Sam Nixon is an English singer and television presenter. He came third on the ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'' television series in 2003 and is now one half of the duo

Sam & Mark Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, known collectively as Sam & Mark, or simply Smark, are an English popular music and Television presenter, television presenting Musical ensemble, duo. They previously competed on Pop Idol (series 2), the second serie ...

, with the other being

Mark Rhodes Mark Thomas Rhodes (born 11 September 1981) is an English singer, actor and television presenter. Career Born in Wolverhampton, England, Rhodes finished in second place in the second series of ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom, runner-up to M ...

Early life

He was originally a catering student from

Barnsley College Barnsley College is a further education college just outside the town centre of Barnsley, England. It has several campuses, including the SciTech Digital Innovation Centre and The Electric Theatre. The college provides A Levels, apprenticeshi ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

. He attended Holgate School,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

from 1997 to 2002 and is still living in Barnsley.

Career

Television

Nixon's first television appearance was on popular children's game show ''

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fu ...

'' presented by

Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin, known professionally as Pat Sharp (born 25 October 1961), is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's ITV programme ''Fun House'', and his extensive ...

. Nixon and fellow contestant Rosie Feast didn't manage to answer the final question to win the grand prize. Nixon began a television presenting career, co-hosting ''

Top of the Pops Reloaded ''Top of the Pops Reloaded'' (''TOTP Reloaded''), is a weekly children's music show broadcast as part of the Saturday morning CBBC schedule on BBC Two. It was based on the show, ''Top of the Pops'', and was originally known as ''Top of the Pops ...

''. He then formed a presentational double-act on the BAFTA winning

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

show '' Level Up'', with

, from 3 April 2006 until 1 September 2006. He worked on the children's Saturday morning show, ''

TMi TMI may refer to: Organizations * TMI Associates, a Japanese law firm * TMI Episcopal, formerly Texas Military Institute, a preparatory school affiliated with the Episcopal Church * Taiwan Music Institute, a musical institute` in Taiwan * Teen ...

'', on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, which started on 17 September 2006. The series finished on 7 February 2007. Sam returned to television at the beginning of the Easter holidays 2007 in a show called ''

Do Something Different ''Do Something Different'' is a show produced and broadcast by CBBC. It was hosted by music duo Sam and Mark. The show aims to get one million children to try out new things; literally to "do something different", also referred in the programme ...

'' which he presents with Rhodes and Ayesha Asantewaa to attempt to get 1 million children to "try something new". Sam (along with Mark Rhodes) is the presenter of '' TMi Friday'' on the

CBBC Channel CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7– ...

. Sam and Mark are now hosting ''

Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up ''Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up'' (also called ''Sam & Mark's Big Wind-Up'' for repeat compilations featuring just the pranks and ''Sam & Mark's Big Christmas Wind-Up'' for Christmas specials) is a British children's entertainment series aired ...

'', which features mainly trivia, as well as playing a

prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

on families. Sam and Mark took part in two episodes of '' Hole in the Wall'' airing on 11 October 2008 and 14 November 2009 and were contestants on a celebrity version of TV show ''

Total Wipeout ''Total Wipeout'' is a British game show, hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram, which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challen ...

'' which aired on 2 January 2010. In 2012, Nixon took part in the seventh series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...

''. He was voted out of the show on 26 February 2012. In 2015, he participated in ''

Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...

'' on

BBC One 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, p ...

Music

Sam & Mark had a No. 1 UK chart hit with their cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

tune "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and sung by drummer Ringo Starr (as Sgt. Pe ...

". Their second single "The Sun Has Come Your Way" debuted in the UK top 40 at No. 19, but they were dropped from their record deal after this release. Nixon also performs in a band called Mason. Mason performed their first gig on 2 June 2007 at the "Burn down the Disco" night at The Arches in Barnsley, supported by local band

MUNICH Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, and also headlined a local mini music festival at

Darton Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927, increasing to 21,345 for both Darton War ...

, Barnsley a month later. They continue to perform local gigs as and when Sam's TV schedule allows.

Radio

Sam & Mark present a Sunday show on Midlands based radio station Free Radio.

Theatre

In 2019, Nixon appeared as Jack in Theatre Royal Wakefield’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk. In 2021, Nixon returned to perform at the Theatre Royal Wakefield in their version of Beauty and the Beast.

Filmography

;Television

''Pop Idol'' performances

*Top 50: "Walking in Memphis" by (

Marc Cohn Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song "Walking in Memphis" from his eponymous 1991 album, which was a Top 40 h ...

) *Wildcards: "Over My Shoulder" ( Mike + The Mechanics) *Top 12: "Handbags & Gladrags" (

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

) *Top 10: "True Colours" (

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

) *Top 8: "I Want Love" (

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

) *Top 7: "Blame It on the Boogie" (

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

) *Top 6: "With A Little Help From My Friends" (

) *Top 5: "Mr. Bojangles" (

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

) *Top 4: "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

) *Top 4: "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (

Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCartne ...

) *Top 3: "Always" (

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

) *Top 3: "Maggie May" (

)

Discography

Singles * "With a Little Help from My Friends" – Sam & Mark (March 2004) * "The Sun Has Come Your Way" – Sam & Mark (May 2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixon, Sam 1986 births Living people 21st-century British singers Musicians from Barnsley Pop Idol contestants Top of the Pops presenters