Gregory "Greg" Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am. In the 1990s, he held Chief Executive positions at LWT Group, Pearson Television and Channel 5.

He is most notable for his tenure as Director-General of the BBC from January 2000 until 29 January 2004, a position from which he resigned following heavy criticism of the BBC's news reporting process in the Hutton Inquiry. He is the chairman of children's television company HiT Entertainment and has been Chancellor of the University of York since 2004.

Early years and education[link]

Dyke was born in 1947, in Hayes, Hillingdon, West London, the youngest of three sons in a "stable, lower middle class"^[1] family. His father was an insurance office manager. The family lived at 17 Cerne Close until he was 9,^[1] then moved to Cedars Drive, Hillingdon.^[2] He was educated at Yeading Primary School and then Hayes Grammar School, which he left with one grade "E" at A-level mathematics.^[3][4] After school he was briefly a trainee manager at Marks & Spencer before leaving to work as a trainee reporter for the Hillingdon Mirror, becoming chief reporter in eight months.^[5] He left the Mirror after attempting to stage a union-backed protest against poor pay conditions by the junior staff of the work on the paper. He then got a job at the Slough Evening Mail. Amongst his colleagues was future music journalist Colin Irwin.

He then went on to study for a degree at the University of York as a mature student, graduating in 1974 with a BA in politics. During his time at York, Dyke was active in student politics, and was part of a collective that produced a psychedelic underground student magazine called Nouse. He also met and married his first wife whilst at the university. As he was a mature student with work experience his politics were more of a traditional Labour supporter than some of more radical far left students. Contemporaries and friends at York included the future journalists Linda Grant and Peter Hitchens, the latter then a prominent member of the International Socialists. Dyke was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University in 1999 and has been Chancellor since 2004.^[6]

Career[link]

Break into television: LWT and TV-AM[link]

After university, Dyke followed his first wife to Newcastle. He had become disillusioned with newspaper journalism, and tried for a job as a junior reporter at BBC Radio Teesside. He was unsuccessful, apparently because the interviewers felt no-one would understand his accent. Dyke instead found work covering rural affairs for the Newcastle Journal. He moved back to London with Christine in 1974 to become was also campaign officer for the Wandsworth Community Relations Council. He hated the job and left to campaign to be elected GLC councillor for Putney. Again he was unsuccessful.^[7]

He was given assistance getting a job at London Weekend Television (LWT) by fellow ex-Newcastle journalist Nicholas Evans, who was at the time working on Weekend World. Dyke got a junior position on LWT's local politics programme, in the current affairs department. His bosses there were John Birt and Peter Jay. He attracted attention for trying to give the programmes he worked on a more populist edge. This led to him being given the chance to launch a new early evening current affairs topical news programme. This became The Six O'Clock Show, fronted by Michael Aspel, with co-hosts Danny Baker and Janet Street-Porter. The show is seen by many as the first example of British tabloid TV.^[7]

After the success of The Six O' Clock Show, Dyke was brought in by Jonathan Aitken to become programme director at ailing station TV-am in 1983. The station was doing very badly in the ratings compared to the BBC's popular Breakfast Time magazine style programme. He was instrumental in reviving the breakfast show's fortunes by introducing a new schedule based around bingo, celebrity gossip and horoscopes. The introduction of Roland Rat, a hand puppet created by Anne Wood, attracted large numbers of younger viewers to the show, boosting ratings.^[7] Because if this Dyke has often been accused of contributing to the "dumbing down" of television.^[1] Following TV-am, Dyke became Director of Programmes for TVS, and later returned to LWT, making a fortune when Granada bought out the firm. Stints at Pearson Television and Channel 5 followed. He was among the consortium that successfully bid for the Channel 5 licence in 1995^[8] and became the first chairman of the new channel.^[9]

At the BBC[link]

In 2000, he took over the helm of the BBC from John Birt. At the beginning of his tenure, he famously promised to "cut the crap" at the Corporation. The "crap" he referred to was the complex internal market Birt had introduced at the BBC which, it is claimed, turned employees away from making programmes and into managers. Dyke reversed this trend - he reduced administration costs from 24% of total income to 15%. Unusually for a recent Director-General, he had a good rapport with his employees and was popular with the majority of BBC staff, his management style being seen as more open and risk-taking than Birt's.

