminated in mid-season, on 19 October 1998, after the tabloid newspaper News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
published a report of Bacon taking cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. By this time his tenure had lasted just over 18 months. After his dismissal the then Head of 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...
children's programmes, Lorraine Heggessey
Lorraine Heggessey
Lorraine Heggessey is a British television producer and former Chief Executive of the production company Talkback Thames...
, went on air to explain the situation to CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
viewers.
TV career since Blue Peter
Bacon's TV career survived the setback and he has since presented such shows as The Big BreakfastThe Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, and the reality TV shows Back To Reality and Castaway Exposed
Castaway 2007
Castaway 2007 was a follow-up to the BBC series Castaway 2000 in which a group of people from the British public are "castaway" on a remote island. While in the 2000 series 36 men, women and children moved to a remote Scottish island for a year, this series featured 15 men and women from the...
.
In August 2005, the band The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...
walked out of Top of the Pops after Bacon made a remark that was perceived to be about the body shape of members of the band; during rehearsals, he referred to the band as a "big, fat melting pot of talent".
He guest hosted ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
during 2005, Five's The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
on several occasions during 2007-08, and BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's Something for the Weekend
Something for the Weekend (2000s BBC TV series)
Something for the Weekend is a British television series, broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday mornings. It features cookery, drinks, interviews with celebrity guests and clips from the week's television, as well as classic clips in the 'Deja View' section...
during 2008-09. He is the narrator for series 1-3 of Sky's police documentary Brit Cops
Brit Cops
Brit Cops is a British reality television series following the work of police officers in the UK. It was first broadcast on Bravo. Since the closing of Bravo on January 1, 2011, older episodes were shown on Channel One until the channel closed down on February 1, 2011 and Series 5 is continuing on...
.
In June 2009 he recorded a pilot chat show for 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...
with Chris Underwood. However this was not commissioned for a full series.
In late 2010 Bacon presented Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club
Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club
Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club is a British comedy panel show produced by Talkback Thames for ITV4. The programme is presented by Richard Bacon. The programme is currently showing its second series.-Overview:...
on ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
. A second series was aired in late 2011.
Bacon has recently presented editions of 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...
's Young Voters' Question Time.
He has made several TV cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s playing "himself", including Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
in 2007 (in which his character hires escort girls to play Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
with him all night), the episode "Video Killed the Radio Star" of the TV series FM
FM (TV series)
FM was a British sitcom which aired on ITV2, starring Chris O'Dowd , Kevin Bishop and Nina Sosanya . The series followed the lives of two DJs and their producer on their FM radio progamme, "Skin 86.5 FM"...
and an episode of The Thick of It
The Thick of It
The Thick of It is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of modern British government. It was first broadcast on BBC Four in 2005, and has so far completed fourteen half-hour episodes and two special hour-long episodes to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's...
, both in 2009.
In October 2011, Bacon hosted BBC Three's Up for Hire live which was an interactive series over the course of five nights tackling one of Britain's biggest issues - youth unemployment.
Radio career
Bacon has worked as a radio presenter for Capital FM, Xfm LondonXfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
and 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...
.
From November 2007 until December 2009, Bacon presented the BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
late night programme, in which his sign-off ("Goodnight Great Britain, wherever you are") copied that of Jack Killian, the main character in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio...
. Bacon also stood in for Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo is an English radio presenter who has worked for BBC Radio since 1981. As of January 2010, Mayo is presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2 and, with Mark Kermode, presenter of Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews on BBC Radio 5 Live.In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "radio...
in the daytime film review programme on occasion, and stated that his favourite film is The Apartment
The Apartment
The Apartment is a 1960 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. It was Wilder's follow-up to the enormously popular Some Like It Hot and, like its predecessor, was a commercial and critical hit, grossing $25...
.
Since January 2010 he has been the regular presenter of the BBC Radio 5 Live mid-afternoon show (Mondays to Thursdays), where he replaced the departing Simon Mayo.
Bacon's afternoon show has since attracted criticism in terms of its content, which is classified by the BBC Trust
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
as "news". Rival broadcaster Talksport
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
made a general complaint in 2010 to the BBC Trust, claiming the BBC Radio 5 Live station was not providing its mandatory 75% news output, "with many items falling outside of the remit, such as 'entertainment-based interviews' ... and listener-generated features." Talksport's complaint "particularly singl[ed] out Bacon's two-hour weekday afternoon show for criticism", finding in a poll that only 20% of listeners considered Bacon's show to comprise "news". In their response, the BBC Trust rejected Tallksport's complaints, but admitted that a review was required to develop "'a more nuanced method of monitoring the proportion of news output' on 5 Live compared to the current system, which counts the whole of Richard Bacon's afternoon show as news".
Personal life
Bacon married Rebecca McFarlane in 2008 and lives in London, commuting daily to ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to present his radio show. On 31 October 2011 his wife gave birth to a son, Arthur, which Bacon revealed on his Twitter account the day after.
Charity
Bacon is a "celebrity supporter" of the British Red CrossBritish Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
where he is interested in their National Flood Appeal and international messaging services.