Noel Edmonds
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Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
in the UK. He has presented various radio shows and light-entertainment television programmes across 50 years, originally working for the BBC, later
Sky UK Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
and
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 ...
. His television work includes ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' (1972–1978), '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' (1976–1982), ''Top Gear'' (1979–1980), '' The Late, Late Breakfast Show'' (1982–1986), '' Telly Addicts'' (1985–1998), '' The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow'' (1988–1990), '' Noel's House Party'' (1991–2000), and ''
Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a.k ...
'' (2005–2016).


Early life

Edmonds was born in Ilford, Essex, the son of Dudley Edmonds, a headmaster who worked in Hainault, London, and Lydia Edmonds, an art teacher. He attended Glade Primary School in Clayhall and Brentwood School in
Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the p ...
.Rachel Cooke, The Observer
Noel Edmonds talks to Rachel Cooke
29 January 2006
He was offered a place at the
University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institu ...
but turned it down to focus on his radio career.


Radio career

Edmonds began working as a newsreader on Radio Luxembourg, which was offered to him in 1968 after he sent tapes to
offshore radio Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures. Offshore broadcasters are usually unlicensed but transmissions are legal in international waters. This is in contrast to unlicensed broadcasting on land or within a na ...
stations. In 1969, Edmonds moved to
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
, where he began by recording trailers for broadcasts and filling in for absent DJs, such as
Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...
. In April 1970, he began his own two-hour Saturday-afternoon programme, broadcasting from 1pm to 3pm, before replacing Everett on Saturdays from 10a.m. to noon in July that year. In October 1971, he was moved to a Sunday slot from 10a.m. to noon before being promoted to host '' The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'' from Monday 4 June 1973 to Friday 28 April 1978, taking over from
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC ...
. Edmonds moved to Sunday mornings and middays, from 10a.m. to 1p.m., in 1978 and also presented ''Talkabout'', an hour-long talk show broadcast on Thursday evenings. Edmonds left Radio 1 in March 1983. Edmonds made two brief returns to Radio 1. Firstly in 1985 when he sat in for Mike Read when he was hosting the breakfast show, and again in 1992 to celebrate Radio 1's 25th Birthday. In 2003, Edmonds made a brief radio comeback, taking over the '
drivetime DriveTime Automotive Group Inc. is an American used car retailer and finance company. It is based in Tempe, Arizona, and sells and finances cars to customers around the nation. The company was formerly known as Ugly Duckling and was renamed Dr ...
' broadcast on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
for eight weeks while Johnnie Walker was treated for cancer. His stint on Radio 2 lasted from 4 August until 3 October. In December 2004, Edmonds played a detective on a radio murder mystery play on local station BBC Radio Devon.


Television career

Edmonds hosted ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' at various points between 1972 and 1978, during which time he also presented a phone-in programme for teenagers called ''Z Shed'' on
BBC1 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, ...
as well as a programme called ''Hobby Horse''. He hosted the children's Saturday-morning programme '' Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'', which ran from 1976 to 1982. With fellow ''Swap Shop'' regulars Maggie Philbin and Keith Chegwin, Edmonds was a member of the trio Brown Sauce, which recorded the single "I Wanna Be a Winner" in 1981. It reached number 15 in the UK singles chart. In 1980, Edmonds took part in the ''
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
'', introducing the UK entry live on stage at the final in
the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. During ''Swap Shop'''s run Edmonds hosted ''Lucky Numbers'', a Saturday evening phone-in quiz programme which required viewers to call in and answer questions based on clips of films shown, and a revival of the 1960s pop music series '' Juke Box Jury''. Edmonds was one of the original presenters of the BBC's motoring series '' Top Gear'' during the late 1970s. During his time on the programme he mocked the
Fiat Strada The Fiat Strada is a supermini coupé utility produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat since 1998. It is based on Fiat's world car "project 178", the Palio. It is produced by Fiat Automóveis in Brazil, and has been marketed worldwide, exclud ...
, saying it "wasn't very good", which caused
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...
to threaten to sue the BBC unless he apologised for the comments. Edmonds reappeared in one episode of ''Top Gear'' in the 1990s, to road test the classic 1960s
Ford GT40 The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car commissioned by the Ford Motor Company. It grew out of the "Ford GT" (for Grand Touring) project, an effort to compete in European long-distance sports car races, against Ferrari, which ...
supercar, of which he owned 2, because the then-current host
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
– at tall – was unable to fit into the cockpit. In 1997 Clarkson was one of Edmonds' star team for the 1997 Le Mans race which was featured in ''Noel's Le Mans Dream'', a 2 part documentary for BBC 2. In the 1980s Edmonds hosted a series on BBC1 called ''The Time of Your Life'', in which celebrities recalled the time they were at their happiest professionally. It ran for three series from 1983.


