50 Facts About Iain Lee

1.

Iain Lee was born on Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973 and is an English former broadcaster, writer, and television presenter and stand-up comedian who hosts the phone-in talk show The Late Night Alternative on "pay to view" Patreon.

2.

Iain Lee then embarked on a full-time radio career in 2005, hosting mainly talk-based shows on LBC 97.3, Absolute Radio, BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Radio WM, and talkRADIO, which earned him numerous radio awards.

3.

In July 2020, after his contract at talkRADIO was not renewed, Iain Lee launched his Twitch show.

4.

Iain Lee Rougvie was born on 9 June 1973 in Slough, then a part of Buckinghamshire.

5.

Iain Lee's father worked at the props department at the BBC and his mother was a secretary until she developed multiple sclerosis which put her into an early retirement.

6.

Iain Lee was raised on a council estate and recalled being bullied by fellow pupils because they considered him posh.

7.

Iain Lee officially changed his name to Iain Lee by deed poll in 2008, due to his troubled relationship with his father.

8.

Iain Lee is the nephew of Scottish former footballer Doug Rougvie.

9.

Iain Lee began a stand-up comedy career in the 1990s, initially performing on the London circuit exclusively before touring nationwide.

10.

Iain Lee considers his time as a stand-up to be a low point in his life, due to the fact that he started abusing drugs and alcohol during this time.

11.

Iain Lee met Mackenzie Crook, who was a stand-up comic at the time and the two became friends.

12.

Iain Lee began his radio career in December 1997, presenting a four-hour show on Horizon 103.3, an independent station in Milton Keynes, on Christmas Day.

13.

From 1999 to 2001, Iain Lee hosted a show on Xfm London.

14.

Iain Lee embarked on a full-time radio career in January 2005, starting with a stint on talk station LBC 97.3.

15.

Iain Lee was known for hosting a segment named Triple M, where calls went straight to air without being pre-screened, which Nick Abbot, Tommy Boyd, and Clive Bull had done.

16.

Iain Lee's presenting style fell out of favour and he left the station without prior announcement in November 2007.

17.

In January 2008, Iain Lee began to host The Sunday Night Show on Virgin Radio, later Absolute Radio, from 10pm to 1am that featured music and talk.

18.

From 12 October 2009, Iain Lee took over the Monday to Thursday evening slot.

19.

Iain Lee's departure occurred during a court case in which a listener was accused of harassing Lee, his wife, and the show's producer.

20.

From 2012 to 2015, Iain Lee presented the weekday breakfast show on BBC Three Counties Radio, a local service that served Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.

21.

Iain Lee later said that he accepted the job as he was unable to find work elsewhere, and felt "crushed" and a little humiliated about taking it at first.

22.

From December 2013, Iain Lee presented a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio WM, the BBC's West Midlands service, which was followed by a Friday afternoon slot on the station from September 2014.

23.

Iain Lee's departure followed complaints received about his interview with a lawyer from Christian Concern earlier in the month, in which Lee accused her of being "bigoted" and "homophobic" after she defended a minister quoting verses from the Bible condemning homosexuality as sinful.

24.

In February 2016, Iain Lee announced that he had joined the first line-up of presenters for the launch of a new talk radio station, talkRADIO.

25.

The station began to air on 21 March 2016, with Iain Lee hosting The Late Night Alternative from 10pm to 1 am on weekdays.

26.

Iain Lee won a second in 2020, this time for Moment of the Year for directing emergency services to a caller who had taken an overdose.

27.

On 10 July 2020, Iain Lee announced that he had been signed by Twitch to continue hosting The Late Night Alternative on its streaming platform.

28.

In June 2022, Lee was announced as the new presenter of Jack FM's breakfast show, Iain Lee's Rude Awakening, from 4 July.

29.

On 6 February 2023, Iain Lee announced his retirement from radio in order to focus more on his work as a counsellor.

30.

Iain Lee presented his final radio show on 8 February 2023, on Jack FM, in a show which featured previous regular callers and Producers from across his career.

31.

From 1998 to 2000, Iain Lee was a correspondent and co-host of the satirical comedy show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4.

32.

In one incident, Iain Lee received death threats and had a stalker after he joked about Danniella Westbrook and her drug use.

33.

Iain Lee later said that it was an unfair move, but felt the quality of the show's humour had declined and Channel 4 had cut its budget.

34.

In 2002, Iain Lee accepted to co-host a relaunch of the Channel 4 live breakfast show RI:SE with reality television star Kate Lawler, from January 2003.

35.

Iain Lee went on to present the video game show Thumb Bandits on Channel 4.

36.

In November 2017, Iain Lee took part in the seventeenth series of I'm a Celebrity.

37.

Iain Lee made it to the final and finished in third place.

38.

Iain Lee spoke openly about mental health whilst participating in the show.

39.

Iain Lee has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends, and presented the official Big Brother radio show with co-host Gemma Cairney, entitled Big Brother's Big Ears.

40.

Iain Lee has been heard as a continuity announcer on the TV channel Dave.

41.

The podcast included Iain Lee interviewing guests and celebrity news with Elisa Roche.

42.

Iain Lee had a cameo role in a music video for the British IBM's self-titled single, released in 2012.

43.

Iain Lee kept the man on the line whilst Boyle directed the emergency services to his location, with many on social media praising Iain Lee's decisive actions.

44.

Iain Lee revealed on 24 December 2018 that the man had survived and was now back home after receiving specialist treatment for two days.

45.

On 2 June 2020, Iain Lee announced his contract at Talkradio would not be renewed, having presented his final program the previous evening.

46.

In March 2018, Iain Lee announced that he and his wife, broadcaster Helena Wilkinson, were getting divorced.

47.

At the time of the announcement, Iain Lee confessed he had relapsed in drug use after being sober for 13 years, in a three-month period following his stint on I'm a Celebrity.

48.

In September 2020, Iain Lee said he had broken a two-and-a-half year period of sobriety when he relapsed on cocaine.

49.

In July 2019, Iain Lee came out as bisexual on his radio show, something that he had felt embarrassed about and tried to handle it with drugs and extramarital affairs.

50.

In September 2020, Iain Lee started a college course to become a counsellor.