HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stuart Linnell
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
BAHons HonMA is a semi-retired UK radio and television broadcaster, particularly well known in
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
and
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, and in
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
. He is Chair of Healthwatch Coventry, and Chair of Coventry Community Digital Radio. After starting his career in his native Birmingham, he was part of the on-air team at the launch of Radio Hallam in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
in 1974. He was also a front-line presenter at the launch of Coventry and Warwickshire’s first local radio station,
Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
based
Mercia Sound la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
, in 1980. He worked at Mercia for 15 years, becoming Programme Controller and Managing Director. Later, he spent ten years as a frontline presenter at
BBC Radio Northampton BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street in Northampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
until 29 March 2019, when he hosted his final regular daily radio show, having announced that he was then taking semi-retirement. He continued to present weekly sports programmes in Coventry for BBC CWR, and until the restrictions imposed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic Linnell also hosted other occasional shows for both BBC Radio Northampton and BBC CWR. For the 2019/2020 football season, Linnell was the host of the Friday evening football phone-in on BBC CWR, where he had previously presented the Sky Blues match-day coverage, as well as other shows. In August 2021 he announced that he would no longer be part of BBC CWR’s football coverage. He continues to host a weekly programme for the online music station Serenade Radio (www.serenade-radio.com). During his career he also broadcast on national and regional television, and on national radio. He also hosted the breakfast shows on BBC WM and BBC CWR.


Early life and education

Stuart Linnell was born at Northfield in Birmingham on 22 January 1947. His parents were Captain Eric Linnell and Dorothy Linnell (née Swain). His paternal grandfather was Captain Charles Linnell MC MBE, President of the South African War Veteran's Association, who won the Military Cross at Passchendaele. Linnell attended Kings Heath High School and Kings Norton Grammar School for Boys (now Kings Norton Boys' School), both in Birmingham. He studied at Matthew Boulton Technical College and, later, at the Open University.


Career

After beginning his broadcasting as a volunteer contributor to the Birmingham Hospital Broadcasting Network (BHBN), Linnell started his professional broadcasting career at the then regional BBC centre at Pebble Mill with BBC Radio Birmingham in 1970. In 1974, he was recruited to the UK's developing commercial radio network with the launch of Radio Hallam in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
. He spent six years at Radio Hallam as sports editor, hosting all the station's main sports programmes and commentating on many major fixtures including football, cricket, boxing and speedway. He added snooker to that list when the World Professional Snooker Championship moved to a regular, annual venue at Sheffield’s
Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...
in 1977. He also presented other, non-sports, shows at Radio Hallam, and during his years in Sheffield, Linnell also appeared from time to time on the regional ITV station
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
. In 1980 Linnell was part of the launch team at Coventry's first local radio station
Mercia Sound la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
. He stayed at Mercia for 15 years, initially as Sports Editor hosting the station's sports programmes and commentating on various sporting fixtures. When the station started he was also presenter of the weekday afternoon show "
Afternoon Delight "Afternoon Delight" is a hit song recorded by Starland Vocal Band, known for its close harmony and sexually suggestive wordplay. It was written by Bill Danoff, one of the members of the band. "Afternoon Delight" charted well in New Zealand, pea ...
", before going on to be Mercia's Programme Controller and then Managing Director. As local commercial radio developed, Mercia became part of a group of radio stations across the Midlands, which saw Stuart's management role involve
BRMB Free Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands. As of September 2022, the station has a ...
in Birmingham,
RAM FM Ram FM was an Independent Local Radio station, which broadcast to central and southern parts of Derbyshire on 102.8 FM. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Leicester Sound to form Capital FM East Midlands (p ...
in Derby and
Leicester Sound Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's Capital FM Network) on Mo ...
. In 1995 he returned to the BBC to host radio and TV programmes in the Midlands, including the Breakfast Shows on BBC WM and, later, BBC CWR. Linnell then spent some years freelancing for radio and TV stations broadcasting to the UK and to Ireland, and he worked for a short time with the ill-fated commercial radio group Laser Broadcasting, before returning to front-line presenting on BBC local radio in 2009. He presented programmes for
BBC Radio Derby BBC Radio Derby is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Derbyshire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Helens Street in Derby. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audien ...
,
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 ...
,
BBC Hereford & Worcester BBC Hereford & Worcester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and online via BBC Sounds from studios on Hylton Road in Worcester. According to RAJ ...
, BBC CWR, and
BBC Radio Northampton BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street in Northampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
. After seven years hosting the weekday (Monday-Friday) Breakfast Show for
BBC Radio Northampton BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street in Northampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...
, Stuart moved to the station's Afternoon & Drive Time Show, also on weekdays. For many years he also hosted the matchday Sky Blues Live football show for BBC CWR for whom he also presented other programmes, including a period as host of the station’s faith-based Sunday Breakfast Show. For the 2019/2020 football season, he was the regular host of the BBC CWR Friday evening football phone-in show. On 29 March 2019, Linnell hosted his final regularly scheduled afternoon show in Northampton, having announced that he was stepping down from full-time, daily broadcasting. In August 2021 he decided that he would longer be involved with BBC CWR’s football coverage, declaring that he would now follow the game as a Coventry City FC season ticket holder. On television, he has presented the Saturday evening edition of
Midlands Today ''Midlands Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the West Midlands. It was launched in 1964 and is presented by Mary Rhodes, Nick Owen, Elizabeth Glinka, Rebecca Wood and Shefali Oza. Overview ''Midlands Today'' is produc ...
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 ...
, and the Sunday lunchtime TV programme 'The Midlands At Westminster' (the forerunner to
The Politics Show ''Politics Show'' is an hour-long BBC One television political programme which was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays between 2003 and 2011, broadcasting usually at midday. ''Politics Show'' was superseded by ''Sunday Politics'', a weeke ...
) which was on either BBC One or
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 ...
depending on the needs of the programme schedules. He has worked for the UK national radio stations BBC
Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
,
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (formerly BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, operated by the BBC, and specialising in extended live sports coverage. It is a sister station to BBC Radio 5 Live a ...
and TalkSport, and for the Irish national commercial station
Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a lic ...
. He has also been a reporter for the TV stations
Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...
and
Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
. In 2008, Linnell stepped down after two years as Chairman of the Coventry Branch of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. He is a former member of the Chamber's main board. In January 2019, he was appointed Chair of Healthwatch Coventry, whilst continuing to broadcast having become a presenter for the online radio station Serenade Radio in November 2020. In April 2022, Stuart was invited to be Chair of Coventry Community Digital Radio, a Community Interest Company formed to help local community radio stations in Coventry access Ofcom’s Small Scale DAB Multiplex licence for the city.


Honours and awards

Linnell was made MBE for services to broadcasting in 1995. He received his medal from Her Majesty the Queen at an investiture at
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
. He won three Sony
Radio Academy Awards The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...
– the most coveted awards in UK radio – one of them the Gold Award for the UK's best speech-based Breakfast Show (at BBC WM) in 1997, a category won the previous year by the BBC World Service and the following year by BBC Radio 5 Live. His BBC WM Breakfast Show won Silver and Gold Sony's in successive years (1996 and 1997). At the International Radio Festival of New York, Linnell received Gold and Bronze awards respectively for the programme formats of
Mercia Sound la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...
and
Leicester Sound Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's Capital FM Network) on Mo ...
. In 1999, he received an Honorary MA from
Coventry University , mottoeng = By Art and Industry , established = , type = Public , endowment = £28 million (2015) , budget = £787.5 million , chancellor = Margaret Casely-Hayford , vice_chancellor = John Latham , students = () , undergr ...
in recognition of his work as a broadcaster and for his services to the community in Coventry and
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
. At the end of 2007 he graduated with a BA Honours in Humanities with Literature after six years study with the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
. In 2010, his Sunday Breakfast Show on BBC CWR received a Merit Award in the
Sandford St Martin Trust The Sandford St Martin Trust is a United Kingdom-based religious charity. It was established in 1978 to promote excellence in religious broadcasting. Each year the Trust holds an awards ceremony for outstanding achievement in religious broadcastin ...
Religious Radio Awards for a series called "Dear God" in which listeners were invited to send in their messages to God, some of which were broadcast on air. They ranged from the upbeat to the loneliness of bereavement. The messages were pinned to a board displayed first at the radio station and later in
Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...
. Linnell's Sunday Breakfast Show was also a finalist in the 2012 Jerusalem Awards for its "Rev's Records" feature in which faith leaders, including the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
and the
Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield. The present ...
, chose some of their favourite music.


Healthwatch Coventry

In January 2019 Linnell took on the voluntary role of Chair of Healthwatch Coventry (www.healthwatchcoventry.co.uk ), regarded as the champion for health and social care in Coventry. He was appointed to the post for a three-year term, which was renewed in 2022 for a further three years.


Coventry Community Digital Radio

In April 2022 Stuart accepted an invitation to be Chair of the Community Interest Company, Coventry Community Digital Radio. The company successfully applied to
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
for the licence to run the Local Small Scale DAB Multiplex for Coventry.


Semi-retirement

In March 2019 Linnell announced that, after 50 years behind the mic, he was retiring from every day, every week, full-time broadcasting, but with the intention of hosting shows on a less frequent basis. He continued to appear from time to time hosting one-off shows on BBC Radio Northampton and on BBC CWR, and for the 2019/2020 football season, he was the host of the weekly, hour-long, Friday evening football phone-in show on BBC CWR. Because of the restrictions imposed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, he last appeared on BBC Radio Northampton in the Spring of 2020. Since March 2020 Linnell has been broadcasting from home, and appeared from time to time alongside BBC CWR Sports Editor Clive Eakin on CWR programmes featuring Coventry City F.C. In August 2021 he announced that he was stepping down from his work with BBC CWR. In November 2020, he joined the presentation team of the online easy listening music station Serenade Radio for whom he continues to host a show every weekend, which he presents from home.


Personal life

Stuart and his wife Sue live in Coventry with their two dogs. They have two sons and two granddaughters.


References




















External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Linnell, Stuart BBC people Living people British radio presenters British television presenters British television journalists Year of birth missing (living people)