61 Facts About Noel Edmonds

1.

Noel Ernest Edmonds was born on 22 December 1948 and is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman.

2.

Noel Edmonds has presented various radio shows and light-entertainment television programmes for 50 years, originally working for the BBC, later Sky UK and Channel 4.

3.

Noel Edmonds attended Glade Primary School in Clayhall and Brentwood School in Brentwood, Essex.

4.

Noel Edmonds was offered a place at the University of Surrey but turned it down to focus on his radio career.

5.

Noel Edmonds began working as a newsreader on Radio Luxembourg, which was offered to him in 1968 after he sent tapes to offshore radio stations.

6.

In 1969, Noel Edmonds moved to BBC Radio 1, where he began by recording trailers for broadcasts and filling in for absent DJs, such as Kenny Everett.

7.

Noel Edmonds moved to Sunday mornings and middays, from 10am to 1p.

8.

In 2003, Noel Edmonds made a brief radio comeback, taking over the 'drivetime' broadcast on BBC Radio 2 for eight weeks while Johnnie Walker was treated for cancer.

9.

In December 2004, Noel Edmonds played a detective on a radio murder mystery play on local station BBC Radio Devon.

10.

In 2020, Noel Edmonds set up an online radio network in New Zealand, called Positivity Radio.

11.

Noel Edmonds hosted Top of the Pops at various points between 1972 and 1978, during which time he presented a phone-in programme for teenagers called Z Shed on BBC1 as well as a programme called Hobby Horse.

12.

Noel Edmonds hosted the children's Saturday-morning programme Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, which ran from 1976 to 1982.

13.

In 1980, Noel Edmonds took part in the Eurovision Song Contest, introducing the UK entry live on stage at the final in the Hague.

14.

Noel Edmonds was one of the original presenters of the BBC's motoring series Top Gear during the late 1970s.

15.

Telly Addicts was a BBC1 game show hosted by Noel Edmonds, who owned the format.

16.

The irony of this was not lost on Noel Edmonds, whose self-deprecating presentation style frequently made light of the low-budget production values.

17.

Noel Edmonds's House Party was a staple of BBC1's autumn and spring schedules throughout the 1990s.

18.

In 2005, Noel Edmonds was persuaded back to TV presentation by Peter Bazalgette, then CEO of Endemol, who were experiencing great success with their new game show format of Deal or No Deal.

19.

Noel Edmonds initially declined the approach, citing that he was concentrating on business interests, but eventually agreed to host a short run of 66 shows.

20.

In 2006, Noel Edmonds was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for his work on the programme but lost out on the night to Jonathan Ross.

21.

On 16 March 2007, Noel Edmonds made a cameo appearance as himself in a sketch with Catherine Tate who appeared in the guise of her character Joanie "Nan" Taylor from The Catherine Tate Show.

22.

Sky edited a repeat broadcast after Noel Edmonds launched an extended verbal attack on a council press officer.

23.

Noel Edmonds has hosted major TV events including the BAFTA Awards, the Brit Awards and the launch of the UK National Lottery.

24.

Noel Edmonds was involved in the Live Aid concerts in 1985, transporting stars to and from the Wembley Stadium concert via helicopter and appearing on stage at Wembley to introduce the joint set by Sting and Phil Collins.

25.

Noel Edmonds took Collins to Heathrow Airport, where Collins boarded Concorde to fly to the United States to perform at the Philadelphia concert.

26.

Noel's Christmas Presents was an annual broadcast in which Edmonds delivered special presents to special people.

27.

Noel Edmonds was a guest host for the fourth-series episode of The Friday Night Project, broadcast on 26 January 2007.

28.

In 2017, Noel Edmonds presented Cheap Cheap Cheap, a cross between a sitcom and a game show.

29.

Noel Edmonds came up with the concept, produced by Hat Trick and Channel 4 commissioned 30-hour-long episodes.

30.

In November 2018, Noel Edmonds became the highest paid participant ever on ITV's I'm a Celebrity.

31.

Noel Edmonds became the first celebrity to leave the series when he was voted out on 30 November 2018.

