Richard Bacon (broadcaster)
| Richard Bacon | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Richard Paul Bacon 30 November 1975 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Education |
Worksop College, Nottinghamshire (independent boarding school) |
| Alma mater | Nottingham Trent University |
| Occupation | television and radio presenter |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca McFarlane (m. 2008) |
| Children | Arthur Bacon (b. 2011) Ivy Bacon (b. 2014) |
Richard Paul Bacon (born 30 November 1975) is an English television and radio presenter. He is best known for having been a host of the popular children's show Blue Peter—his first high-profile media role—from which position he was fired in 1998 after 18 months. Following Blue Peter he worked as a reporter or presenter on numerous television shows, including The Big Breakfast, and on radio stations including Capital FM and Xfm London. Beginning 14th November 2016, Bacon became the new presenter of The National Geographic Channel's reboot of its documentary/panel discussion hybrid TV series, Explorer.
Bacon grew up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and was educated at St Peter's Church of England Primary School on Bellamy Road, followed by two independent schools, also in Nottinghamshire: at Wellow House School, a preparatory school on Newark Road in the village of Wellow, and then at Worksop College, a boarding school on Windmill Lane in the town of Worksop. He studied Business Studies with Electronics at Nottingham Trent University, but dropped out after a year.
Bacon's first job before moving into media was working at a branch of McDonald's restaurants.
His first job in the media was as a reporter for BBC Radio Nottingham, notably on the programme The Beat. In February 1996 he joined L!VE TV as a reporter; this saw him being banned from the State Opening of Parliament, and having a beer thrown at him by Damon Albarn as he tried to interview him leaving a nightclub.
Bacon's television break was as a presenter on the children's show Blue Peter, which he joined on 21 February 1997. He presented alongside Romana D'Annunzio, Katy Hill, Konnie Huq and Stuart Miles. On 19 October 1998 he was the programme's first-ever presenter to have his contract terminated in mid-season, after the tabloid newspaper News of the World published a report of Bacon taking cocaine and cannabis. His tenure on the programme lasted just over 18 months. After his dismissal, the then Head of BBC children's programmes Lorraine Heggessey went on air to explain the situation to CBBC viewers.
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