Richard Madeley
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Richard Holt Madeley ( born 13 May 1956) is an English television presenter and writer. Alongside his wife
Judy Finnigan Judith Adele Finnigan (born 16 May 1948) is an English television presenter and writer. She co-presented ITV's '' This Morning'' (1988–2001, 2019–) and the Channel 4 chat show, ''Richard & Judy'' (2001–2008) alongside her husband Richard ...
, he presented '' This Morning'' and the chat show ''
Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
''. Madeley's solo projects include the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
series '' Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway'' and covering for ''
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' (currently referred to on-air due to sponsorship reasons as ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky'') is the name given to two versions of a radio programme hosted by broadcaster Chris Evans in the United ...
'' 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. ...
. From 2012 to 2017, he was the main relief presenter of 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 ...
'', and since 2017, he has been one of three main relief presenters of ITV breakfast show '' Good Morning Britain''.


Life and career

Madeley was born in
Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...
, Essex on 13 May 1956, the son of journalist Christopher Holt Madeley (died 1977), from a family of
tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...
s at Kiln Farm,
Shawbury Shawbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. The village is northeast of the town of Shrewsbury, northwest of Telford and northwest of London. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Drayt ...
,
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, and Mary Claire (née McEwan).Fathers and Sons, Richard Madeley, Simon & Schuster, 2008, Chapter 4 His mother was
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
. He attended
Shenfield High School A Secondary School Based In England Shenfield High School is a coeducational 11-18 secondary school located in Shenfield, Essex, England. It has over 1200 students on roll, including 300 in the sixth form. It opened in 1962, celebrating its 50th ...
in Brentwood. In 2008, Madeley told ''
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 Gu ...
'' that his father was physically abusive, with little provocation. He estimated that during a period of two years his father beat him with a stick about 25 times. The final and most vicious beating occured when Richard was aged 10. His father ordered him to remove his shirt and then hit Richard "repeatedly, dementedly, with a stick." The wounds he suffered kept him away from school. The abuse stopped when his mother, previously out at work so unaware of her husband's harsh discipline, told him that she would call the police if it happened again; Madeley stated that after this, his father gave a full and frank apology and he never hit Richard again. In 2014, Madeley said he was surprised by the level of media interest the beatings generated, "because to me, it was abnormal not to be hit back then", and said he almost regretted writing about it in his 2008 book ''Fathers and Sons'', noting to the general public the beatings are not the defining thing about his father, and calling his father "fun, bright, warm and tactile". Christopher Madeley had himself been subject to physical abuse by his father, Geoffrey. Madeley joined BBC Radio Carlisle at the age of 19. He moved to ''
Granada Reports ITV News ''Granada Reports'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Granada. Overview ''Granada Reports'' is produced and broadcast from studios in the Orange Tower at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. Before this, the ...
'' in the early 1980s where he met his future wife
Judy Finnigan Judith Adele Finnigan (born 16 May 1948) is an English television presenter and writer. She co-presented ITV's '' This Morning'' (1988–2001, 2019–) and the Channel 4 chat show, ''Richard & Judy'' (2001–2008) alongside her husband Richard ...
.


''Richard & Judy''

The couple left ''This Morning'' in 2001, having been approached by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
to host a similar show, called ''
Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
'', shown for an hour in the early evenings. The show was produced by Cactus TV. In February 2007, Madeley and Finnigan apologised live on air due to the discovery of a TV quiz phone scam regarding the daily phone-in competition ''You Say We Pay''. Madeley and Finnigan took the decision to suspend the daily quiz until further notice. Later that week, the news media confirmed that police investigations would be pursued, meaning the couple could be subject to a police interview. Channel 4 admitted the scam may have been in force for two series of the show. Whilst Madeley and Finnigan had urged callers to continue entering, it was confirmed that winners were picked in the first 10 minutes of the show. The couple both deny being involved in the scam. Due to low audience numbers, the show ended in July 2009. The presenters stated that viewers "simply couldn't find us". Madeley and Finnigan's show ''
Richard & Judy Book Club ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...
'' was shown on digital channel
Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
.