''The Late Late Breakfast Show''

''The Late Late Breakfast Show'' was Edmonds' first Saturday-evening light-entertainment show on the BBC. Presented by Edmonds live on Saturday evenings from 4 September 1982 to 8 November 1986, initially with co-host Leni Harper. It also featured Mike Smith and
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
. The programme is remembered for several accidents during its regular "Give it a Whirl" stunt slot; in particular the death of Michael Lush. The show was cancelled by the BBC on 15 November 1986, following the death of Lush two days earlier. While rehearsing a bungee jump to be performed live on the show, Michael Lush plunged to his death when his rope came loose. Edmonds resigned from the BBC immediately afterwards.


''The Noel Edmonds Show''

In June 1986, Edmonds hosted ''The Noel Edmonds Show'' on the ABC network in the United States. The series was a one-week trial late-night talk show, following ''
Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the prog ...
''.


''Telly Addicts''

''Telly Addicts'' was a BBC1 game show hosted by Edmonds, who also owned the format. Telly Addicts broadcast for 13 years from 3 September 1985 until 29 July 1998. Questions were based on past and present television programmes, and generally took the form of a short clip being shown followed by a series of questions either specifically about the clip or more generally about the programme from which it had been taken. Two teams sat opposite each other on sofas. In 1991 he presented a prime time series called ''Noel's Addicts'', but this show had no similarity to the ''Telly Addicts'' format and only ran for one series.


''Noel's Saturday Roadshow''

''Noel's Saturday Roadshow'' was Noel's second BBC television light entertainment show, broadcast live on Saturday evenings from 3 September 1988 to 15 December 1990. Presented by Edmonds, it was his first major TV project since the demise of ''The Late, Late Breakfast Show'' two years earlier. The programme contained several elements found in its predecessor, such as phone-in quizzes, celebrity interviews and bands performing in the studio. The premise for the new show was that unlike ''The Late Late Breakfast Show'', which had been broadcast from the BBC's studios each week, the Roadshow would come from a new, different and exotic location each week. These 'locations' were in fact elaborate studio sets dressed to resemble each week's location, such as the North Pole, a space station, Hollywood,
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...
. The irony of this was not lost on Edmonds, whose self-deprecating presentation style frequently made light of the low-budget production values. The programme was a slow-burning success and, following the third series in 1990, Edmonds' popularity and reputation were sufficiently re-established with the public for Edmonds to pitch his idea for ''Noel's House Party'' to the BBC. The show introduced regular features such as the Gunge Tank, the Gotcha Oscars and Wait 'Til I Get You Home, which would all be carried across and subsequently developed in ''House Party''. Another item was "Clown court", in which a guest actor from a TV series would be on trial for all the bloopers made during the shooting of that show, for example Sylvester McCoy for the title role of ''Doctor Who'', and Tony Robinson for his character of Baldrick in '' Blackadder the Third''.


