Christopher Price (broadcaster)

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For other persons named Christopher Price, see Christopher Price (disambiguation).

Christopher Price (September 21, 1967 - April 22, 2002) was the original host of British celebrity news show Liquid News.

[edit] Early life and career

Price was adopted shortly after his birth by a couple in Norfolk (his adoptive father was an accountant). In his early days he attended Worth Abbey - a Roman Catholic boarding school in Sussex. After school he studied Italian at Reading University. However, he left university with the desire to become a journalist - he enrolled into the BBC reporter training scheme in 1991. Once completed he pursued his desire and in 1993 he became a reporter on Radio Berkshire - soon to move to Radio Southampton. In March 1994 he joined BBC Radio 5 Live to eventually become a Senior Broadcast Journalist. He sometimes stood in for Sybil Roscoe, and occasionally presented Up All Night. He joined BBC News 24 when it was launched in September 1997 and presented a mixture of news, fashion, and entertainment in a 10.30pm slot. However, after nine months he was called to the office of a senior colleague and told that he was too camp to read the news. In his personal life, he had ended a long-term relationship with a French man. He and the producer Chris Wilson put together a nightly entertainment news discussion programme called Zero30. After Stuart Murphy said that he enjoyed the programme he was persuaded to take it to digital television channel BBC Choice where it became Liquid News on May 30, 2000. In early 2001 he hit the headlines when he signed a £280,000 two-year contract for presenting Liquid News - which many felt as slightly strange since his show attracted low numbers of viewers as it was shown on digital television or late at night. At the time, Christopher himself was quoted as jokingly saying that he didn't understand why people would want to watch a programme presented by a "fat, balding, homosexual".

[edit] Death

Towards the end of April 2002 he was off work for a week with an acute ear infection. On April 22 he failed to turn up for work and his close friend Robert Nisbet was sent to his flat in Wells Street, off Oxford Street, in central London. Christopher Price was found dead. At first press reports stated that he had taken an overdose of barbiturates, and there was speculation about whether this was an accident or suicide. However, a forensic pathologist, Dr Nicholas Hunt, told the coroner's court on June 19 that Christopher Price had died of meningoencephalitis - a condition that probably spread from his ear infection.