James Whale (radio)
| James Whale | |
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James Whale
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| Birth name | Michael James Whale |
| Born |
13 May 1951 Ewell, Surrey, England |
| Spouse(s) | Melinda Maxted (m. 1970) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | jameswhale.co.uk |
Michael James Whale (born 13 May 1951) is an English radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often acerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.
Whale was born in 1951 in the village of Ewell in Surrey, the son of an English father, David Whale, and a Welsh mother, Anne (née Price), who owned a pub.
Whale was educated at Longmead County Secondary Boys' School, a secondary modern school in Epsom, Surrey. It subsequently became a co-educational comprehensive school, and was renamed Epsom High School. The school closed in 1989; however, only a few years later in the mid to late nineties a new secondary school was opened on the same site called Blenheim High School.
Whale first gained national prominence in the late 1980s with The James Whale Radio Show, a late-night programme produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV. In 1995, he hosted The James Whale Show on TalkSport until he was sacked in 2008 after urging his listeners to elect Boris Johnson as Mayor of London. He presented on Bid TV before returning to the airwaves on LBC in London.
Whale started as a phone-in chat show host at Metro Radio in Newcastle, the first presenter of the Nightowls evening phone-in from the station's launch in 1974. He moved to Radio Derby to host a morning phone-in, working with Terry Christian, who became a colleague at talkSPORT.
In 1982, Whale joined Radio Aire in Leeds to host the night talk show. He was moved to the breakfast show in late 1986/early 1987, but soon went back to the late show where he would have more freedom of speech. In 1987 he recorded singles "The Whaley Rap" and "Wrap It Up For Xmas" and by late 1987 his show was simulcast with Red Rose Radio from Preston – both part of Trans World Communications, owned by Owen Oyston. In 1989 his third single "Bimbo" entered the UK Top 100 singles chart. An edited version of the B-side "A Big Big Egg" was the end theme for his TV show.
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