''Noel's House Party''

By 1991, the ''Saturday Roadshow'' morphed into ''Noel's House Party'', which ran for eight years, from Edmonds' mansion in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom. Regular features included NTV, in which cameras were secretly hidden in viewer's homes, often in VHS tape cases. There was also the "Gotchas", with celebrities caught in elaborate and embarrassing set-up situations. In one incident NTV's hidden cameras caught celebrity psychic Uri Geller apparently bending a spoon with his hands while demonstrating his "powers" to a member of the public. When then-Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis was "Gotcha'd" live on Radio 1, he infamously yelled "Edmonds, you are a dead man!" He later participated when Edmonds himself was "Gotcha'd". Mr Blobby, a pink and yellow spotted character, initially appeared in the "Gotcha" section, and became a regular feature of the programme. The character even achieved the 1993 Christmas No. 1. ''Noel's House Party'' was a staple of BBC1's autumn and spring schedules throughout the 1990s. The show regularly attracted audiences of over 15 million but along with the general decline in the traditional Saturday night ratings by the time it ended it was pulling in less than 8 million. In the final programme, broadcast on 20 March 1999, Edmonds signed off with thanks to the audience and the wish that history would be kind to the programme.


''Deal or No Deal''

In 2005, Edmonds was persuaded back to TV presentation by Peter Bazalgette, then CEO of
Endemol Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...
, who were experiencing great success with their new game show format of ''
Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a.k ...
''. Edmonds initially declined the approach, citing that he was concentrating on business interests, but eventually agreed to host a short run of 66 shows. The programme was initially recorded in a former paintworks in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
but later moved to a dedicated studio in Whitchurch. ''Deal or No Deal'' began UK transmission on Monday 31 October 2005, and was broadcast on afternoons six days a week. In March 2006 Edmonds had his contract for presenting ''Deal or No Deal'' extended until autumn 2007, for a fee rumoured to be £3 million, making him one of the highest-paid personalities on UK television. In 2006, Edmonds was nominated for a
BAFTA Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
for his work on the programme but lost out on the night to
Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...
. On 16 March 2007, Edmonds made a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate who appeared in the guise of her character Joanie "Nan" Taylor from '' The Catherine Tate Show''. Nan appeared on a special episode of ''Deal or No Deal'', where she ended up cheating. The sketch was made for the BBC Red Nose Day fundraising programme of 2007. On 27 September 2015, Edmonds received an award from the Atlantic Award Group for his extensive contributions to broadcasting. The selection process was initiated by a nomination by a viewer of ''Deal or No Deal''. Edmonds was the first TV personality to receive an award from the AAG and was also the first recipient from the UK in 2015. ''Deal or No Deal'' ran for over 10 years and almost 3,000 shows were recorded. In the summer of 2016 by mutual agreement Edmonds and
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 ...
agreed to end the show. In celebration of one of UK TV's longest and most popular gameshow runs, the final shows were recorded on location. Games were filmed on a
Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
, the Flying Scotsman, atop the
Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...
and down a cave in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
. Fittingly the final show filmed in Glasgow produced the 9th and last winner of the top prize of £250,000.


''The National Lottery: Everyone's A Winner!''

On 21 August 2006 it was announced that Edmonds would be returning to the BBC to host a one-off programme called ''Everyone's A Winner!'' celebrating National Lottery "good causes". The programme was broadcast on 23 September 2006. Edmonds had in fact presented the very first National Lottery in 1994 before handing over to Anthea Turner and Gordon Kennedy.


''Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old?''

On 24 May 2007,
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
announced that Edmonds would host the UK version of the American hit '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'', titled ''Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?''. The programme made its debut on Sky One on 7 October 2007. Edmonds hosted the peak-time showing of the programme, with the daily programme being presented by
Dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...
and Dom.


''Noel's HQ''

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
's autumn 2008 season saw Edmonds host ''Noel's HQ'', a new live entertainment show with a philanthropic purpose, his fees going to a charitable trust. This was later developed into a series. The show received a negative review from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''. Sky edited a repeat broadcast after Edmonds launched an extended verbal attack on a council press officer. In March 2009, Sky1 announced the cancellation of the show.


