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

Radio career

Edmonds began his broadcasting career in 1968 on Radio Luxembourg. 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.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

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^[2].

On 15 December 2004 Edmonds also played a detective on a radio murder mystery play on local station BBC Radio Devon^[3].

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.

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 ^[4].

Edmonds returned to television with The Noël Edmonds Saturday Roadshow in 1988. The Saturday Roadshow in time morphed into the seminal Noël'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 "YOU. ARE A DEAD MAN EDMONDS!" (he later participated in Noël himself being "Gotchaed")

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^[5]. Edmonds to this day denies any part in the creation of Mr. Blobby^{[citation needed]}.

Noël's House Party was a staple of BBC1's autumn and spring schedules for several years. Several reformats could not save its declining popularity^[6]. 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 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 1960's 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^[7]. In September 2006 Edmonds admitted to mens' magazine Loaded that he had travelled at up to 186 mph in the car back in the mid-1980s on the Tring Bypass in Hertfordshire. [[1]]

Noël's Christmas Presents was a Christmas morning programme 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^[8].

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^[9].

The Curse of Noël 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^[10].

Deal or No Deal

Edmonds has since made a TV comeback, presenting a daytime TV game show on Channel 4 entitled Deal or No Deal, created by Endemol. The show was already popular in numerous countries. It began on Monday, 31st October, 2005 and is broadcast on afternoons six days a week. It has been a massive hit, and its success was completely unexpected. On the 14th September 2006, Deal or No Deal broadcast its 250th show, and by this point had given away over £4 million (an average of around £16,250 a show). In March 2006, Edmonds had his contract for presenting the show extended until Autumn 2007, rumoured to be worth £3million making him one of the highest paid personalities on UK television.^[11] Edmonds was recently nominated for a BAFTA for his work on the show but lost out on the night to Friday Night with Jonathan Ross^[12].

The National Lottery: Everyone's A Winner!

On 21st 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 The National Lottery "good causes".^[13]

On 23 September 2006 he returned with celebrity guests like Carol Smillie, Shaun Williamson, Linda Barker and Fearne Cotton. The game was that three players are given questions from somewhere across the world, it was seen zooming in the country. The contestants: Charley, Tracey and Jamie were given the chance to win £50,000 at the end of the show, and finally Jamie won the money. There were two shows, one at 7:20pm and one at 9:10pm. He also went live to people in houses who were watching the programme.

He presented the very first National Lottery show in 1994 before handing over to Anthea Turner and Gordon Kennedy^[14].

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.^[15] Edmonds resigned as non-executive director of UBCMG in March 2006 as a direct result of the success of Deal or no Deal,^[16] Edmonds also has interests in Unique Motor Company, a producer of small off road vehicles.^[17]

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^[18]. 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'^[19]. The affair was dubbed 'Blobbygate' by the media^[20].

Personal life

Edmunds has been married twice. His second to Helen produced four daughters: Charlotte, Lorna, Olivia and Alice

After his second divorce, his took time out to stabalise his relationship with his daughters, before starting a relationship with French estate agent Marjan Simmons. They had dated for a year until summer 2006, when Edmunds ended it because she wanted to get serious. Simmons later went to the press, telling hos she she was left heart-broken after he dumped her, claiming she felt "discarded" by him after he battled back to the top of showbiz ^[21]

He is now dating English teacher and former Miss England Pauline Bull, who lives in Monanco close to his three million pound home in Magagnosc, near Grasse in the South of France ^[22]. As a result of his success on DOND, Edmunds has also 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.

Trivia

• Edmonds is a licensed helicopter pilot, and one of his early personal aircraft was registered G-NOEL^[23].
• He is president of the British Horse Society^[24].
• In 2006 Edmonds won FHM's beard of the year^{[citation needed]}.
• Edmonds is a devoted supporter of West Ham United F.C^{[citation needed]}.
• He was voted #26 in ITV's "TV's 50 Greatest Stars"^{[citation needed]}.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Noel Edmonds.

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