32.

In 1985, Noel Edmonds formed the Unique Group, which consisted of various operations.

33.

Noel Edmonds resigned as non-executive director of UBCMG in March 2006 as a direct result of the success of Deal or No Deal.

34.

In July 2019, Noel Edmonds agreed a compensation deal with Lloyds Banking Group as a victim of the HBOS Reading branch fraud.

35.

Noel Edmonds had claimed that bank staff had destroyed Unique Group.

36.

Noel Edmonds-licensed theme park attractions based on Crinkley Bottom and Mr Blobby were set up in existing parks at Cricket St Thomas in Somerset and Pleasurewood Hills Theme Park in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

37.

Noel Edmonds was said to be very critical of Lancaster City Council's management of the Morecambe park.

38.

In March 2014, Noel Edmonds declared on Newsnight that he was part of a consortium which planned to buy the BBC, because the corporation is "sleepwalking itself to destruction".

39.

Noel Edmonds said that he did not have a TV licence and only watched BBC programmes on catch-up.

40.

Noel Edmonds married Gillian Slater in 1971, but the marriage ended in divorce after eleven years.

41.

In July 2009, Noel Edmonds married his third wife, Liz Davies, who was a make-up artist on the programme Deal or No Deal when they first met.

42.

Noel Edmonds was president of the British Horse Society between 2004 and 2007.

43.

On 27 September 2015, Noel Edmonds received an award from the Atlantic Award Group for his extensive contributions to broadcasting.

44.

Noel Edmonds was the first TV personality to receive an award from the AAG and was the first recipient from the UK in 2015.

45.

Noel Edmonds is fond of referring to himself in the third person.

46.

Noel Edmonds was Chairman of the Renewable Energy Foundation, an organisation which is staunchly opposed to wind farms.

47.

Noel Edmonds was said to have joined "because of the threat near his home in Devon".

48.

Noel Edmonds's view is that those who are promoting wind farms are energy companies with a vested financial interest and that wind turbines are not reliable enough as a source of sustainable energy.

49.

Noel Edmonds is an outspoken critic of immigration and the BBC's Welsh Language Service.

50.

Noel Edmonds coordinated the Heart of Devon campaign to provide information for farmers affected by the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.

51.

Noel Edmonds said that he had stopped payment on his TV licence in early 2008, in response to the sometimes controversial methods used to enforce collection of the TV licence fee.

52.

Noel Edmonds said that it is wrong to "threaten" and "badger" people, in response to the collection authority's common assumption that the non-possession of a licence can mean licence evasion, as well as the large fines which can be used as enforcement for non-payment.

53.

TV Licensing later claimed that Noel Edmonds did possess a valid current TV licence, but this claim was denied by a spokesman for Noel Edmonds, who said that TV Licensing had their facts wrong.

54.

Noel Edmonds had not worked on TV since the end of his BBC TV show Noel's House Party in 1999 and one of his wishes was for a new challenge.

55.

Noel Edmonds later went on to write his own book titled Positively Happy: Cosmic Ways To Change Your Life.

56.

Noel Edmonds said in 2008 that he is constantly accompanied by two melon-sized "spiritual energy" balls, which appear over his shoulders and which he believes to be the spirits of his dead parents.

57.

Noel Edmonds stated a belief that death was impossible because the body was merely a container for "a universal energy", and that this had "been known for a very long time".

58.

Noel Edmonds went on to add: "I then had my tumour destroyed by sound waves, proving yet again energy is at the heart of this issue" and said that "I believe pulsed electromagnetism has a role to play in tackling cancer and I will always believe that".

59.

Noel Edmonds held Lloyds Bank responsible, because they had acquired HBOS, whose Reading branch was involved in the alleged scam.

60.

Noel Edmonds complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the "By Your Side" Lloyds marketing campaign, claiming it was hypocritical; the complaint was not upheld.

61.

In 2019 it was reported that the dispute was settled, with Lloyds Bank Group agreeing a compensation deal with Noel Edmonds, and apologising to him for the "distress" he had suffered.