Bill Buckley (born 8 January 1959) is a radio and television presenter and former actor. For three years, he was a co-presenter of BBC Television's consumer affairs programme ''
That's Life!
''That's Life!'' was a satirical TV consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving 10–15,000 letters a week.
The series broadcast on BBC1 for twenty-one years, ...
''. He currently presents on
BBC Radio Berkshire
BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds studios at Thames Valley Park near Reading.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audie ...
and has presented shows on
BBC Radio Solent
BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.
According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
,
BBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio was a BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of north-east Hampshire. It was the first BBC local radio station to introduce an all-speech format. ...
,
BBC Radio Devon
BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...
,
BBC Radio Oxford
BBC Radio Oxford is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Oxfordshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Summertown area of Oxford.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audien ...
, London talk radio station
LBC 97.3
LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed Commercial broadca ...
,
BBC London 94.9
BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...
and numerous others.
Early life
Bill Buckley was born in
Burton-upon-Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...
in
East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns: Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter.
Villages in the area include Abbots Bromley, Stretton, Tutbury, Barton-under-Needwood, ...
on 8 January 1959.
Career
Buckley's broadcasting career began in 1982. While working as a newspaper reporter in his native West Midlands, he was chosen from thousands of hopefuls to present the consumer programme ''
That's Life!
''That's Life!'' was a satirical TV consumer affairs programme on the BBC, at its height regularly reaching audiences of fifteen to twenty million, and receiving 10–15,000 letters a week.
The series broadcast on BBC1 for twenty-one years, ...
'' on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
alongside
Esther Rantzen
Dame Esther Louise Rantzen (born 22 June 1940) is an English journalist and television presenter, who presented the BBC television series ''That's Life!'' for 21 years, from 1973 until 1994. She works with various charitable causes, and foun ...
. His mother had entered him for the job without his knowing.
After three years, he left ''That's Life!'' to become a reporter for the BBC's ''
Holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
'' programme, and spent the next six years travelling the world. Other TV appearances include ''
Call My Bluff
''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir.
Format
The ga ...
'', ''
Blankety Blank
''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which started in 1979 and is still running today, albeit with some sizeable gaps.
The original series ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC1, hosted first by Terry Wogan from 1979 un ...
'', ''
All Star Secrets
''All Star Secrets'' is an NBC daytime game show that aired from January 8 to August 10, 1979. A Hill-Eubanks Production, the show was hosted by co-creator Bob Eubanks and announced first by Charlie O'Donnell, but due to conflicts with his anno ...
'', ''
Songs of Praise
''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK.
The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...
'', ''
Children in Need'', and a variety of regional work in the south for
Meridian Television
ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at 12:00 am on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...
on subjects as diverse as consumer affairs, politics and amateur film-making.
From 1989, he has also presented daily radio shows for numerous commercial and BBC stations in the South, the Midlands, London,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, and
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
.
Buckley's acting experience includes playing Joseph in ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Th ...
'' at
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...
. He also toured in the black comedy ''Widow's Weeds'', and starred in numerous pantomimes, playing King in
Jack and the Beanstalk
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...
at the Theatre Royal,
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
. He was also an extra in the Birmingham-based soap opera ''
Crossroads
Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to:
* Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet
Film and television Films
* ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa
* ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
''. On hearing of the sacking of one of the programme's leading cast members,
Noele Gordon
Joan Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 – 14 April 1985) was an English actress and television presenter. She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson) in the long-running British soap opera '' Crossroads'' from 1964 to 1981, wit ...
, Buckley led a campaign outside the studios of ''Crossroads'' producer
ATV in Birmingham, demanding her reinstatement, and performed a protest song entitled "Meg is Magic".
The song, which was composed by Buckley, was soon launched as a record. He also provided the words and music for
Su Pollard
Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beec ...
's number two hit single "Starting Together", which was the signature tune for the BBC Television documentary ''The Marriage'' in 1986.
Pollard's album, ''Su'', released the same year, featured another Buckley composition, "Falling For You".
Beginning at the television channel's launch in 1997, Buckley was for five-and-a-half years senior continuity announcer for
Channel 5. He became well known for his commentary over the closing credits of the channel's late-night/early-morning run of ''
Prisoner: Cell Block H'', on which he read out viewers' letters and made comments about the episode just broadcast.
Buckley regularly reviews the national press on ''
BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
'', the
BBC News Channel
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
and
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...
.
Radio career
Buckley began his radio career presenting and producing the lunchtime show on
BBC Radio Solent
BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.
According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in 1989. He was poached by the new, commercial rival
South Coast Radio
South Coast Radio was a commercial radio station which broadcast on Medium Wave on the South Coast of England between 1991 and 1998.
