Jeremy Guy Vine is a
BritishThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
authorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
,
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and
news presenterA news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
for the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. He is known for his
directDirect may refer to:* Direct current, a direct flow of electricity* Direct examination, the in-trial questioning of a witness by the party who has called him or her to testify...
interview style and exclusive reporting from war-torn areas throughout Africa. He is the current host of the BBC Radio 2 programme,
Jeremy Vine, which presents news, views, and interviews with live guests.
Personal background
Jeremy Vine was born on 17 May 1965 in
CheamCheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarkets,...
,
SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England. He is the son of Guy Vine and Diana Tillett. His younger brother is the comedian
Tim VineTimothy "Tim" Mark Vine is an English actor, writer and comedian. He has released a number of DVDs of his stand-up comedy, as well as starring in the successful series Not Going Out with Lee Mack on the BBC...
. Jeremy is married to BBC News presenter
Rachel SchofieldRachel Schofield is a journalist who works for the BBC. She can usually be seen presenting regular relief shifts on BBC News, the corporation's rolling news channel, each Monday-Wednesday. She returned to BBC News in October 2007 after a year long maternity leave.-Education:Schofield was educated...
. The couple married in September 2002 in
East DevonEast Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Sidmouth, and the largest town is Exmouth.The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Honiton with the urban districts of Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Ottery St. Mary, Seaton, Sidmouth...
, and have two daughters.
Jeremy was educated at Lynton Preparatory School in Ewell and
Epsom CollegeEpsom College is an independent co-educational public school in Epsom, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 13 to 18. Founded in 1853 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orphans , Epsom's long-standing association with medicine was estimated in 1980 as...
and played the
drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
in a band called The Flared Generation. At
Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
(
Hatfield CollegeHatfield College is a college of the University of Durham in England. Founded in 1846 by the Rev. David Melville, it is the second oldest of Durham's colleges, and was originally called Bishop Hatfield's Hall...
), he graduated with a
2:2 undergraduateThe British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
degree in English.
After a short stint on
Metro RadioMetro Radio is an independent local radio station based in Newcastle upon Tyne and broadcasting to Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland. The station's output is principally contemporary pop and dance music...
, Vine enrolled in a
journalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
training course with the
Coventry Evening TelegraphThe Coventry Telegraph is a local English tabloid newspaper. Originally called The Midland Daily Telegraph, it was founded in 1891 by William Isaac Iliffe as Coventry's first daily newspaper, a four-page broadsheet newspaper originally sold for a half penny...
, before joining the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1987.
A former punk, he is a fan of
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, whom he has seen 13 times in concert. Vine is the patron of Radio St. Helier, a UK registered charity providing radio programmes to patients at
St. Helier HospitalSt Helier Hospital is a hospital in the London Borough of Sutton. It is owned and run by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust....
in Surrey.
Vine is a practising Anglican. He has deplored the marginalisation of Christians in British society, saying that "You can't express views that were common currency 30 or 40 years ago".
He was named Speech Broadcaster of the Year in the 2011 Sony Awards. (He won the same award in 2005). His 2010 election interview with
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, where the Prime Minister put his head in his hands as he was played the recording of him calling a voter a bigot, won Jeremy the Sony Award for Interview of the Year.
Television reporting
Vine's career at the BBC included reading the news on radio in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and working as a researcher on the
BBC1BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
series
Heart of the Matter. In 1989, he became a regular reporter on the
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
programme
TodayToday is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
, filing reports from across Europe.
While working for
Today, he published two comic novels set amidst the modern
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, including
Forget Heaven, Just Kiss Me (1992) and
The Whole World In My Hands (1993). The novels were not successful and Vine now regards them as
juveniliaJuvenilia is a term applied to literary, musical or artistic works produced by an author during his or her youth. The term often has a retrospective sense. For example, written juvenilia, if published at all, usually appear some time after the author has become well-known for later works.The term...
.
In the mid-1990s, Vine became familiar with BBC TV viewers as a political reporter, reporting on the modernisation of the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He later made his mark offering irreverent reports on the
1997 General ElectionThe United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
.
After the 1997 election, Vine became the Africa Correspondent based in
JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, travelling all over Africa. Reporting assignments took him to the war front to report on the Eritrean–Ethiopian War, the
Angolan Civil WarThe Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
, the violence in
LesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
after South African troops went in and hoisted a South African flag over the Royal Palace, following leadership disputes. He also travelled to Algiers and Kenya, to report during political elections.
Vine was successful in gaining interviews with key leaders in various African nations. Two of these included Robert Mugabe, current President of Zimbabwe; and the leader of the Islamist regime in Khartoum, Sudan. Other areas of Africa from which he has reported include Mali, Zambia, Sierra Leone, and the Niger Delta, to report on the Nigerian villagers' unrest over the work of the oil companies.