Jonathan Gifford, who worked for BBC Magazines in BBC Worldwide during the management of Birt and Dyke, observed "Dyke came across well. He was direct, sensible and approachable. His vision for the BBC was inspirational."^[10] Martin Montague, 31, a producer on digital radio station BBC7 said "I know that people in local radio think he walks on water because of all that he's put into that."^[11]

Apart from restoring staff morale, Greg Dyke laid claim to two major achievements during his office. In 2002, he introduced the Freeview terrestrial digital transmission platform with six additional BBC channels, and persuaded Sky TV to join the consortium. Previously this was an ITV subscription service that had closed with major losses, but by mid-2007 it could be seen by more than half the population.^[12] After leaving the BBC, he said that he always realised that the introduction of Freeview helped to prevent a subscription funding model for the BBC gain traction, because it is impossible for broadcasters to switch off the signal to individual Freeview boxes.

Dyke controversially described the Corporation in early 2001 as "hideously white",^[13] based on statistics that showed the organisation's management structure was 98% white. Dyke said that "The figures we have at the moment suggest that quite a lot of people from different ethnic backgrounds that we do attract to the BBC leave. Maybe they don't feel at home, maybe they don't feel welcome." Dyke set a target that by 2003, 10% of the BBC's UK workforce and 4% of management would be from ethnic minority backgrounds. In September 2004, Dyke received an award for his remarks from Glasgow-based organisation Empower Scotland, which fights against workplace racism.^[14]

Dyke attracted criticsm when he "forgot" to sell an equity stake in Granada Television, which presented a conflict of interest in his new position. He also caused controversy when he lost the rights to Premier League football to ITV, then accused the league of fixing the auction. Others were worried that the openness and high risk strategies of his management style could backfire on the corporation. An ITV executive was quoted as saying, "By being too radical and playing fast and loose with the public service remit, the BBC is inviting external regulation - and it deserves it."^[15]

Hutton Report and resignation from BBC[link]

Dyke resigned from the BBC on 29 January 2004 along with Gavyn Davies and Andrew Gilligan, after the publication of the Hutton Report. Hutton described Dyke's approach to checking news stories as "defective"; when Alastair Campbell complained about the story, Dyke had immediately defended it without investigating whether there was any merit to the complaint.

In an email sent to all BBC staff just prior to his resignation Dyke wrote:

It was subsequently established that Dyke had offered his resignation to the BBC's Board of Governors while hoping that they would reject it. However, he was only able to secure the support of about one-third of the Governors. They voted 2–1 against him remaining. Some BBC staff felt that too much blame had been placed on their organisation in the wake of the David Kelly affair in the Hutton Report,and that the government was interfering in the BBC.^[11] Tim Gospill, spokesman for the National Union of Journalists said "Being independent doesn't just mean not having the government telling you what to do. It means you can criticise the government as well. I'm not at all sure the government understands that."^[17] Groups of staff staged walk outs from Broadcasting House and other BBC offices in Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, Cardiff and Londonderry, in protest at Dyke's resignation.^[18] In addition, on 31 January 2004, BBC staff paid for a full-page advert in the Daily Telegraph to express their "dismay" over Dyke's departure.^[19] The fundraisers hoped to raise £10,000, a lot less than the market rate for a full page advert in a broadsheet newspaper. Reportedly they raised less than this amount, but were offered a deal by the Telegraph's advertising department which allowed the advert to be printed. It was signed by around 4,000 BBC employees; 10,000 (around a third of total BBC staff at the time) submitted their names for publication, but there was not sufficient space to include them all.

The statement in the advertisement read:

Speaking on GMTV on 30 January, Dyke himself questioned the conclusions of the report, saying "We were shocked it was so black and white [...] We knew mistakes had been made but we didn't believe they were only by us." He also claimed that Lord Hutton was "quite clearly wrong" on certain aspects of law relating to the case. On 11 January 2007, the BBC published minutes of its post Hutton board meetings. It was revealed that Dyke had claimed he had been "mistreated and wanted to be reinstated".^[21]

After the Hutton Enquiry[link]