History
With a music policy described as "''Nice & Easy''", it was the sister station to Heart Sussex, Souther ...
in 1991. The first of his two stints at London's
LBC
LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...
followed in 1994. Buckley has presented various programmes on
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations.
History
The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
, including many overnight shows on BBC Radio London 94.9FM. Over Christmas and New Year 2009–10, Buckley filled in on
BBC Radio London
BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...
and BBC Radios
Solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...
,
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, Kent, Berkshire and Oxford.
He presented the lunchtime show on
BBC Radio Leicester
BBC Radio Leicester is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland.
It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at ...
, weekdays noon to 2 pm, from 15 March 2010 until 17 September 2010. From January 2011 until September 2011, he was the host of BBC Berkshire's lunchtime slot show. Buckley was also
BBC London 94.9
BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...
's food and drink correspondent, guesting every Wednesday night on ''The Late Show with Joanne Good'' until early 2011. Until May 2013, Buckley presented his own Sunday show on
BBC Radio Oxford
BBC Radio Oxford is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Oxfordshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Summertown area of Oxford.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audien ...
from 12 pm till 2 pm, solving listeners' gardening problems, and talking about the best food and drink in Oxfordshire.
Buckley presented full-time on
BBC Radio Devon
BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...
based in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
until moving back to present the 1 pm till 4 pm slot on
BBC Radio Berkshire
BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds studios at Thames Valley Park near Reading.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audie ...
in April 2016.
LBC
Buckley filled in for many of LBC 97.3's presenters for several years, and also regularly hosted a weekend night-time slot. In May 2007 his show shifted to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 1 am until 5 am. Buckley began presenting LBC's Sunday afternoon ''Food and Drink'' programme in January 2008.
Buckley announced that he was stepping down from the overnight show from early September 2009 due to the unsociable hours, but intended to continue his Sunday food and drink programme. He presented what was scheduled to be his penultimate programme in the morning of Tuesday 8 September, with the intention of presenting his final programme the following morning. However, his photograph was removed from station's website on Tuesday, and it was announced that the overnight slot would be presented by someone else. His name was also removed from the ''Food and Drink'' show's description.
Cookery
In September 2005, Buckley appeared on, and won, ''
Come Dine with Me''. He previously cooked on the
Carlton Food Network
Carlton Food Network (later known as Taste CFN from May 2001) was a British pay television digital terrestrial channel, owned by Carlton Television. It launched at midday on 1 September 1996 and closed on 1 December 2001. It was part of a grou ...
and, live, on Channel 5 on ''Open House with
Gloria Hunniford
Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regular appear ...
''. Buckley has also appeared as a judge on three series of
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
's ''
Britain's Best Dish
''Britain's Best Dish'' is a British daytime cookery show part of the ITV Food category on ITV and hosted by Mary Nightingale. Amateur cooks from around the UK compete to cook "Britain's Best Dish" and a prize of £10,000. The judges were Ed B ...
'' and
UKTV Food
Good Food was a cookery channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, latterly as part of the Discovery, Inc. network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its final format on 22 June 2009 ...
's The People's Cookbook with
Antony Worrall Thompson
Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson (born 1 May 1951) is an English restaurateur and celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.
Early life
Worrall Thompson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His parents, Michae ...
and
Paul Rankin
Paul Rankin (born 1 October 1959 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a celebrity chef from Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland. Rankin's parents moved back to Ballywalter, where he grew up, some time after he was born. This was stated when he was t ...
. He has been food editor of BBC Southern Counties magazine and was elected to the prestigious Guild of Food Writers. In 2008, Buckley replaced
Loyd Grossman
Loyd Daniel Gilman Grossman (born 16 September 1950) is an American-British author, broadcaster and cultural campaigner who has mainly worked in the United Kingdom. He is well known for presenting the BBC programme ''MasterChef'' from 1990 to 20 ...
on ''Ten Minutes to Table'', co-presenting with Xanthe Clay, for Telegraph TV. He has judged the Academy of Chocolate Awards, Great Taste Awards and World Cheese Awards. Buckley is a restaurant reviewer for View London.
Personal life
Buckley is openly gay, and entered into a civil partnership in August 2011. In a radio interview with BBC Radio Berkshire's
Anne Diamond
Anne Margaret Diamond (born 8 September 1954) is a British journalist and broadcaster. She presently hosts the weekend breakfast show on GB News with Stephen Dixon as her co-presenter. She hosted '' Good Morning Britain'' for TV-am and ''Good ...
on 12 August of that year, he talked about how he came out to his parents, how they reacted and how he attempted suicide. Buckley is also a member of
Mensa.
References
External links
*
Bill Buckley's BlogBill Buckley's voiceover agent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Bill
1959 births
People educated at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School
Living people
English radio presenters
Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands
British LGBT broadcasters
English gay actors
English LGBT actors
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people