Noel Edmonds

Revision as of 12:06, 24 May 2007

Biography

Edmonds started out in radio, and became the youngest DJ on Radio 1 for his time (aged 19). Children's television beckoned, and he fronted the Multi-coloured Swap Shop for many years on BBC 1.

After a couple of quizzes he went on to the freeform entertainment format The Late Late Breakfast Show on Saturday nights, which abruptly ended its run when a bungee jump stunt ended in the death of a member of the public. Virtually the same format re-appeared later as the Saturday Roadshow.

Noel's House Party was more of a roller-coaster - initially it won international awards and was the lynchpin of the BBC's entertainment line-up. In later years, it received intense criticism as a sign of falling standards at the BBC (something Edmonds himself is said to have agreed with, even pulling out of one live show hours before broadcast).

The House Party was axed in 1999, and apart from a few fairly low-key forays guesting on BBC Radio and the odd TV clips show, Noel seemed to have retired from the limelight for quite a while. Deal or No Deal is his first TV hosting role in six years.

Trivia

Edmonds hosted the UK's first ever National Lottery show.

His first ever broadcasting job was on Radio Luxembourg - as a newsreader. He then worked for the BBC making radio trailers before getting his big break when DJ Kenny Everett was sacked.

He is president of the British Horse Society, a role he took over from Princess Anne.

Despite a 30-year career in broadcasting, it wasn't until 2007 that he was finally listed in Who's Who. In case you're wondering, he doesn't list Hobby Horse or Whatever Next... among his career highlights, though he does include Lucky Numbers. His middle name is Ernest, although he's only noted as "Noel E Edmonds" in the book.