Paul Dominik Diamond (born 31 December 1969) is a Scottish television and radio presenter and newspaper columnist. He is best known as the original presenter of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

video gaming Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback m ...

programme '' GamesMaster'', as host of ''The Dominik Diamond Breakfast Show'' on

XFM Scotland Nation Radio Scotland (formerly ''XFM Scotland (2014), 96.3 Rock Radio'' ''Real XS,'' ''Q96'' and ''96.3QFM'') is a Scottish independent local radio station for Renfrewshire, Glasgow and West Central Scotland, owned by Nation Broadcasting. ...

and as a columnist for the '' Daily Star''. After moving to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 2009 he has hosted radio shows for stations in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, where he was host of the Morning Show on

Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs. Format characteristics Stations ...

from 2015 to 2018.

Early life

Born in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

, Scotland, Diamond attended

Strathallan School Strathallan School is an independent boarding and day school in Scotland for boys and girls aged 7–18. The school has a campus at Forgandenny, a few miles south of Perth. School roll The school has 73 full-time staff, and 18 part-time staff ...

Forgandenny Forgandenny (Scottish Gaelic ''Forgrann Eithne'', 'Over-Bog of Eithne' n ancient female Gaelic name is a small village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, located four miles south of Perth, Scotland, Perth. Perth is a 20-minute bus ride from Forg ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. He then went on to study drama at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, where he was a contemporary of

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...

and

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...

. Diamond, Walliams and Pegg were part of a comedy troupe called "David Icke and The Orphans of Jesus". Walliams and Diamond fell out after Walliams appeared as a guest on Diamond and his friend (and GamesMaster commentator) Kirk Ewing's

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

show "Dom'n'Kirk's Night O Plenty" - after which Diamond said that Walliams and co-''Little Britain'' star

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'' (2003–2006, 2020) and '' Come Fl ...

were "complete arseholes" on the show. In a 2007 interview Diamond said that he had not spoken to Walliams since, whom he described as both a "comic genius" and a "twat."

Television and publications

Diamond's biggest role on television came presenting 6 series of

computer and video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback ...

show '' GamesMaster'', which ran from 1992 to 1998. Diamond did not present the show's third series, following disagreements with the show's creators about Diamond's desire to pursue business opportunities outside ''GamesMaster'' and the appointment of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

as the show's sponsor. He went on to present the short-lived

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

panel show ''Caledonia McBrains'' in 2002. In 2006, Diamond filmed a

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

documentary, ''Crucify Me''. During filming, he took part in the annual Holy Week re-enactment of the crucifixion at San Pedro Cutud in the Philippines. However, he backed down at the last minute, breaking into tears. He also has appeared on the

Discovery Real Time Discovery Real Time was a British television channel owned by Discovery Networks UK focused on educational and learning content. History It was originally launched on 9 March 1992 as The Learning Channel, United Kingdom's version of the Ameri ...

programme, ''Rubble Trouble'', which charts the development of his house extension. While residing in

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 ...

from 2002 to 2004, he trained and worked as a bus driver with the local transport company Brighton and Hove Bus Company, recording his thoughts and feelings for a documentary to be shown on UK television Channel 5. Similarly to Diamond, many celebrities have worked for Brighton and Hove Bus Company, some of which are named on the front of the city's buses. Diamond's autobiography, ''Celtic & Me: Confessions From The Jungle'', was published in the UK by Black & White Publishing in August 2010. The book is a combination of media memoir and the story of Diamond's life as a fan of Celtic Football Club. In 2015, he became one of 44 financial backers for the short film '' Autumn Never Dies''.

Radio

Diamond launched XFM Scotland with ''The Dominik Diamond Breakfast Show'' on

in January 2006. On 27 June 2007, RadioToday.co.uk announced that Diamond had joined

Talk 107 talk107 was a radio station based in Edinburgh, Scotland, broadcasting a phone-in based talk format. It was the UK's first local commercial talk licence to be awarded outside London and was the only station of its kind in Scotland. It was owned ...

to cover a number of programmes over the summer months. From 13 October 2007 Diamond presented the Dominik Diamond Breakfast Club on

. In January 2008 Dominik took over Talk 107 Drive with Marisa de Andrade. In April 2008, following a station revamp, the show became known as ''Diamond and de Andrade''. Diamond left Talk 107; the station closed in December 2008. He hosted The Dominik Diamond Show Mon–Fri 6–11pm on Q107 in Toronto. After a stint hosting on new music station Radio 96.5 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Diamond returned to the Toronto market in March 2014, replacing

Dean Blundell Dean Blundell is a former Canadian radio personality. Best known as a longtime "shock jock" morning host on CFNY-FM (The Edge) in Toronto, Ontario,

as host of the morning show on 102.1 The Edge. From September 2015 to November 2018 he was the Morning Show host on 96.9

in Calgary. In April 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, Dominik started a live-stream channel on Twitch.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Dominik 1969 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bristol British radio DJs Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish television presenters Scottish radio presenters People from Arbroath People educated at Strathallan School Canadian radio hosts