On 28 November 2003, Greg Dyke was formally appointed by the University of York as its new Chancellor, replacing Dame Janet Baker, who had served in the post since November 1991.^{[citation needed]} There was some controversy regarding his appointment in the midst of the Iraq Dossier scandal. He officially took the post in August 2004. In this role, he is the honorific and ceremonial head of the University, as well as heading the University Development Board. He has also made a personal grant to the new Department of Theatre, Film and Television, to found the Greg Dyke Chair in Film and Television. On 6 February 2004, Dyke announced that he had signed a six-figure book contract with HarperCollins. The book ("Inside Story"), subsequently published in September 2004, goes into detail about Dyke's opinion on the relationship between the BBC and the British government, and of the Dr. David Kelly affair and Hutton Inquiry.^{[citation needed]} In July 2004, Dyke was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Sunderland, Middlesex University and in 2006 from The University of Bedfordshire.^{[citation needed]} He was appointed Chair of the British Film Institute on 15 February 2008, succeeding Anthony Minghella. On 10 March 2010, it was reported that he had been approached by Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev to edit The Independent and The Independent on Sunday newspapers [2]. In the wake of the News of The World hacking affair, Dyke frequently appeared in the media to comment on events. In April 2011, he said "I don't think the News of the World is a great contribution to British journalism. [...]They had obviously being playing fast and loose for a long time and are now getting their just deserts."^[22]

Football management[link]

Performance of Brentford F.C. over time.
Under Dyke's chairmanship Brentford F.C. experienced their worst performance since the 1970s, but the club has improved recently..

Dyke has jointly supported Manchester United^[23] and Brentford F.C. all his life. Dyke's elder brothers supported Tottenham, but he preferred to support Man U.^[23] He became involved with Brentford in his childhood when his brother was a junior there. Manager Bill Dodgin, Sr. tried to sign his brother, but their father would not agree to him committing to what he saw as an unlucrative career.^[24]

From 1997 to 1999, Dyke served on the board at Manchester United as a non-executive director, and was the sole board member to oppose a takeover bid from Sky TV, which was subsequently rejected by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.^[25] When he became Director General of the BBC he admitted a "potential conflict of interest" between his new post and his current non-executive directorship at Manchester United PLC.^[26] He resigned his position to avoid controversy. In a speech at the Manchester Evening News Business of the Year Awards, he said "it was seen as a conflict of interest to both buy and sell football rights. My kids have never forgiven me for joining the BBC because of that."^[23]

Dyke was announced as chairman of Brentford on 20 January 2006 as part of the club takeover by Bees United, the Brentford Supporters Trust. His focus was on budget constraints on the small club and the necessity to generate money from televised matches and other means.^[27][28] Under Dyke the club's performnce was initially unsteady, with a few highlights but the club experiencing its worst run since the 1970s. On 28 January 2006, they beat Premier League strugglers Sunderland 2-1 in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, but lost 3-1 to another Premier League club Charlton Athletic (of which former BBC Chairman Michael Grade was non-executive Director) in the 5th Round. Dyke said of the draw "we'd have preferred to be at Old Trafford because it'd have got us a lot more money."^[24]

The club finished 3rd in the league that year and lost to Swansea City in the play-off semi-final. These initial slight successes preceded a spell of misfortune which saw Brentford lose 16 matches in a row and be relegated to Football League Two in 2007. Turnover of managers was fast, with Allen, Leroy Rosenior,^[29] Scott Fitzgerald, Alan Reeves, Barry Quin,^[30]Terry Butcher ^[31] in the space of two years, before Butcher's assistant Andy Scott got the team back on track, winning the Coca-Cola League Two Championship on 25 April 2009 from Darlington. ^[32] However Scott could not continue the success and after a series of poor results he was sacked in February 2011. Dyke remained upbeat: ""We are slightly disappointed with this season, as we increased the playing budget," he said. "The highlight was getting to Wembley but we froze a little in the final. But we have a good team, no matter who the manager is. We are spending enough money and we should be getting to the play-offs."^[33] Dyke announced plans in 2010 for the club to move to a new ground, selling off the Griffin Park ground for residential housing to raise money. Dyke said: "Our aim is to move into a new stadium in Lionel Road and to move there as a club free of debt." ^[34]

Comments on News of the World phone hacking scandal[link]

Dyke appeared on BBC2's Newsnight programme on 8 July 2011 alongside comedian Steve Coogan, where he confronted former News Of The World deputy features editor Paul McMullen over his attitude to the events of the phone hacking scandal. Dyke told McMullen "You're [the tabloids] nothing to do with a free press, or a decent democracy". Distancing himself from McMullen he said "I've spent most of my life being a journalist, and I'm nothing to do with him, and neither are most other journalists."^[35] He continued "You could see there are occasionally, very occasionally, public interest cases but most of the time [it wouldn't make it less morally reprehensible]. These guys [tabloid journalists] just tapped anyone they could think of". He was also of the opinion stronger independent regulation of the press was needed, claiming that broadcast media had always more strictly regulated.

