Christopher Price (broadcaster)
| Christopher Price | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Christopher Mark Ibbotson-Price 21 September 1967 Norfolk, England |
| Died | 21 April 2002 (aged 34) London, England |
| Cause of death | Heart failure |
| Resting place | Mortlake Crematorium |
| Alma mater | University of Reading |
| Years active | 1993–2002 |
| Employer | BBC |
| Notable credit(s) | Liquid News |
Christopher Mark Ibbotson-Price (21 September 1967 – 21 April 2002) was an English journalist and presenter, who was best known as the original host of BBC celebrity news show Liquid News.
Price was born in Norfolk on 21 September 1967 and was adopted shortly afterwards. In his early days, he attended Worth School, a Roman Catholic boarding school in Sussex. After school, he studied Italian at the University of Reading. However, he left university with the desire to become a journalist – he enrolled into the BBC reporter training scheme in 1991.
Once completed, Price pursued his desire and in 1993, he became a reporter on Radio Berkshire – soon to move to Radio Solent. In March 1994, he joined BBC Radio 5 Live to eventually become a Senior Broadcast Journalist. He sometimes stood in for Sybil Ruscoe, and occasionally presented Up All Night.
Price joined BBC News 24 when it was launched in November 1997 and presented a mixture of news, fashion, and entertainment in a 10:30 pm slot. However, after nine months, he was called to the office of a senior colleague and told that he was too camp to read the news. He and the producer Chris Wilson put together a nightly entertainment news discussion programme called Zero 30.
After Stuart Murphy said that he enjoyed the programme he was persuaded to take it to digital television channel BBC Choice where it became Liquid News on 30 May 2000. The show became a cult hit on BBC Choice. Even though the viewing figures were not very large, the critical reaction to the show was excellent, and Liquid News quickly became the flagship programme of the channel.
In 2001, Price hit the headlines when he signed a £280,000 two-year contract. Under his new contract, he hosted extra editions of Liquid News for BBC One, BBC Prime and BBC America, raising his profile further. Some sections of the press considered his salary to be too much for a presenter on a digital channel. However, the BBC recognised Price's potential and were keen to keep him from "defecting" to a rival network. At the time, Price himself was quoted as jokingly saying that he didn't understand why people would want to watch a programme presented by a "fat, balding, homosexual". Under proposals which were awaiting government approval, Price and Liquid News would have been the centrepiece of a new BBC channel, BBC Three.
...
Wikipedia