''Cheap Cheap Cheap''

In 2017, Edmonds presented ''
Cheap Cheap Cheap ''Cheap Cheap Cheap'' was a British television game show produced by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4, presented and created by Noel Edmonds. Billed as "a game show that thinks it's a sitcom", the show takes place in a fictional general stor ...
'', a cross between a sitcom and a game show. Edmonds came up with the concept, produced by
Hat Trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
and Channel 4 commissioned 30-hour-long episodes. The action took place in 'Noel's Store' and according to the ''Radio Times'', "contestants are presented with three similar items – be it laundry detergent, noodles, baked beans, coffins, live poultry or lottery tickets – and must identify the cheapest one of the three in order to win money." A cast of actors play workers at the store. Stuart Heritage of ''The Guardian'' said that "It's like watching a weird piece of existential Lithuanian amateur community theatre ..It's the worst idea in the world, stretched out for all eternity". ''The Daily Telegraph''s Ed Power described it as "naff, tacky and numbingly dull" and "mind-bendingly outlandish".


Other television appearances

Edmonds was involved in the
Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
concerts in 1985, transporting stars to and from the
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
concert via helicopter and appearing on stage at Wembley to introduce the joint set by
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
and
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
. Edmonds also took Collins to
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
, where Collins boarded
Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
to fly to the United States to perform at the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
concert. '' Noel's Christmas Presents'' was an annual broadcast in which Edmonds delivered special presents to special people. Some of the gifts included arranging trips to Lapland for ill or disadvantaged children, or arranging family reunions. ''Noel's Christmas Presents'' was originally broadcast 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, ...
on Christmas Day from 1989 until 1999 (except 1992), before it returned to UK screens courtesy of
Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
on 23 December 2007. Further editions were screened on 21 December 2008, 20 December 2009, 18 December 2010 and 18 December 2011. Edmonds presented "Noel's Addicts" in Spring 1992. He was visited by
Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...
as the
Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord fr ...
in 1993 in the introduction of the 30-year ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' anniversary Children in Need special
Dimensions in Time ''Dimensions in Time'' is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and the soap opera '' EastEnders'' that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on location at Greenwi ...
, during which the Doctor mentioned that Edmonds would still be on television in the year 2010. In 1997, Edmonds was involved in an episode of the Chris Morris spoof documentary series ''
Brass Eye ''Brass Eye'' is a British satirical television series parodying current affairs news programming. A series of six episodes aired on Channel 4 in 1997, and a further episode in 2001. The series was created and presented by Chris Morris, written ...
'', in which he unwittingly pledged his allegiance on camera to a campaign to rid the country of a new killer drug, the entirely fictitious 'cake', which apparently made ten seconds appear as a few hours to a user by stimulating part of the brain called Shatner's Bassoon. ''The Curse of Noel Edmonds'', a documentary tracing the rise and fall of his showbiz career, was transmitted by
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 ...
on 9 November 2004, with former Radio 1 DJ Mike Read being one of the contributors to the programme. Edmonds was also a guest host for the fourth-series episode of ''
The Friday Night Project ''The Sunday Night Project'' is a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title ''The Friday Night Project''. Originally broadcast on Friday nights, the show moved to Sunday n ...
'', broadcast on 26 January 2007. In 2014 he appeared in
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
's ''
The Life of Rock with Brian Pern The ''Brian Pern'' documentaries are a British comedy spoof-documentary series about a fictional ageing rock star, Brian Pern, the former frontman of the 1970s progressive rock group Thotch. The series is written by Rhys Thomas and Simon Day, ...
'' as himself. In November 2018, Edmonds became the highest paid participant ever on ITV's '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Edmonds became the first celebrity to leave the series when he was voted out on 30 November 2018. Many fans of the show were surprised by the departure, with ''Radio 1 Breakfast Show'' host
Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English radio and television presenter, comedian and author. He is the host of BBC Radio 1's breakfast show, co-presenter on the cricket podcast '' Tailenders'' alongside Felix White and ...
described as "furious and sad". Edmonds has hosted major TV events including the
BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
, 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 ...
and the launch of the UK National Lottery.


Business ventures


Unique Group

In 1985, Edmonds formed the Unique Group, which consisted of various operations. The Unique Broadcasting Company Media Group plc (UBCMG) was an independent producer of audio programming in the UK, supplying BBC and independent radio. Michael Peacock was an executive of the group between 1989 and 2005, and former Radio 1 controller Johnny Beerling joined the group following his departure from the network in 1993. It owned Classic Gold Digital before selling the stations back to
GCap Media GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. O ...
which merged them into the
Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
network. Edmonds resigned as non-executive director of UBCMG in March 2006 as a direct result of the success of ''Deal or No Deal''. As of 2006, Edmonds also had interests in Unique Motor Company, a producer of small off-road vehicles. In July 2019, Edmonds agreed a compensation deal with
Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Ban ...
as a victim of the HBOS Reading branch fraud. He had claimed that bank staff had destroyed Unique Group.