On 11 July 2011, Dyke wrote in the Financial Times that "from the moment it was revealed that the News of the World had hacked into Milly Dowler's phone, Rupert Murdoch's bid to buy the 60.9 per cent of British Sky Broadcasting that News Corp does not already own was all but over."^[36] He admitted, "for those of us who have been warning about the tactics used by the Murdoch operation for many years – Mr Murdoch once described me as 'an enemy' – the events of the past week have been sweet."

Politics[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

In his early years, Dyke was an active supporter of the Labour Party and in 1977 he attempted to win a seat on the Greater London Council for Labour at Putney. Until 1999 he was considered "very much part of Tony Blair's New Britain", attending parties to celebrate Labour's 1997 election victory. In later years, he was a financial donor to the party, was asked to write a report on the future of the NHS.^[1] before leaving Labour prior to the 2005 General Election, in which he supported the Liberal Democrats.

On 2 May 2005, the former Labour supporter Dyke went public at a Liberal Democrat press conference and said that "Democracy was under threat if Labour was elected for a third term".^{[citation needed]}

On 20 April 2009, it was announced that he was to lead a review of the UK’s creative sector for the Conservative Party [3].

Personal life[link]

Dyke has been married twice. He met his first wife Christine Taylor at York University; they were married for most of the 1970s. He lives in Hampshire, near Stockbridge, with his second wife, Susan Howes, an ex-sociology teacher and probation officer. Susan is now a trustee of Safe Ground, a charity which works with young offenders.^[37] They have four children, who are in their 20s and 30s. The Dykes also own a house on the west coast of Cork, Ireland^[38]

In popular culture[link]

During his tenure at the BBC, he was regularly impersonated on the BBC television comedy series Dead Ringers. His role played by Phil Cornwell but his accent was a mimic of Michael Caine. The character would always introduce himself by saying "My name is Greg Dyke, and I am director general of the BBC". After Dyke's departure from the BBC, in the last sketch it was changed so that he was no longer director general.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Greg Dyke at the Internet Movie Database
• BBC apologises as Dyke quits from the BBC News
• Video of Installation of Greg Dyke as Chancellor of the University of York
• Video of York Student Television 2005 Greg Dyke Interview
• Greg Dyke debates Reality Television BAFTA Webcast, January 2008
• Picture of Greg Dyke at Haye County Grammar School, 1958

Steve Coogan
Holding a producer credit for The 1 Second Film in January 2005
Born	Stephen John Coogan (1965-10-14) 14 October 1965 (age 46) Middleton, Lancashire, England
Occupation	Actor, stand-up comedian, writer, producer
Spouse	Caroline Hickman (m. 2002–2005; divorced)
Relatives	Brendan Coogan, Martin Coogan (brothers)

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is a BAFTA-winning English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and producer. Born in Middleton, Lancashire, he began his career as a stand-up comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early 1990s, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson. The most prominent characters he developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag).

Working with Chris Morris, Patrick Marber and Armando Iannucci for On the Hour and The Day Today, Coogan developed his most popular and most developed character; Alan Partridge, a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge and I'm Alan Partridge, which were well received and were nominated for five BAFTAs in total. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films including 24 Hour Party People, The Wind in the Willows, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Night at the Museum, Tropic Thunder, Hamlet 2, A Cock and Bull Story, The Trip and The Other Guys.

On 22 November 2011, Coogan, along with Hugh Grant, gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on phone hacking, favouring regulation of the press.

Early life[link]

Coogan is one of seven children born to Kathleen (née Coonan), a housewife, and Anthony Coogan, an IBM engineer.^[1][2][3] He was born in his parents' house and brought up in Alkrington,^[4][5] a suburb of Middleton, north of Manchester, in an Irish working class family.^[6] Coogan was brought up as a Roman Catholic.^[7][8][9] He had a happy childhood growing up with four brothers and two sisters, and in addition his parents fostered children on a short-term basis, sometimes accommodating two or three foster children at a time.^[4] Coogan had a talent for impersonation, and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession.^[4]

He went to five interviews for drama school in London, and then – after gaining confidence by joining a theatre company in Manchester called New Music – gained a place at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre.^[4] Coogan's brother Martin was the vocalist and wrote the music for The Mock Turtles,^[4] a successful indie rock band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career[link]

Coogan started out as a comic and mimic in Ipswich, as well as doing voice-over work for adverts and impressions on Spitting Image. In 1988, he did impressions of Prince Charles which featured on the Urban label release "Don't Believe the Hype" by acid house artist Mista E. The impressions were also used as jingles in 1988-89 on the BBC Radio 1 FM Friday night dance music show Jeff Young's Big Beat. In 1993 Coogan starred alongside Caroline Aherne and John Thomson in a one-off Granada TV sketch show The Dead Good Show.

