Noel Edmonds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948 in Ilford, Essex) is an English television presenter, DJ and executive who made his name on BBC Radio 1 in England. Edmonds also worked closely with Richard L Lewis, who produced and wrote various programmes Edmonds worked on.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Early life and radio career 2 Television career 2.1 Deal or No Deal 2.2 The National Lottery: Everyone's A Winner! 3 Unique Group 3.1 Theme parks 4 Personal life 5 Facts and figures 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life and radio career

The son of a headmaster, Noel attended Glade Primary School and Brentwood School. He was offered a university place but turned it down in favour of a job as a newsreader on Radio Luxembourg,^[1] which was offered to him in 1968 after he sent tapes to all the pirate radio stations.

He moved to BBC Radio 1 in 1969 where he began by recording trailers for shows and filling in for absent DJs, such as Kenny Everett.^[1] In April 1970 Edmonds took up his own two hour Saturday afternoon show, broadcasting from 1-3pm, before replacing the sacked Kenny Everett on Saturday mornings from 10am-12pm in July that year.

In October 1971, Edmonds then went on to present a Sunday morning show from 10am-12pm, before being promoted to Radio 1's prestigious breakfast show from June 1973 to April 1978, gaining record audience figures.

Edmonds moved back to Sunday mornings in 1978 from 10am-1pm and also presented an hour long talk show on Thursday evenings entitled Talkabout.^[2]

Edmonds left Radio 1 in March 1983,^[1] although he briefly returned in 1985, sitting in for Mike Read for two weeks on the breakfast show and again in 1992, where he presented a special show celebrating Radio 1's 25th birthday.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 Edmonds made a brief radio comeback, taking over the drivetime show on BBC Radio 2 for 8 weeks whilst Johnnie Walker was undergoing treatment for cancer. His stint on Radio 2 lasted from 4 August until 3 October.^[3]

On 15 December 2004 Edmonds also played a detective on a radio murder mystery play on local station BBC Radio Devon.^[4]

[edit] Television career

Edmonds hosted Top of the Pops at various points between 1970 and 1978. He also hosted the children's Saturday morning programme, Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, which ran from 1976 until 1982. During Swap Shop's run, Edmonds had his first brushes with Saturday evening TV, presenting "Lucky Numbers" – a phone-in quiz show which required viewers to call in and answer questions based on clips of film shown – and a revival of the 1960s pop music show Juke Box Jury.

Edmonds later moved to a Saturday early evening slot, first with The Late, Late Breakfast Show. The show was cancelled by the BBC on 15 November 1986 following an accident two days earlier in which Michael Lush, a viewer who had been selected to take part in a live stunt for the 'Whirly Wheel' section, died during rehearsal.^[5]

Edmonds returned to television with The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow in 1988. The Saturday Roadshow in time morphed into the seminal Noel's House Party in 1991. This later series ran for eight years from Edmonds' supposed mansion in the fictional town of Crinkley Bottom. Regular features included NTV, where cameras were secretly hidden in viewer's homes, and the "Gotchas" where celebrities were caught in elaborate and embarrassing setups. When then-Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis was "Gotcha'd", he infamously yelled "Edmonds, you are a dead man!". He later participated in Noel himself being "Gotcha'd".

Mr. Blobby, a pink and yellow spotted character, initially appeared in the "Gotcha" section, and became a regular feature of the show. The character even achieved the 1993 Christmas No. 1^[6]. Edmonds to this day denies any part in the creation of Mr. Blobby.^{[citation needed]}

Noel's House Party was a staple of BBC1's autumn and spring schedules for several years. Several reformats failed to reverse its declining popularity.^[7] In the final show, broadcast on 20 March 1999, Edmonds appealed that viewers' memories should be kind to the show.