In April 1999, Vine presented an exclusive report on South African police brutality for
BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's
NewsnightNewsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
. The film won the Silver Nymph at the
Monte Carlo Television FestivalThe Monte-Carlo Television Festival was created in 16-20 January 1961 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who wished to “encourage a new art form, in the service of peace and understanding between men”....
, and resulted in the suspension of 22 police officers. Following this report, Vine joined Newsnight full-time as a presenter. He was one of the original presenters of
Broadcasting HouseBroadcasting House is a current affairs programme on BBC Radio 4, presented by Paddy O'Connell. It is broadcast every Sunday between 09:00 and 10:00....
on BBC Radio 4.
Television presenting
Vine presented
The Politics ShowThe Politics Show is an hour long BBC One television political programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays. The programme usually starts at midday, but is often earlier or later when sporting events clash in the schedules. It was launched in 2003 and was originally presented by Jeremy...
on
BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
from its launch in 2003, until Jon Sopel took over in 2005.
In May 2006, Vine was announced as
Peter SnowPeter Snow, CBE is a British television and radio presenter. He is the grandson of First World War general Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow, and cousin of Jon Snow, the main presenter of Channel 4 News, nephew of schoolmaster and bishop George D'Oyly Snow, and the brother-in-law of historian-writer Margaret...
's replacement for presenting the BBC election graphics, including the famous
SwingometerThe swingometer is a graphics device that shows the swing from one party to another on British election results programmes. It was invented by Peter Milne, and later refined by David Butler and Robert McKenzie....
. His performance on the night of the council elections in England and Wales on 30 April 2008, was widely criticised.
In January 2007, Vine became the presenter of the BBC's flagship and the world's oldest current affairs programme,
PanoramaPanorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
, which coincided with the show's move back to a Monday peak-time slot. The move from Sunday nights was the idea of BBC1 controller
Peter FinchamPeter Fincham is a British television producer and executive, currently the Director of Television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the Controller of BBC One, the primary television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation, until his resignation on 5 October 2007, following...
and was widely regarded as a scheduling stroke of genius.
In 2008, Vine started presenting
Points of ViewPoints of View is a long-running television show shown in the United Kingdom on BBC One, featuring the letters of viewers offering praise, criticism and purportedly witty observations on the television of recent weeks...
, taking over from
Terry WoganSir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
. On 6 October 2008, he started hosting the BBC 2 quiz show
Eggheads in which he presented while the spin-off show,
Are You an Egghead?Are You an Egghead? was a BBC quiz show presented by Dermot Murnaghan. It is a spin off from the quiz show Eggheads, with its goal to find a further Egghead to complement the existing team. The first series was aired weekdays from 20 October to 2 December 2008 and was won by Barry Simmons...
was presented by the regular host,
Dermot MurnaghanDermot Murnaghan is a British journalist and television presenter.He is well known for his work as a presenter of ITV and BBC News as well as the shows Eggheads and Treasure Hunt . He co-presented BBC Breakfast from Monday to Thursday as well as regularly fronting national BBC news bulletins...
.
Radio broadcasting
In January 2003, after several stints as a stand-in for
Jimmy YoungSir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
on
BBC Radio 2BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
Vine took over the lunchtime show on a regular basis. While Vine is known to sporadically take telephone callers, the programme is more a news show than a phone-in. One month into his new job, Vine had an item on a recent news making offensive joke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY-uKI3BG2M which other broadcasting bodies had refused to transmit and was in relation to the
Morecambe Bay cockling disasterThe Morecambe Bay cockling disaster occurred on the evening of 5 February 2004 at Morecambe Bay in North West England, when at least 21 cockle pickers were drowned by an incoming tide off the Lancashire/Cumbrian coast....
. Before reading it out, he stated, that he found it - "very funny". A formal complaint was made, but the BBC insisted that he did not say this. It was later proved, that the BBC had lied, but because they had initially refused to provide a recording of the programme, it was too late for any action to be taken by Ofcom.
After Vine took over the hosting duties, the show was revamped. While the regular Thursday food slot was dropped, the Monday health and Friday legal advice slots were retooled. Monday's
The Health and Wellbeing Hour include either Dr
Sarah Jarvis or Rabbi Julia Neuberger, while Friday's
Your Money and Your Life, involve a variety of contributors, most frequently
Martin LewisMartin Steven Lewis is journalist, television presenter, website entrepreneur and author in the United Kingdom, who specialises in ways to save money...
. Friday's shows frequently include a link-up to gardener Terry Walton. Until October 2006, Lucy Berry served as the show's in-house poet. In 2005, Vine won the best speech broadcaster award at the
Sony Radio Academy AwardsThe Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
.
External links