Alan Partridge[link]

Coogan collaborated with Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci, amongst others, on the Radio 4 comedy show On the Hour, where he helped give birth to his most famous creation, Alan Partridge. Alan went on to have his own radio show, as well as appearing on TV in The Day Today and his own chat show, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge. In 1997, he returned with the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge, which was followed by a second series in 2002. Partridge was part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, and an Alan Partridge film is in production and will be released in 2013.^[10]

Other TV roles[link]

Paul Calf first began as a character named 'Duncan Disorderly' in Coogan's early stand-up routines. Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on Saturday Zoo, a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of Coogan's Run, and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Manchester wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag o' shite". Paul lives in a council house in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City and is very partial to Wagon Wheels. He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet and drives a Ford Cortina.

Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket and Portuguese Eurovision winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include Coogan's Run, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, Monkey Trousers and Saxondale. Coogan has provided voices for the animated series I Am Not an Animal and Bob and Margaret, the one-off BBC2 comedy about sheep Combat Sheep, two Christmas specials starring Robbie the Reindeer, and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series Nebulous.

During the 1989 series of The Krypton Factor, Coogan was invited to participate in a series of mini-films for the observation round.

He starred in BBC2's The Private Life of Samuel Pepys in 2003, and Cruise of the Gods in 2002. In 2006, he had a cameo in the Little Britain Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama Sunshine.

In 2010, he reunited with actor Rob Brydon and director Michael Winterbottom (both of whom he had worked with on the 2006 film A Cock and Bull Story (see Film Roles below)), for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom The Trip, in which he and Brydon do a tour of northern restaurants, which he is writing up for the Observer. The Trip was nominated for a 2011 Television BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and Coogan won Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role.^[11]

He provided the voices of Philip Masterson-Bowie (a horse) and Mark Andrews (a sparrow) for animated comedy series I Am Not an Animal.^[12] He was also the voice of Satan on Neighbors from Hell.

In December 2011, Coogan voiced Roger Mellie and Tracey Tunstall of the Fat Slags in three Viz Comedy Blaps for Channel 4.^[13] He voiced a cruise-ship director in a April 2012 episode of The Simpsons.

Film roles[link]

Michael Winterbottom, Steve Coogan, and Rob Brydon at the Ryerson Theatre in Toronto for the screening of Tristram Shandy (14 September 2005)

Notable film roles include Factory Records boss Tony Wilson in the film 24 Hour Party People, Mole in Terry Jones' The Wind in the Willows, Phileas Fogg in a comical version of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days from Disney, with Jackie Chan, Ambassador Mercy in Marie Antoinette, Bruce Tick in Sweet Revenge, and Octavius in Night at the Museum. He has also played himself three times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film Coffee and Cigarettes, alongside Alfred Molina. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon in Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story, a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanizing version of himself. Thirdly he played himself in the 2010 film The Trip. He worked again with director Winterbottom in King of Soho, about '50s porn-king Paul Raymond.

The first film, which he co-wrote with Henry Normal, was The Parole Officer. He also acted in this alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey. Coogan has an uncredited cameo in Hot Fuzz, scripted by Shaun of the Dead writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. He stars as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in the 2008 film Hamlet 2 and had a role in Tropic Thunder, playing the inexperienced director. In 2009, he also starred as a lying reporter in What Goes Up with Olivia Thirlby, Molly Shannon and Hilary Duff. Also recently, he appeared in Finding Amanda alongside Brittany Snow and Matthew Broderick, returned as Octavius in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and played Hades in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Achievements[link]

Coogan's show Steve Coogan in character with John Thomson was winner of the Perrier Award for best show at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy Awards, BAFTAs and The South Bank Show award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find the Comedians' Comedian saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Stand-up comedy comeback tour[link]