Edmonds also presented the quiz show Telly Addicts and was one of the original presenters of the BBC's motoring show Top Gear during the 1970s. During his time on the show, he rubbished the Fiat Strada, saying it wasn't very good, which caused Fiat to threaten to sue the BBC unless he apologised for the comments.^{[citation needed]} Edmonds reappeared in one episode in the 1990s, to road test the classic 1960s Ford GT40 supercar, because current host Jeremy Clarkson at 6ft 5 inches was unable to fit in the cockpit. Edmonds privately owns a GT40 and is one of a select few people in the UK to do so.^[8] In September 2006 Edmonds admitted to mens' magazine Loaded that he had travelled at up to 186 mph in the car in the mid-1980s on the Tring Bypass in Hertfordshire, and to having sex in the back of a Range Rover.^[9]

Noel's Christmas Presents was an annual broadcast made on Christmas Day in which Edmonds delivered special presents to various people. Some of the gifts included arranging trips to Lapland for ill or disadvantaged children, or arranging family reunions.^[10]

Edmonds once notoriously responded badly to his involvement in an episode of the Chris Morris spoof documentary series Brass Eye, in which he unwittingly pledged his allegiance on camera to a campaign to rid the country of a new killer drug, the entirely fictitious 'cake', which apparently made 10 seconds appear as a few hours to a user. His protestations after the broadcast of the show resulted in a follow-up sketch in which a fake news bulletin reported that Noel Edmonds had gone mad and killed presenter Clive Anderson during a dinner party, in which he held the rest of the guests hostage. Later returning to the scene to see an Edmonds lookalike throw a severed bald head from an upper-floor window before firing a rocket propelled grenade at a nearby wedding.^[11]

The Curse of Noel Edmonds, a documentary tracing the rise and fall of his showbiz career, was transmitted by Five on November 9, 2004. Former Radio One DJ Mike Read contributed to the show.^[12]

[edit] Deal or No Deal

Edmonds made his TV comeback, presenting the game show Deal or No Deal on Channel 4, produced by Endemol from a format that had already proved popular in numerous countries. The show is filmed in a set of studios in Bristol converted from an old warehouse. It began UK transmission on Monday, 31 October 2005 and is broadcast on afternoons six days a week. It has proved to be a massive hit, and on 10 November 2006 broadcast its 300th show; it had up until then given away over £4.8 million at an average of £16,100 a show. In March 2006, Edmonds had his contract for presenting the show extended until Autumn 2007, rumoured to be worth £3million and making Edmonds one of the highest paid personalities on UK television.^[13] Edmonds was recently nominated for a BAFTA award for his work on the show but lost out on the night to Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.^[14]

On 16 March 2007, Edmonds made a cameo appearance as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate who appeared in the guise of her character Joannie "Nan" Taylor from The Catherine Tate Show. Nan appeared on a special episode of Deal or No Deal, where she ended up cheating. The sketch was made for the BBC Red Nose Day fundraising programme of 2007.

[edit] The National Lottery: Everyone's A Winner!

On 21 August 2006 it was announced that Edmonds would be returning to the BBC to host a one-off show called Everyone's A Winner! celebrating National Lottery "good causes". The show was broadcast on 23 September 2006.^[15]

Edmonds presented the very first National Lottery in 1994 before handing over to Anthea Turner and Gordon Kennedy.^[16]

[edit] Unique Group

Edmonds formed the Unique Group in 1985, which now consists of various strands. The Unique Broadcasting Company Media Group plc (UBCMG) is an independent producer of audio programming in the UK, supplying BBC and independent radio. Michael Peacock was an executive in the group between 1989 and 2005 and former Radio 1 controller Johnny Beerling joined the group following his departure from the network in 1993. It owns Classic Gold Digital.^[17] Edmonds resigned as non-executive director of UBCMG in March 2006 as a direct result of the success of Deal or no Deal.^[18]

Edmonds also has interests in Unique Motor Company, a producer of small off road vehicles.^[19]