Theme parks

Edmonds-licensed
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
attractions based on Crinkley Bottom and Mr Blobby were set up in existing parks at
Cricket St Thomas Cricket St Thomas is a parish in Somerset, England, situated in a valley between Chard and Crewkerne within the South Somerset administrative district. The A30 road passes nearby. The parish has a population of 50. It is noted for the historic m ...
in Somerset and Pleasurewood Hills Theme Park in
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
, Suffolk. A park was also built in
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...
, Lancashire, on the site of the former Happy Mount Park. Following disappointing visitor numbers, and in the case of Morecambe, legal disputes with the local council, the deal was scrapped and the park closed. The two existing parks reverted to their previous state. Edmonds was said to be very critical of Lancaster City Council's management of the Morecambe park. A report by the District Auditor found that the council had behaved 'unlawfully' in its dealings with Edmonds, which cost £2.5m, and two former senior officers were found to have committed 'misconduct', although this was not deemed to be 'wilful'. The affair was dubbed 'Blobbygate' by the media.


Buying the BBC

In March 2014, Edmonds declared on ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' that he was part of a consortium which planned to buy the BBC, because the corporation is "sleepwalking itself to destruction". He said that he did not have a TV licence and only watched BBC programmes on
catch-up The idea of convergence in economics (also sometimes known as the catch-up effect) is the hypothesis that poorer economies' per capita incomes will tend to grow at faster rates than richer economies, and in the Solow-Swan growth model, economic g ...
.


Personal life

Edmonds married Gillian Slater in 1971, but the marriage ended in divorce after eleven years. From July 1986 to 2005, he was married to Helen Soby; the couple have four daughters. In July 2009, Edmonds married his third wife, Liz Davies, who was a make-up artist on the programme ''
Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a.k ...
'' when they first met. Edmonds is a licensed
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...
pilot, and one of his early personal aircraft was registered G-NOEL. He was president of the
British Horse Society The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has ...
between 2004 and 2007. In June 2017 Edmonds said he had attempted suicide in 2005, after fraud by a group of HBOS financiers destroyed his Unique Group business: "Until these criminals took me to the brink of emotional annihilation, I had always felt those who opt out by taking their own lives were selfish and cowardly... But having been cast into that bottomless dark space devoid of logic and reason, I have a much deeper understanding of life without hope... I seek no sympathy and feel no shame in admitting that on the evening of January 18th 2005 I attempted to end the overwhelming mental pain which had consumed my whole being." In September 2017, Edmonds said there was a direct link between fraudulent HBOS financiers causing stress and his
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
. He stated: "I don't say cancer was caused by the stress, but that my health deteriorated to such an extent I got prostate cancer. I am absolutely sure the negative forces acting on me impacted on my health. There is a wealth of information from various clinical studies of a direct link between stress and cancer. I am absolutely certain there was a link in my case." Edmonds and his wife decided to move to New Zealand in 2015 and eventually emigrated in 2019; during the
COVID lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous count ...
he set up 100 online community radio stations called Positivity Radio. He currently lives in
Matakana Matakana is a small town in the Rodney Ward of Auckland Council of New Zealand. Warkworth lies about 9 km (5½ miles) to the south-west, Snells Beach the same distance to the south, Omaha is about 7 km (4¼ miles) to the east, and L ...
, near
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, with his wife having gained residency permission in February 2020. Living in the country since the previous September, Edmonds said he and his wife had felt an "incredible spiritual pull" on a visit in 2016 leading them to settle in the country. Edmonds is fond of referring to himself in the third person.