In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan would return to doing stand-up comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour, named "Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less successful characters", saw the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge.^[14] Reviews of the opening night were mixed.^[15] and such reviews continued as the tour progressed.^[16][17] Much of the criticism focused on the apparent unrehearsed quality and nervous stage presence of Coogan's performance. Chortle comedy guide wrote "Steve Coogan’s stage comeback after ten years is most definitely a show of two halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny."^[18]

Production work[link]

Coogan, along with writing partner Henry Normal, founded Baby Cow Productions in 1999. Together they are the executive producers for such shows as The Mighty Boosh, starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, Nighty Night, starring Julia Davis, Marion and Geoff, starring Rob Brydon, "Gavin and Stacey" starring Ruth Jones, James Corden, Joanna Page, Mathew Horne and Rob Brydon, and Human Remains, starring Davis and Brydon. Baby Cow Productions' latest^[when?] venture is Where Are the Joneses, an online sitcom which uses wiki technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.^[19]

In the media[link]

Coogan said he "liked to keep himself private", adding; "I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product,"^[20] He has been a popular target of the British tabloid press since 1996, who he stated have subjected him to entrapment and blackmail, printed obvious falsehoods about him,^[21][22] also targeting his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them.^[23] Coogan in some cases gave a strong denial to allegations, but in others did not contest them because he wanted to shield vulnerable friends from adverse publicity.^[24] The tabloids also published intrusive information about his relationships and the schooling of his child. Coogan has also been critical of the broadsheet press, saying they have colluded with the tabloids in the interests of selling newspapers. In 2005 he said "The Guardian tends to have its cake and eat it. It waits for the tabloids to dish the dirt and then it talks about the tabloids dishing the dirt while enjoying it themselves."^[25] However Coogan later gave credit to the same newspaper for its investigation of the phone hacking scandal.^[26] Coogan said that because of the persistent intrusion into his private life, the press had effectively made him "immune" to further attack, as his "closet is empty of skeletons".^[27]

Phone hacking[link]

Coogan became a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal as one of the celebrities who took action against the British tabloids in light of these events. He was made aware by his phone service provider of "possible anomalies" on his phone around the time in 2005 and 2006^[28] In 2010 Coogan's legal firm obtained a partially redacted version of Glenn Mulcaire's hacking notebook by a court order which showed Coogan had been targeted and his personal information was in the possession of Mulcaire. Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the News of the World ordered him to hack phones. This information was obtained by Coogan's lawyers on the 26th August 2011.^[29] Interviewed on Newsnight on 8 July 2011, Coogan said he was "delighted" by the closure of the News of the World and said it was a "fantastic day for journalism". He said the idea of press freedom was used by the tabloids as a "smokescreen for selling papers with tittle-tattle" and said the argument against press regulation was "morally bankrupt"^[26] Coogan provided an 8-page witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry and appeared at the inquiry on 22 November 2011 to discuss the evidence.^[23] He said he was there reluctantly representing a lot of celebrities who felt they could not speak out for fear of reprisals from the tabloid press.^[30]

Personal life[link]

One of Coogan's brothers, Brendan, is a former Top Gear presenter, and another, Martin, was the lead singer of the early 1990s band The Mock Turtles. All the brothers attended the Cardinal Langley RC High School.

Coogan married Caroline Hickman in 2002, the couple divorced in 2005.^[31] He lives in Brighton to be close to Clare, his daughter from his relationship with solicitor Anna Cole.^[32]

Coogan reportedly has a wealth of £5 million and supports the Labour Party.^[33]

A well noted car enthusiast, he has had a succession of Ferraris, but stopped buying them after realising that the depreciation and running costs were greater than hiring a private plane.^[34] He helped Jeremy Clarkson test a Ferrari 575M against an Aston Martin Vanquish S on the fifth series of Top Gear. Coogan drives one of the final air-cooled Porsche 911 Carrera 4s.^[32]

In 2011, Coogan purchased the 8 bedroom manor Ovingdean Grange for a reported £2.45 million.^[35]

Filmography[link]

Feature Films[link]

Television[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Awards and Nominations sourced from IMDb http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176869/awards 2/12/2010

Stand-up VHS and DVDs[link]

• Live 'N' Lewd (7 November 1994)
• Live – The Man Who Thinks He's It (9 November 1998)
• As Alan Partridge And Other Less Successful Characters – Live (30 November 2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Steve Coogan at the Internet Movie Database
• Steve Coogan collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Coming to a cinema near you... Alan Partridge as Our Man in Tashkent
• Steve Coogan: From a Partridge to 'Cock and Bull Fresh Air interview by Terry Gross
• Steve Coogan on BBC Radio Desert Island Discs
• Evidence to the Leveson Inquiry
• Profile on Chortle

Paul McMullen (born 19 February 1972 in Cadillac, Michigan) is an American middle distance runner who specialized in the 1500 metres. Paul is known by some as "the pride of Cadillac" after qualifying and competing in the 1996 summer olympics.

McMullen finished tenth at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg and the 2001 World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton. He won the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials 1500 m, and was also national champion in 1995. His personal best 1500 m time is 3:33.89 minutes, achieved in July 2001 in Monaco.

In 1997, McMullen lost part of two toes when his foot slipped under a lawnmower he was operating. He returned to the sport in 1998, and as the results above indicate, was able to run even faster than before the accident; Runner's World referred to him, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as "the world's fastest eight-toed miler."

Paul McMullen attended Eastern Michigan University. He works in surgical and medical device sales. Paul has two children, Olivia, 8 and David, 3. He currently lives in Grand Haven, Michigan. Paul is also brother to Phil McMullen (current assistant track coach at Cal and former world class athlete).

External links[link]

• IAAF profile for Paul McMullen
• Sporting Heroes
• USATF Bio (as of November 2001)

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Sir Jimmy Savile OBE, KCSG
Savile in 2006
Born	James Wilson Vincent Savile (1926-10-31)31 October 1926 Leeds, England
Died	29 October 2011(2011-10-29) (aged 84) Roundhay, Leeds, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	DJ, actor, columnist, television and radio personality
Years active	1958–2011
Television	Jim'll Fix It, Top of the Pops
Religion	Roman Catholic

Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE KCSG (31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops. He was also known for his fundraising and support of various charities, particularly Stoke Mandeville Hospital. He was widely described as a philanthropist and was honoured for his efforts.^[1][2]

Early life[link]

Savile was born in Leeds, the youngest of seven children (Mary, Marjory, Vincent, John, Joan, Christina and James) born to Agnes Monica (née Kelly) and Vincent Joseph Marie Savile, a bookmaker's clerk and insurance agent.^[3] Savile almost died of pneumonia at the age of five months.

He was a Bevin Boy, conscripted during World War II to work as a coal miner at South Kirkby Colliery, West Yorkshire, England. He suffered serious spinal injuries in a mine explosion and spent a long period in recuperation.^[4] Having started playing records in dance halls in the early 1940s, Savile claimed to be the first ever disc jockey. According to his autobiography, he was the first person to use two turntables and a microphone, at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947.^[5] Savile is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of twin turntables for continuous play of music,^[6] though his claim has been disputed. (Twin turntables had been illustrated in the BBC Handbook in 1929 and were advertised for sale in Gramophone magazine in 1931.^[7])

He became a semi-professional sportsman, competing in the 1951 Tour of Britain cycle race^[8] and working as a professional wrestler.^[9] He said:

If you look at the athletics of it, I've done over 300 professional bike races, 212 marathons and 107 pro fights. [He proudly announces that he lost all of his first 35 fights.] No wrestler wanted to go back home and say a long-haired disc jockey had put him down. So from start to finish I got a good hiding. I've broken every bone in my body. I loved it.^[10]

Savile later lived in Salford, and worked as manager of the Plaza Ballroom in Oxford Road, Manchester, in the mid-fifties. He lived in Great Clowes Street in Higher Broughton, Salford, and was often seen sitting on his front door steps. He also managed the Mecca Locarno ballroom in Leeds around the late 1950s and early 1960s.^[11] Mecca also owned the Palais, a dance hall in Ilford, Essex, and Savile did a stint as manager there between 1955 and 1956. His Monday evening records-only dance sessions (admission one shilling) were a huge favourite with local teens.^[12]

Radio[link]

Savile started his radio career working as a Radio Luxembourg DJ from 1958 to 1967. He ran the Teen and Twenty Disc Club (TTDC),^[13] membership for life, on Radio Luxembourg. For a small fee listeners received a certificate and a small bracelet with a disc on it, inscribed with the show's name. He stated on the BBC television series Inside Out that the title Teen and Twenty Disc Club had been rejected by the BBC in favour of Top of the Pops as too long; also that he introduced dancing to records, so that he was the originator of the discothèque.