Latest news with #BroomCupboard
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Where BBC Broom Cupboard's Simon Parkin is now - from weather man to film star
The BBC's Broom Cupboard, which celebrates its 40th birthday this year, was occupied by a number of famous TV presenters, one of them was Simon Parkin - here's what he's up to now A tiny room at the BBC became infamous when the corporation started to use the space as a studio where bubbly, young presenters would introduce children's programmes. Thanks to its diminutive size, it became affectionately known as the Broom Cupboard. Former This Morning host Philip Schofield presented the first ever slot on September 9 1985 and other famous faces such as Zoe Ball, Andy Crane and Andi Peters also sat behind the little control desk for CBBC. There were a couple of much-loved characters who popped up in the cupboard on occasion too - Gordon the Gopher and Edd the Duck, for example. It comes after Richard Osman reveals an axed Ant and Dec show was 'expensive car crash'. Another cheeky chappy who became a regular feature in the live slots was Simon Parkin. He began hosting from the Broom Cupboard in 1987 after starting out as a DJ on Radio Tees , the local commercial radio station for Teeside. He hadn't had his job there for long when he read an article in the Daily Star revealing Phil was leaving the afternoon cupboard slot to host new Saturday morning show, Going Live. He called up the boss at the time, was invited for an audition and got the job presenting the Christmas holiday morning links. He told how it felt to be on national telly so soon after starting out: "I really couldn't believe that I was there. I really didn't have any training," he recalled. "But it was a very relaxed, friendly place in which to be and learn. And you know, to look back, I had BBC1 to play with for three minute chunks at a time - it wouldn't happen now. There I was, and only five months previously I was on hospital radio." Simon revealed that it wasn't until Andi Peters, who he got on with immediately, started working there too that he honed his TV presenting skills. He said it was thanks to Andi's visual brain and expertise that he learnt the ropes. Describing his time in the cramped studio as "the best few years of my life", he remembers going out to lots of parties and having loads of fun despite not earning an awful lot. "We just genuinely had a really good time, on screen and off," he said. "Myself and Andi, and Stephanie Lowe and later Philippa Forrester, we all got on really well. We'd do a Sunday show and then all go out for lunch. I remember my flatmate used to moan at me for being on the phone at length to Andi. We'd just be chatting and coming up with ideas. It was just a really good, energised period of my life. I was very happy!" Simon stayed at the Beeb for the next five years working on shows such The Ozone, But First This, CBBC2 and Top of the Pops. He also kept up his DJ work at the BBC 's London station GLR and nationally on BBC Radio Five. In 1992 he was tempted over to rivals ITV to present for its new breakfast telly station, GMTV where he was to be the children's presenter. He went on to host programmes across the ITV network for Yorkshire Television, Granada and Westcountry. He ended up on Meridian in a slightly surprising slot - fronting the weather reports. Despite knowing nothing about meteorology, he was relieved when he was assured he didn't need to know about the science and was hired to cover maternity leave. He presented the nightly reports during the news until 2017. Simon has lived in Somerset with his wife Celina, their two children, Emily and Charlie and dog Pebble since 1998. He has returned to his first love of radio and now presents the weekday news and magazine show Simon Parkin in the Morning on BBC Somerset. Perhaps thanks to his time on front of the camera, he has also turned his hand to acting a few times. In 2018 he featured in horror films Grindsploitation 666 and Maneater, where, staying true to his roots, he was the radio announcer in both. In 2020 he played the lead role of Lester - a radio presenter - in Dead Air. The film's IMDb description reads: "Lester is a boring man living a boring life. He presents the overnight show on local station, Cosmic FM to an average listenership of 1. Stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of monotony, one night Lester's world is changed forever when he begins to receive call after call from panicked first-time listeners."
Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Where The Broom Cupboard's Andy Crane is now and unrecognisable new look
TV presenter Andy Crane rose to fame when he first appeared on CBBC children's show The Broom Cupboard in 1986. Despite leaving TV, he is still enjoying a sucessful career in the public eye Popular presenter Andy Crane is best known for his debut on children's TV programme The Broom Cupboard which is 39 years old - but what is the TV personality doing now? Andy, now 61, has been brightening up people's days on Greatest Hits Radio since 2019 and he looks very different from his Broom Cupboard days. He first appeared on TV in 1986, taking over from Phillip Schofield on BBC's Broom. The show, which helped launch the careers of Andi Peters, Toby Anstis and Zoe Ball, featured stars in a control desk room as the presenters introduced the programs. The 61-year-old, who was one of the most memorable presenters on show, was just 29 at the time and worked alongside puppet Gordon, who went on to join him on Going Live! the next year. He continued with Broom until 1990 and then featured on major music show Top of the Pops. He was also the face of Bad Influence! and Violet Berlin in the 90s. READ MORE: This Morning star Lisa Snowdon's shock facelift confession - 'I love tweakments!' But his impressive career didn't stop there. Andy also presented children's show, Motormouth, for ITV on Saturdays. He also featured on What's Up Doc? and Challenge TV. The star was also a news presenter for Channel M in Manchester. He is now residing in the picturesque location of Lake District, reports Rayo. Before joining Greatest Hits Radio in 2019, Andy presented for Radio Manchester where he started off as a tea boy. Speaking about how he got the role, he said: "I wrote to Piccadilly Radio in Manchester when I was living in the USA – they wrote back! Started there as a tea boy in 1981 and did my first show in 1983 which means I've now been doing this for 35 years." Andy, who was born in the seaside town of Morecambe, Lancashire, presents three hours of the best songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s on Greatest Hits Radio, including The Top 10 at 10 and Midnight Music Marathon. Luckily for his fans, he also appears on radiowaves on weekday afternoons - featuring the most groovy disco tunes for Greatest Hits Radio 70s. He says his listeners will hear: "Great music naturally and plenty of laughing." Earlier this year, the presenter revealed what he loves about his job the most: "Being invited into people's homes, cars, bedrooms and bathrooms."
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gary Barlow reveals surprise link to Andi Peters
It turns out that Gary Barlow and Andi Peters go way back. On Friday, 11 April's edition of Lorraine, the award-winning musician joined presenter Ria Hebden for a quick chat about the new series of Wine Tour, which whisked him off Down Under this time around. It was during their conversation that Barlow revealed Peters, who accompanied him in Australia, was one of his "oldest friends." Barlow told Hebden: "Us Brits love Australia, but I think to get one level beneath the sort of tourism and get into the wine that country makes, it's off the scale." "I imagine when you're going through your black book picking people to be in the show, I bet everybody wants to be a part of it," pointed out the Lorraine star. "So we've got Sophie Ellis-Bextor; our own Andi Peters is in this as well! How did he wangle that?" Read more: Robbie Williams admits new film Better Man 'throws people under the bus' Robbie Williams 'knew' Gary Barlow 'didn't like or trust' him Gary Barlow admits he's still angry about his daughter's death That's when guest Barlow called back to a period of struggle for his boyband Take That, which was originally made up of himself, Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange. "D'ya know, Andi's one of my oldest friends," he said. "When no-one else would put us on TV, this is like 1990, Andi would make any excuse to have us in The Broom Cupboard." Other celebrity guests set to appear on Wine Tour include Dannii Minogue, Tim Minchin and Ronan Keating. Launched in 1985 with Phillip Schofield as host, The Broom Cupboard was a CBBC programme where its stars would introduce segments from a tiny control desk dubbed the 'Broom Cupboard'. Four years into the show's run, Peters and Zoe Ball replaced Schofield and Andy Crane. His time in the studio also saw him working alongside iconic puppets Edd the Duck and Gordon the Gopher. Peters left in 1993, and once spoke about some of the bold wardrobe choices he made on there. "I always thought Andy Crane dressed badly, and Phillip too, so I thought I'd try some different combinations. I wore waistcoats a lot, and lots of tartan. And I was one of the people who originated wearing a short sleeve T-shirt over a long sleeve one," he claimed. "It kind of became a trademark. Some days I even wore a tie! I quite enjoyed changing things and making it different." Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV1 and ITVX, while Gary Barlow's Wine Tour: Australia premieres today at 2pm on the same channel.