[edit] Theme parks

Edmonds-licensed theme park attractions based on Crinkley Bottom and Mr Blobby were set up in Somerset, Morecambe and East Anglia. Following disappointing visitor numbers, and in the case of Morecambe, legal disagreements with the local council, the parks eventually closed down. He was critical of Lancaster City Council's management of the Morecambe park, which closed only a few months after its opening.^[20] A report by the District Auditor found that the council had behaved 'unlawfully' in its dealings with Edmonds, which cost £2.5m, and two former senior officers were found to have committed 'misconduct' although this was not deemed to be 'wilful'.^[21] The affair was dubbed 'Blobbygate' by the media.^[22]

[edit] Personal life

Edmonds' first marriage was to Gillian Slater in 1971, but he divorced her in 1976. In July 1986 he married Helen Soby, and the couple have four daughters: Charlotte, Lorna, Olivia and Alice. The couple bought an 855-acre estate at Jacobstowe, near Teignmouth, as a family home. In 2004 he divorced, splitting with much tabloid publicity due to her affair in 2004.^[23]

After his second divorce, he took time out to stabilise his relationship with his daughters,^{[citation needed]} before starting a relationship with Marjan Simmons, a French estate agent. They dated for a year until summer 2006, when Edmonds allegedly ended it because she wanted to get serious. Simmons later went to the press, telling how she was left heart-broken after he dumped her, claiming she felt "discarded" by him after he battled back to the top of showbiz.^[24]

It was reported that Noel involved with English teacher and former Miss England Pauline Bull, who lives in Monaco close to his three million pound home in Magagnosc, near Grasse in the South of France.^[25] However, Edmonds has recently stated that he is not ready to get seriously involved in a relationship so soon after his second divorce.^[24] As a result of his success on Deal or No Deal, Edmonds has bought himself another Devonshire mansion to replace the one he split with ex-wife Helen, which is again on the edge of the Dartmoor National Park and has 35 bedrooms.

[edit] Facts and figures

• Edmonds is a licensed helicopter pilot, and one of his early personal aircraft was registered G-NOEL^[26]
• Edmonds is president of the British Horse Society^[27]
• Edmonds was voted the third greatest TV game show host by readers of UKGameshows.com^[28]
• Edmonds is a devoted supporter of West Ham United^{[citation needed]}
• Edmonds admitted to having driven a supercar at 186mph naked^[29]
• Edmonds featured on a novelty record by Alcatraz as Shaking Kirk Houston^[30][31]
• Edmonds was a guest host for the 26 January 2007 fourth-series episode of The Friday Night Project

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Noel Edmonds at the Internet Movie Database
• Biography at Radio Rewind including sound clips
• Aircheck biography
• Unofficial fansite with several photos of Edmonds from the 70s
• Deal or No Deal Noel Edmonds Biography page
• Unofficial Noel Edmonds website

edit Top Gear
Top Gear (1977 to 2001) - Top Gear (2002 to present)
Original format presenters
Jason Barlow - Steve Berry - Julia Bradbury - Jeremy Clarkson - Vicki Butler-Henderson - Brendan Coogan - Noel Edmonds - Chris Goffey - Kate Humble Tony Mason - James May - Tiff Needell - Michele Newman - Angela Rippon - Quentin Willson - William Woollard
Current format presenters
Jeremy Clarkson - Jason Dawe - Richard Hammond - James May - The Stig
Current format episodes and broadcasters
Top Gear Episode List - Top Gear Broadcasters and Video Releases
Current format featured segments
Power Laps - Races - Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car - The Cool Wall - Caravan destruction - Cheap Car Challenges
Spin-offs
Rally Report - Top Gear Motorsport - Stars in Fast Cars - Top Gear of the Pops
Related articles
Top Gear Magazine - Jon Bentley - Sabine Schmitz - Fifth Gear

Preceded by Tony Blackburn

BBC Radio One Breakfast Show Presenter 1973-1978

Succeeded by Dave Lee Travis

Persondata
NAME	Edmonds, Noel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	British television presenter and radio DJ
DATE OF BIRTH	22 December 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ilford
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH