Nihal Arthanayake (born 1 June 1971) is a Sri Lankan radio and TV presenter who broadcasts on

BBC Radio 5 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 Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

Early life

Nihal Arthanayake was born on 1 June 1971, to

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, Sri Lankan parents. Nihal began his involvement in the music industry as a promoter of rap shows in his native Essex,Nihal Arthanayake - Musician, Broadcaster and DJ
British Council while he was studying at

Burnt Mill School Burnt Mill Academy (formerly known de facto as Burnt Mill School) is a secondary school academy and specialist performing arts college situated on First Avenue in Harlow, Essex, England. The school originally opened in May 1962 as Burnt Mil ...

, in

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the uppe ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

Music career

Performing

Nihal began a career as a rap recording artist performing as 'MC Krayzee A'. In 1988 he released the track 'Into The Music' on the British Hip Hop compilation 'Hard Core One' on BPM Records. In 1995, Nihal was a member of the group 'The Muddie Funksters' and released the 4-track EP 'Brown Like Muddie' on

Go! Discs Records Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sym ...

and the 7" flexi disc single 'I'm The M The B The S The T' for

Hip Hop Connection ''Hip Hop Connection'' (''HHC'') was the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. It was described by rapper Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world". History Under the editorship of Chris Hunt, the magazine p ...

Magazine. He was also briefly a member of

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confo ...

outfit

Collapsed Lung A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is ...

and worked with Fun Da Mental and Punjabi MC,

Badmarsh & Shri Badmarsh & Shri are an English electronic dance music duo from London. The pair consists of DJ Mohammed Akber Ali, aka Badmarsh, who was born in Yemen, and tabla player Shrikanth Sriram, aka Shri, who is from India. They have released two alb ...

Mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

Sona Family Sona Family is a London-based musical quartet. They have been said to sound "like The Black Eyed Peas infused with traditional Indian bhangra music". They combine urban music, hip hop, R&B and dancehall with their own upbringing as UK Desis. Head ...

and DJ Sanj.

Promotion

In the late 1990s Arthanayake turned to music promotion working for artists as diverse as

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian a ...

, Judge Jules,

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and Elton JohnNihal Arthanayake: How the multi-talented DJ rising to the top of mainstream radio
The Independent, 14 January 2008 and it was while working for the groundbreaking Asian Beats record label Outcaste Records he promoted, amongst others

's ''Signs'' album.

Writing

Arthanayake has worked as a freelance music journalist, writing for ''Asiana'', '' Eastern Eye'', '' The Face'', ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'', ''

'', ''Attitude'', ''Bear'' magazine, ''Cage And Aviary Birds'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''.

Radio career

Nihal at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Preston

Arthanayake joined BBC Radio 1 in 2002, to become co-host of a night time ''Asian Beats'' show with DJ

Bobby Friction Paramdeep Sehdev () (born 21 August 1971, in Hammersmith) better known as Bobby Friction, is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter from west London. Early life After studying Contemporary Arts at Nottingham Trent University, Friction's ...

coming under the specialist DJ category. The show won a

Sony Radio Award 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 ...

in 2003 - achieving Gold standard in the Specialist Music Category for their show ''Bobby Friction & Nihal Present''. At the end of 2004, they released a compilation album as a reflection of the music they play on the show. After an initial high-profile start, the show was rescheduled to the early morning 'graveyard' hours. Eventually Bobby Friction left the show, leaving the title as "Asian Beats with Nihal". In October 2007 Arthanayake became the presenter of the Weekend Breakfast Show on Radio 1; he was one of only two DJs to present both a mainstream and a specialist show on the channel, the other being Annie Mac. He also provided holiday cover for Radio 1 colleagues. In September 2008 he was moved from weekend breakfast to weekend afternoons 13.00-16.00 on Radio 1. On 21 September 2009, Arthanayake was moved from weekends to a brand-new review programme, named ''BBC Radio 1's Review With Nihal''. The weekly show reviews the latest music. He also became the sole presenter of the specialist Radio 1 ''Asian Beats'' show after Bobby Friction left. In May 2007, Arthanayake left ''Kicking Off...'' to become the host of the daily phone-in talk show from 09.00-12.00 on the Asian Network. In April 2009 his show moved to 13.00-15.00 as part of schedule changes. In late 2012 the show moved to 10.00-13.00. In 2010, he won "Best Radio Show" at the

UK Asian Music Awards The UK Asian Music Awards, also known by the abbreviation UK AMA, was an awards show that was held annually in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2012. The awards show has been produced and broadcast by B4U Music since 2008. Awards winners were dec ...

(UK AMAs) for his show on Radio 1, and a Sony Award for Best Speech Programme for his Asian Network show. In June 2014, it was announced that in September 2014, Arthanayake would leave BBC Radio 1. Until September 2016 Arthanayake had his own discussion programme concerned with societal and political topics at BBC Radio A (Asian Network) Channel
Nihal. Discussion and debate on the big issues.
In September 2016 Nihal joined

co-hosting the "Afternoon Edition" show with Sarah Brett. After Sarah Brett left the show it was renamed ''Nihal Arthanayake;'' it is broadcast Monday-Thursday 1pm-4pm.

Television

Nihal's TV appearances began in 1999 alongside

Emma B Emma Louise Boughton (born 27 November 1970), better known as Emma B, is a radio presenter in the UK. Early career Boughton's childhood was spent in Canada before she moved to Birmingham, England as a teenager. She graduated from the Univers ...

on BBC2's ''Webwise''.Nihal's Biography
BBC Radio One He also hosted his own rap show ''The Drop'' on

MTV Base MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital boutique of music ch ...

, and three hours of live TV every Saturday for digital television channel

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 ...

entitled '' The Saturday Show: Extra''. Nihal co-presented three series of BBC2's flagship

Asian music Asian music encompasses numerous musical styles originating in many Asian countries. Musical traditions in Asia * Music of Central Asia ** Music of Afghanistan (when included in the definition of Central Asia) ** Music of Kazakhstan ** Music ...

arts and culture show - ''

Desi DNA ''Desi DNA'' was a British television show on the BBC covering ''Desi'' (North Indian) art, culture and entertainment that launched in 2003. In 2004 ''Desi DNA'' received the Best Lifestyle Programme award from the Royal Television Society. Th ...

'' alongside Adil Ray and

Anita Rani Anita Rani Nazran (born 25 October 1977), better known as Anita Rani, is an English radio and television presenter. Early life Rani was born and brought up in Bradford, West Yorkshire to a Hindu father and a Sikh mother. In an episode of ...

since 2004 and he interviewed

Karsh Kale Karsh Kale (pronounced ''Kursh Kah-lay'', ''कर्ष काळे'' in Marathi; born 1 November 1974) is an Indian-American musician born in England. Known primarily for his experimental tabla playing within electronic music contexts, Kale ...

Padma Lakshmi Padma Parvati Lakshmi (; born September 1, 1970) is an Indian-born American author, activist, actress, model, philanthropist, and television host. She has hosted the cooking competition program ''Top Chef'' on Bravo continuously since season 2 ...

, Nerm, Outlandish and DJ Pathaan, as well as presenting special features on

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reache ...

, Ms Scandalous and Freeform Five. In November 2004, he presented a documentary for

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

entitled ''Where's Your F*****G Manners?''Why are you all so f*****g rude?
The Observer, 14 November 2004 In August 2005, he appeared on BBC2's ''Art School'', alongside celebrities

Ulrika Jonsson Eva Ulrika Jonsson (born 16 August 1967) is a Swedish-British television presenter and model. She became known as a TV-am weather presenter, moved on to present the ITV show ''Gladiators'', and as a team captain of the BBC Two show '' Shooting ...

and Keith Allen, to spend two weeks at the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

and learn about modern art. In 2010, Nihal appeared on BBC2's ''

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 ...

'', but was eliminated in the first round, after cooking a Thai chicken curry on rosti for the Invention Test. With inside knowledge of the music industry he is regularly asked to provide talking head commentary on various music and culture-related topics on programmes ranging from the

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, ''

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, t ...

'' and Channel 5's ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

'', to MTV Base's ''Hip Hop Candy'', and has appeared as a guest panellist on music comedy quiz ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...

'' and on BBC Four's '' We Need Answers''. In March 2021, Nihal appeared on ''

Richard Osman's House of Games ''Richard Osman's House of Games'' is a British quiz show produced by Banijay (owners of Endemol Shine UK), a branch of Remarkable Television for the BBC. The show is hosted by Richard Osman. It is played on a weekly basis, with four "celebri ...

'' on the BBC. In July/August 2021 he was part of the BBC’s coverage team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, broadcasting short explainers from Tokyo about how some of the less well-known sports work.

Club promotion

Following the success of the Radio 1 show, Arthanayake launched his own club night called ''Bombay Bronx'' in May 2004 as an opportunity to showcase his love of rap music - but with a distinctly Asian perspective. Since its creation, Bombay Bronx has seen some of the biggest artists on the 'Asian Beats' scene perform live, such as

Swami Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eit ...

Raghav Raghav Mathur (born April 2, 1981), known professionally as Raghav, is a Canadian singer. He has released three studio albums: the debut '' Storyteller'' in 2004, ''Identity'' in 2009, and '' The Phoenix'' in 2012. His most known commercial succe ...

, Belgian Ben, Skiddy McGee and Mentor Kolektiv, as well as giving a platform for unsigned artists such as Sunit, Raxtstar and Serese. As well as DJ-ing at a variety of events up and down the country, Nihal has DJ-ed the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

, Glastonbury Festival and

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...

in the UK. Internationally, he has performed in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Sri Lanka, Switzerland,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and toured the U.S. with

and

Other projects

In 2005, Nihal and former colleague Bobby Friction represented London as members of a team of cultural ambassadors during the successful 2012 Summer Olympics London bid. He is the voiceover for the ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...

'' album. Nihal also appeared on the BBC Radio 5 Live show ''

Fighting Talk ''Fighting Talk'' is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is based on a similar format to the ESPN show '' Around ...

'' on 1 May 2010 alongside Tom Watt,

John Rawling John Rawling is a British boxing, track and field, darts and yachting commentator, currently working for BT Sport, ITV and Talksport. He has become known as one of the best known voices of boxing commentary. With BT, John commentates alongside ...

and

Kevin Bridges Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series '' Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?'' was based on his stand-up routines. He has appeared on many television panel shows including '' Would ...

. Here he showed his support for north London football club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. Additionally, Nihal was responsible for the music accompanying the London New Year's Eve fireworks display for 2011 and 2012.

Personal life

Arthanayake used to live in the Westbourne Park area of London. He moved to

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 ...

in 2016 when he joined BBC Five Live. He lives there with his wife and two children, one son and one daughter. He gained a BA degree (2:1) from 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 History and English Literature. Arthanayake is a lifelong fan of

References

External links

''Nihal Arthanayake''
(BBC Radio 5 Live) * *
Nihal's Exclusive Interview
Destitunes4U
Keeping the BBC Asian Network national
guardian.co.uk, 3 March 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthanayake, Nihal 1971 births BBC Asian Network presenters British radio DJs English Buddhists English people of Sri Lankan descent English television presenters Living people People from Harlow 2012 Summer Olympics cultural ambassadors BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters BBC Radio 5 Live presenters