Political views

Edmonds was Chairman of the
Renewable Energy Foundation The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF), founded in 2004 by UK TV personality Noel Edmonds, is a United Kingdom-based registered charity with a stated aim of promoting the development of sustainable energy technologies. Their funders include Barclays ...
(REF), an organisation which is staunchly opposed to
wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
s. He was said to have joined "because of the threat near his home in
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
".Edmonds joins fight against wind farms
(Guardian – 15 July 2004).
He has been quoted as saying that, "Politicians are promoting the wind industry as a green icon, but they are misleading the public into believing the propaganda of the wind industry. The reality is that wind power is too costly and can never meet our energy needs; but it will destroy the countryside". His view is that those who are promoting wind farms are energy companies with a vested financial interest and that
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s are not reliable enough as a source of sustainable energy. Edmonds is an outspoken critic of immigration and the BBC's Welsh Language Service. He coordinated the Heart of Devon campaign to provide information for farmers affected by the
foot and mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...
epidemic in 2001.


TV licence boycott

Edmonds said that he had stopped payment on his TV licence in early 2008, in response to the sometimes controversial methods used to enforce collection of the TV licence fee. Edmonds said that it is wrong to "threaten" and "badger" people, in response to the collection authority's common assumption that the non-possession of a licence can mean licence evasion, as well as the large fines which can be used as enforcement for non-payment. TV Licensing later claimed that Edmonds did possess a valid current TV licence, but this claim was denied by a spokesman for Edmonds, who said that TV Licensing had their facts wrong.


Spiritualism

For many years, Edmonds has been a believer in
Spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...
, in particular the concept of
cosmic ordering Cosmic ordering is a type of positive thinking proposed by Bärbel Mohr, who believed that a person can simply write down their wish list and wait for it to become reality. She first outlined her own version in her own magazine called ''Sonnenwind ...
, a subject he became interested in after being introduced to Bärbel Mohr's book ''The Cosmic Ordering Service – A Guide to Realising Your Dreams'' by his
reflexologist Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...
. He had not worked on TV since the end of his BBC TV show ''Noel's House Party'' in 1999 and one of his wishes was for a new challenge. Later he was offered the chance to return to TV to work on ''
Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a.k ...
''.DEAR COSMOS, CAN I HAVE A HIT SHOW?
Daily Record, 3 April 2006.
Edmonds later went on to write his own book titled ''Positively Happy: Cosmic Ways To Change Your Life''. Edmonds said in 2008 that he is constantly accompanied by two melon-sized "spiritual energy" balls, which appear over his shoulders and which he believes to be the spirits of his dead parents. "Orbs are little bundles of positive energy and they think they can move between 500 and 1,000 miles per hour," according to Edmonds. "They look like little round planets but they come in all shapes and sizes." He has asserted that the orbs appear only on digital photographs. In August 2015, Edmonds gave an interview to the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...
'' in which he stated that the greatest problem facing humanity was "electrosmog" due to
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
and other "systems", causing the destruction of "our natural electro-magnetic fields". He also stated a belief that death was impossible because the body was merely a container for "a universal energy", and that this had "been known for a very long time". When he dies, Edmonds anticipates that "My energy will return to where it came from – part of a massive, incomprehensible universal web of energy".


