Nick Ferrari
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Nick Ferrari Born Nicolo Ferrari is a radio presenter who currently hosts the weekday breakfast show from 0700-1000 UTC (and BST in summer) on the London-based talk and phone-in radio station LBC 97.3. He is married to Sally has two sons,and a Golden Labrador and lives in Lewisham, London. Not posh Blackheath as he claims to.
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[edit] Radio career
The programme takes the format of a news and political debate and discussion show with Ferrari introducing topics and then discussing them with both members of the public and experts, through text messaging, email and phone, with the latter being the main mode of contact. The programme mixes both light entertainment stories and the more serious topics in the news, especially those where Ferrari can parade his populist right-wing views - a characteristic that has afforded the show a wide listener base, and recently the SONY Radio Breakfast Show of the Year award as well as the Arqiva Presenter of the Year award. Chrysalis management showed their gratitude by flying him by private jet to Germany to see the 2006 World Cup final. Ferrari frequently asks first-time callers which station they previously listened to, rejoicing when they have deserted the BBC or rival station Capital FM.
Ferrari is often criticised on his show as he has often already developed an opinion on the topic of discussion and then shows a lack of respect for the views of listeners who call in to argue against his point of view - usually trying to wind up callers who take the show too seriously.
He often makes allusions during the show to his personal life, in particular discussing his Mercedes-Benz car and his 1954 Land Rover, his pseudo-Kentish neighbourhood, his anonymous eunuch dog and his two sons whom he is immensely proud of though wistful as their teenage years pass and they grow more independent.
[edit] Broadcasting Standards Committee complaint
In 2003 The Broadcasting Standards Committee upheld a complaint against Ferrari, finding that his programme's "active reinforcement of prejudiced views about asylum seekers had exceeded acceptable boundaries for transmission" [1]. Following this, and at a time of frosty relations between Nick Ferrari and the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor wrote to the Managing Director of LBC 97.3 asking what measures had been implemented to ensure the situation would not arise again. The Mayor now appears regularly on Nick's programme to answer questions from listeners.
[edit] TV & other appearances
Aside from radio, Ferrari regularly appears as a commentator on Channel 4's Richard & Judy show and has previously guested on breakfast television magazine GMTV. In early 2003, following his appointment as editor of the proposed local newspaper the London Evening Mail, he made a series of appearances on local evening news programmes London Tonight and BBC London News. However, in November of that year Ferrari was offered the breakfast show on LBC 97.3 (effective January 2004) and subsequently stepped down as the newspaper's editor. As a result, the attention awarded him by London regional programmes declined and he now makes far fewer appearances on those shows.
Throughout 2004-2005 Ferrari developed his own one-man sad stage show consisting largely of anecdotes about his family and the various jobs he's held over the years, jokes?, audience interaction and the occasional guest appearance. The show played at various theatres across the capital and as far out as Radlett, and came to a close on the 16th of December 2005 at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon. He has vowed not to repeat it, however he is now launching a new series of theatre appearances to promote his new book The World According to Nick Ferrari. And on 10th March 2006 appeared on ITN 'The Throbbing Knob', which lets the viewing public discuss a topic of the day, on this day it was silly laws.
In 2006, Ferrari also made an appearance on the BBC/HBO comedy show 'Extras' in the show's second series. Nick played the part of himself as a phone-in radio presenter set in LBC 97.3 Studios.
[edit] Earlier Career
Ferrari was a news reporter on the Sunday Mirror in 1981 and has had many other posts in journalism: ShowBiz Reporter at The Sun and Editor of the paper's "Bizarre" gossip page, Editor of the News of the World's Sunday Magazine and Assistant Editor of The Daily Mirror. A school-friend of former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, Ferrari joined him at L!ve TV where he devised such programmes as Topless Darts, the News Bunny and the weather presented by a dwarf on a trampoline.
In 1989, Ferrari was instrumental in setting up the Sky News channel, as the second person to be hired by Rupert Murdoch. Initially he was editor and then he was promoted to Vice President of News and Programming, of Fox TV in New York.
Amongst the people that he has interviewed are Harrison Ford, Elton John, David Bowie and Arthur Scargill, and after interviewing Roger Moore on the set of a James Bond movie for The Sun, appeared as an extra.
[edit] Politics
It was suggested in June 2006 by Tory leader David Cameron that if he joined the Conservative Party and put himself forward Ferrari could win the ballot to be the Conservative Party's candidate for Mayor of London [2]. Ferrari indicated, however, that he would not stand, as he "couldn't take the pay cut". Since then, however, he has started to see merit in the idea and has held discussions about what in the way of policies he should introduce should he become Mayor: amongst these were re-introducing the Routemaster buses (with various modifications so that they would conform to disability and environmental laws) and scrapping the Mercedes-Benz "Bendy Buses" and, more controversially, putting a large levy on trainers in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games and doubling income tax on Human Rights lawyers.
However, Ferrari has now indicated that he will not stand as a Tory hopeful [3] although has not ruled out standing as an independent closer to the date of the election itself.
