Dominic Littlewood (born 29 March 1965), known as Dom Littlewood, is a British journalist and television presenter who specialises in

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

. He is best known for his roles with BBC and Channel 5, presenting programmes such as '' Fake Britain'', ''Cowboy Builders'', '' Saints and Scroungers'' and '' Don't Get Done, Get Dom''.

Early life and work

Littlewood was born on 29 March 1965 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He is one of four children of an air traffic controller father and teacher mother; despite his parents' second jobs, the family were not wealthy, but with his parents' encouragement Littlewood's early entrepreneurial endeavours were successful, buying his first flat in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex aged 20. His first job was as part of an on-board team repairing Thames sailing barges; when the company relocated from

Maldon, Essex Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced ...

to France, he started a City and Guilds apprenticeship in motor engineering. Dom is diabetic, having been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as a child.

Television career

Littlewood was first seen on TV as a contestant on the BBC dating show '' The Other Half''. In 2001, Littlewood, at the time in charge of Network Cars in Leigh, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, appeared on ''Faking It'', helping Somerset vicar Nigel Done succeed as a car salesman. In 2005 Littlewood presented a show called ''

Beat the Burglar ''Beat the Burglar'' is a BBC television programme that uses ex-professional burglar Mike Fraser to break into people's homes with their permission to show how vulnerable they can be. Forensic teams then harvest the evidence for analysis by exper ...

'' to protect homeowners. He employed the services of an ex-burglar who highlighted people's homes to show their lack of security and show them how it feels to have your home ransacked and personal possessions stolen. Dominic watched the break-in on a monitor along with the homeowners and at the end of the show he arranged for experts to come in and rectify all of the security flaws pointed out by the ex-con. In 2007, Littlewood took part in the BBC One's ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''. Since 2010, he has co-presented ''Cowboy Builders'' on Channel 5. His most notable episode was based around a student house in Headingley, Leeds, where Dominic Stewart's house was completed to a shoddy standard. From 2010 to 2012, he presented '' Fake Britain'' on the BBC, but was replaced by

Matt Allwright Matthew Allwright (born 14 April 1970) is an English television presenter, journalist, and musician. He has presented shows such as ''Watchdog'', ''Rogue Traders'', ''Food Inspectors, The Code'', ''Fake Britain'' and ''The One Show'' for BBC On ...

: he returned to the show in 2017. In 2012, Littlewood presented the Postcode Lottery draws on Channel 5. Beginning on 27 January 2015, Littlewood hosted a three-part series on ITV called ''Bad Builders: Bang to Rights.'' Since 2016 he has presented ''

Dom on the Spot ''Dom on the Spot'' was a British factual documentary series hosted by Dom Littlewood produced by Twofour for BBC One about fixed penalty notices, also known as ''on the spot fines''. The series began on 5 September 2016, and a second series ...

'' on BBC One. He has appeared in other television shows including ''

To Buy or Not to Buy ''To Buy or Not to Buy'' is a British reality television series made between 2003 and 2010 for BBC One in the UK. The final series was the eleventh and contained 90 episodes, in one of two formats—either 30 or 45 minutes in length. It aired on ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' The One Show''. In 2020, Littlewood appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Masterchef.

Other work

Littlewood contributes to the '' Top Gear Magazine'' and has written pieces for the Motoring section of '' The Daily Telegraph''. Dominic is also an expert on used

Nissan Qashqai The Nissan Qashqai () is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) developed and produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan since 2006. The first generation of the vehicle was sold under the name in Japan and Australia, and Qashqai in other marke ...

s and Jukes, and can frequently be found on Twitter advising would-be owners what to look out for in order to avoid any unwanted “lemons”.

Filmography

;Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littlewood, Dominic 1965 births Living people English television presenters People from Southend-on-Sea People with type 1 diabetes