NICK Owen has interviewed seven Prime Ministers, commentated on World Cups and the Olympics and is a friendly face in our living rooms nearly every single day.
And now the people of Redditch have a rare chance to meet the man himself when he hosts his own show at the Palace Theatre next month – one of only two he’s putting on this year.
It’s a chance to find out what happened to Redditch resident Suzanne Virdee, what he says to weathergirl Shefali Oza, what it was like working with Anne Diamond as well as hear hundreds of other tales and anecdotes from the world of sport and life on TV and radio.
“We’re hoping Suzanne will be there on the evening – she’s said she’ll come and heckle – so I’ve asked for extra security,” said Nick with a chuckle.
“But I feel very privileged to be in the business of journalism and broadcasting because I’ve met so many fascinating people and witnessed so many different incidents,” he added.
“I’ve interviewed Bob Hope in Beverley Hills, Pierce Brosnan in Malibu, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elton John, Tom Jones – I feel very lucky.
“I even interviewed someone who was on the Titanic when it went down, she was only seven at the time but as you can imagine, the memory of it all was still incredibly vivd for her.”
Nick has become part of the fabric of our lives in his 37 years in broadcasting, born in Berkhamsted, 13 miles from Luton where he is now chairman of Luton Town Football Club.
He joined the Doncaster Evening Post three weeks after finishing a Classics degree at Leeds University before moving to the Midlands to work on the Birmingham Post.
“It was the early days of local radio and I’d be out on jobs and I’d meet their reporters and they kept telling to get involved, so, at the third attempt, I managed to get in at BBC Radio Birmingham.”
After that he never looked back, working as a sports journalist covering Villa and Albion in Europe before a call came through from ATV asking if he was interested in working in television.
“I had a secure job at the BBC and the job on telly was only for a six month contract, but I thought I’d give it a go.”
He quickly found himself working on sport on the new breakfast television show before moving to TV-am where eight weeks later he was asked to stand in for David Frost as the presenter.
“They only wanted me as a stopgap but I stayed on – they then asked me who I wanted as a co-presenter and I said Anne Diamond, who I’d worked with in the Midlands, and we went on from there.”
Good Morning Britain, led to Good Morning with Anne and Nick, firmly cementing him in the hearts of the country, before the move to Midlands Today.
“People still get me mixed up with Nick Ross though,” he said, “I remember I helping my late mother shop in a supermarket in Cheltenham and the lady at the checkout looked at us and nodded in recognition and my mother filled with pride before the lady said ‘oh, Nick Ross, I always watch you on Crimewatch’, which rather deflated things.”
An Evening With Nick Owen – which will also feature a question and answer session – is at the Palace Theatre on Thursday, September 24 at 7.30pm and tickets, priced £15.75 are available from the box office or by calling 01527 65203.
