Nicky Campbell's Biography

Born in Edinburgh in April 1961, Nicky Campbell is famous for his radio and television presenting.

Nicky Campbell gained a history degree from Aberdeen University, and then became a jingle writer for Northsound Radio.

Campbell went on to present the breakfast show there before crossing the border to join London's Capital Radio in 1986. Just a year later Nicky Campbell moved to Radio 1 where he had a variety of slots before moving to BBC Radio Five Live in October 1997.

Nicky Campbell now co-presents the Radio 5's Breakfast show with Shelagh Fogarty.

His TV credits are full of variety. He has presented Wheel of Fortune, Top of the Pops, Now You're Talking, Panorama and Watchdog.

Campbell's wife is former head of Virgin Radio news Tina Ritchie.

Nicky Campbell has written a biographical work entitled Blue-Eyed Son: The Story of an Adoption. It opens:

"I was committing adultery in Room 634 of the Holiday Inn in Birmingham when my wife rang to say they'd found my mother."

In an amusing review of Campbell's biography in The Times, Ross Leckie wrote:

"Despite itself, though, this book succeeds. Campbell's self-obsession and superficiality may be insufferable and nauseating. But his account is very moving as well. Pathos will out, and there is plenty here. It doesn’t make you like Campbell. He is, though, hurting and human ..."

Nicky Campbell incurred the wrath of Greg Dyke, when he was Director General of the BBC, when Campbell claimed in a newspaper interview that he had turned down an offer of Jimmy Young's job on Radio 2.

According to The Guardian, Nicky Campbell said: "Jimmy Young's not really been told what's going on - but the BBC is like that. I'll be the one that is shat on in five years' time. We're under no illusions here. The BBC is a wonderful organisation, but it's a ruthless one."

Nicky Campbell was taught by Beverley Knight in the BBC series Just the Two of Us and they reached the halfway stage in the series before being voted off.

In 2007, Nicky Campbell explored his adoptive family history in a special edition of Who Do You Think You Are? to launch the BBC's Family Wanted campaign, which revolves around foster care and adoption.

He was adopted as a 4 day old by Sheila and Frank Campbell.

Together with Julia Bradbury, Nicky Campbell presented Watchdog, however in 2009, it was announced that they were being replaced by Anne Robinson, and that "Campbell has committed to relocating to Salford with Radio 5 Live."

In May 2010, Media Guardian reported that Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall were to host a new ITV1 series reuniting lost relatives called Long Lost Family.

In July 2017, the BBC revealed that Nicky Campbell over £400,000 from licence fee revenue in their financial year 2016/7.

In 2021, the BBC revealed that Nicky Campbell was to leave the Breakfast show on BBC Radio 5 Live after almost 20 years: "Campbell will host a new weekday show based on his current one-hour Your Call phone-in slot, which is presently part of the Breakfast slot."

He also became the host of the podcast Different on BBC Sounds.