Other work

Whilst working on their daytime show, the couple have been involved in other projects. Madeley and Finnigan won on the season finale of season 2 of a TV version of the classic board game ''
Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Wadding ...
'' before Madeley presented the last two seasons of the game show, quiz show '' Connections'', the daytime quiz ''
Runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
'' as well as a series on the world's wildest weather, ''Eye of the Storm''. He hosted the
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
show '' Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway'', and was the presenter for the unaired pilot of the home video show ''
You've Been Framed ''You've Been Framed!'' is a British television series where viewers can contribute to the programme with their humorous home movies for the entertainment of others. It is produced by ITV Studios and comedian Harry Hill has been providing narrat ...
''. Madeley hosted the news quiz '' Have I Got News for You'' on 14 December 2007, and then featured as a guest panellist in May 2011. He sat in for Richard Bacon 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 covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
. Madeley also covered for ''Dawn Patrol'' presenter
Sarah Kennedy Sarah Mary Kennedy MBE (born 8 July 1950) is a British retired TV and radio broadcaster. She presented her daily early morning radio show, ''The Dawn Patrol'', on BBC Radio 2 from 1993 to 2010. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kennedy w ...
during the week of 27–30 April 2009, for
Zoë Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & ...
for two months until 27 February, and on numerous occasions for Chris Evans' Breakfast Show, all 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. ...
. He appeared on ''
Piers Morgan's Life Stories ''Kate Garraway's Life Stories'' (formerly known as ''Piers Morgan's Life Stories'' until 2021) is a British television chat show on ITV1, presented by Kate Garraway and was formerly presented by Piers Morgan. Recorded in front of a studio audi ...
'' in April 2009 and was a guest on '' BBC Question Time'' in January 2010. In 2011, Madeley was featured in the eighth season of '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', tracing his mother's ancestors to Canada and the United States. In April 2013, he appeared as a Dictionary Corner guest on ''
Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' for five shows. Madeley presented his own show on Radio 2, ''Madeley on Sunday'' (previously ''Made on Sunday''), covering for
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...
's ''
Weekend Wogan ''Weekend Wogan'' was the incarnation of the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 2 from 14 February 2010 to 8 November 2015. The show was presented by Sir Terry Wogan, which marked his return to the airwaves following his departure as presenter of ...
'' over Wogan's holidays. Wogan died in January 2016, and Madeley's show became a semi-permanent replacement. From April 2016, the slot was shared between Madeley and
Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...
, with Madeley presenting for approximately 10 weeks a year and Ball taking the remainder. In 2002 the couple co-wrote their autobiography, ''Richard and Judy: The Autobiography'', published by
Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...
. In 2008, Madeley wrote the book ''Fathers and Sons'', which charts his family history; it was published by
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
. Madeley is the author of three novels: ''Some Day I'll Find You'' (2013), ''The Way You Look Tonight'' (2014) and ''The Night Book'' (2016). Madeley and Finnigan were the subjects of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1997 when they were surprised by
Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', ''Give Us a Clue'', '' This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...
live on air while broadcasting '' This Morning''. Since August 2017 Madeley has been a relief presenter on ITV's breakfast programme '' Good Morning Britain''. He has been compared by viewers to the fictional talk show and radio host
Alan Partridge Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, h ...
for his perceived parallels to Steve Coogan's bumbling, tone-deaf comedy character. Madeley himself has remarked that he believes this comparison is “a bit unfair”. In November 2018 ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' appointed Madeley as their
agony uncle An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are w ...
to succeed
Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...
who had stood down the previous month. In June 2020, he apologised after being criticised for the advice he gave a reader who thought their neighbour could be experiencing domestic violence. It included the line "If they were going to kill each other, they'd have done it by now." The charity Refuge said he had written "appalling and dangerous advice". In January 2021 Madeley covered for
Steph McGovern Stephanie Rose McGovern (born 31 May 1982) is an English journalist and television presenter. She currently hosts ''Steph's Packed Lunch'' on Channel 4. She worked for the BBC as the main business presenter for ''BBC Breakfast'', often co-hosti ...
on her Channel 4 programme ''
Steph's Packed Lunch ''Steph's Packed Lunch'' (formerly aired as ''The Steph Show'') is a daytime television programme in the UK that is broadcast on Channel 4 each weekday afternoon. The show is presented by English journalist and broadcaster Steph McGovern. The s ...
'' while she had to self-isolate due to the
Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. In November 2021 Madeley was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. He was forced to withdraw from the show after being taken to hospital due to an unspecified illness, and therefore broke the show's COVID bubble. Posting online on 24 November Madeley said: "I started to feel briefly unwell in the small hours of the morning and was taken to hospital as a precaution."


Personal life

Madeley's first marriage, at age 21, lasted five years and ended in divorce. Madeley has said that he believes the marriage was a mistake, and he had ten affairs during that time. Nine days after the wedding, while the couple were still on their honeymoon, his father died at the age of 49. Madeley met Judy Finnigan in 1982 when they worked on separate programmes for Granada Television. At the time, they were both married to other people. The couple married in 1986 in Manchester. They have two children together, both born in Manchester: Jack Christopher (born 1986) and Chloe Susannah (born 1987). They have a second home at
Polperro Polperro ( kw, Porthpyra, meaning ''Pyra's cove'') is a large village, civil parish, and fishing harbour within the Polperro Heritage Coastline in south Cornwall, England. Its population is around 1,554. Polperro, through which runs the River P ...
in Cornwall having been on holiday together there before their marriage. Madeley is also stepfather to twins from Finnigan's first marriage. In 1991, Madeley was arrested for failing to pay for items, including champagne, on two occasions at a
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
supermarket in Didsbury, Greater Manchester. He was later acquitted of all shoplifting charges after citing lapses of memory. In October 2011, Madeley was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from
Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
for his contribution to television, reading, entertainment and media.


Political views

Madeley has expressed strong support for former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
. In a 2001 interview for ''
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 Gu ...
'', he said the UK had got better under
New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...
, identified independent MP
Martin Bell Martin Bell, (born 31 August 1938) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as " ...
as his favourite politician, and expressed support for the
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
. He supported the
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
, saying
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
on the issue was "incredibly complicated". He has been described as a
neocon Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and count ...
, Blair's "self-appointed apologist", and Blair's "yapping Pekingese". In an interview in 2006, Madeley named Cuban leader
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
as the person he most despises.


COVID-19 pandemic

Madeley has been critical of the UK government's response to the
COVID-19 virus Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a p ...
, especially the
lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
response after 24 March 2020, arguing that it has been a "pointless game of hide and seek." In October 2020, Madeley stated his belief that the virus is "here to stay", and that lockdown would have no effect on its prevalence. His views were strongly criticised by many people on social media.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Madeley, Richard 1956 births Living people English columnists English game show hosts English people of Canadian descent English television talk show hosts People from Romford I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants ITV people ITV regional newsreaders and journalists
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
Television personalities from Essex