EMP Pad

On 7 June 2016, Edmonds said on Twitter that an Electromagnetic Pulse device costing £2,315 was "A simple box that slows ageing, reduces pain, lifts depression and
stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
and tackles cancer. Yep tackles cancer!". Edmonds provoked further criticism after tweeting to a man with
kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include sp ...
,
lymph node metastases A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that includ ...
and
psoriatic arthritis Psoriatic arthritis is a long-term inflammatory arthritis that occurs in people affected by the autoimmune disease psoriasis. The classic feature of psoriatic arthritis is swelling of entire fingers and toes with a sausage-like appearance. T ...
that "Scientific fact-disease is caused by negative energy. Is it possible your ill health is caused by your negative attitude? #explore." The following day, Edmonds was interviewed by
Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield (born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter who works for ITV. He is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2002–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2014, 2018–present) alongside Holl ...
and
Holly Willoughby Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981) is an English television presenter, author and model. She is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2009–present) and ''Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 2018–present) alongsid ...
on ITV's '' This Morning'' television programme stating that he had been diagnosed with
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
in November 2013. He said that a "very stressful, very negative period" in life had caused his prostate cancer, "I was, I thought, very, very healthy. I know why I got my cancer... the definition of stress is negative energy. It didn't just decide to manifest itself, there was cause". He went on to add: "I then had my tumour destroyed by sound waves, proving yet again energy is at the heart of this issue" and said that "I believe pulsed electromagnetism has a role to play in tackling cancer and I will always believe that". In response, the firm responsible for the device, EMP Pad Limited, said it did not agree with his claim "in any way, shape or form", and that they had not paid him in relation to it. While EMP Pad Limited said it did not pay Edmonds to promote the product, the company's owner Maria Robertson, previously worked as an assistant to the TV presenter and acknowledged having known Edmonds for 25 years and having worked with him and his daughter.
Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organization. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
produced an article to reassure the public that "the best studies looking at this topic have failed to show a link between emotional stress and an increased risk of cancer" and that "no reliable evidence has ever been produced that Rife machines – or any similar devices producing low-frequency electromagnetic pulses – have any benefit for cancer patients. Nor have organisations that scrutinise new treatments and devices (like the US Food and Drug Authority or the
European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or Eur ...
) approved any as a therapy for any type of disease". David Grimes, a cancer researcher at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, told ''This Morning'': "It's not just untrue, it's patronising and
victim blaming Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as ...
, cancer is bad luck... the healthiest people in the world get cancer and it's not because they are negative". Prof. John Gribben, Chair of Medical
Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...
at
Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...
, said: "This is complete gibberish and undermines all the good work everyone does with evidence-based medicine and targeted approaches".
Edzard Ernst Edzard Ernst (born 30 January 1948) is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, alleged ...
, Emeritus Professor at the
University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...
said: "The reason why most of us put 'negative energy' in inverted commas is simple: it is a pure figment of the imagination of fantasists. That would not be so bad except that, as we see, some VIPs seem to take this nonsense seriously. The result might be that some desperate patients believe them, and choose the nonsense over the best that real medicine has to offer. And that could hasten deaths." In 2016 the UK's Advertising Standards Authority said that it was "urgently looking into" a complaint made over the claims, because advertising any proven or unproven cancer treatment would violate the
Cancer Act 1939 The Cancer Act 1939 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in 1939 to: * make further provision for the treatment of cancer; * to authorise the Minister of Health to lend money to the National Radium Trust; * to prohibit certain ...
if payments had been made. Later the ASA said that no rules had been broken. The same year the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptab ...
said that it was investigating the products available from EMP Pad "to determine whether there are any breaches of the Medical Device Regulations 2002".


Dispute with Lloyds Bank

A major turning point for Edmonds was the 2005 collapse of his entertainment company Unique Group – an umbrella for various production companies that owned the rights to, among other things, Mr Blobby and ''Telly Addicts''. Edmonds held
Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exte ...
responsible, because they had acquired
HBOS HBOS plc was a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group, having been taken over in January 2009. It was the holding company for Bank of Scotland plc, which operated the Ba ...
, whose Reading branch was involved in the alleged scam. Edmonds sought £60m in losses and damages. Edmonds complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the "By Your Side" Lloyds marketing campaign, claiming it was hypocritical; the complaint was not upheld. In 2017, the HBOS bankers and others involved in the scam were found guilty of committing fraud and jailed. In 2019 it was reported that the dispute was settled, with Lloyds Bank Group agreeing a compensation deal with Edmonds, and apologising to him for the "distress" he had suffered.


References


External links

* *
Spoof fansite with several photos of Edmonds from the 70s
* including sound clips
Noel Edmonds biography page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonds, Noel 1948 births BBC people English television executives English radio DJs Deputy Lieutenants of Devon English television presenters English game show hosts Living people People from Ilford People educated at Brentwood School, Essex BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 2 presenters Illeists Alumni of Kingston College (England) Radio Luxembourg (English) presenters Top Gear people I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants Top of the Pops presenters British expatriates in New Zealand