23 Facts About Tim Westwood

Timothy Westwood was born on 3 October 1957 and is a British DJ and presenter.

Tim Westwood is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood.

Tim Westwood was described by The Guardian in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene whose opinions have been able to make or break upcoming artists for more than 30 years".

Tim Westwood hosted the Radio 1 rap show and presented the MTV UK show Pimp My Ride UK.

The son of Bill Westwood, who later became Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, Westwood spent his early years in Lowestoft where his father was parish priest and moved to Norwich aged eight, when his father became vicar of St Peter Mancroft.

Tim Westwood attended the independent Norwich School and the state comprehensive Hewett School in Norwich.

Tim Westwood was diagnosed as dyslexic, and later said that, when at school, he was bottom of his class, "clueless at work and poor at sports".

Tim Westwood's career started in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he helped set up sound systems in clubs in northwest London, taking opportunities to work as a DJ, and then warming up for David Rodigan.

Tim Westwood then moved to Kiss FM, which he co-owned.

Tim Westwood was on Capital FM from 1987, and in 1994 he moved to BBC Radio 1 to present its new rap show.

Tim Westwood later presented a series of his own television programmes on UKTV channel UK Play, which has since ceased broadcasting.

Tim Westwood is a patron of the internal radio station at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in west London.

Tim Westwood was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington, south London, on 18 July 1999, after he had been playing at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park.

Tim Westwood alleged that the gunmen were gang members who had been threatening him to stop playing shows in the neighbourhood.

At the BBC, Westwood hosted the weekday drivetime show for Radio 1Xtra from September 2009 until he was replaced by Charlie Sloth in September 2012.

Tim Westwood hosted the MTV series Pimp My Ride UK which ran for three seasons, from 2005 to 2007.

Westwood's official YouTube channel Tim Westwood TV has over 500 million video views and over 1 million subscribers.

Tim Westwood has won several awards, including the 2016 Legacy Award at the GRM Daily Rated Awards, the 2010 Radio Academy John Peel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music and the MOBO Awards for Best Radio DJ in 2000,2003,2005,2007 and 2008.

On 6 June 2006, Radio 1 and Tim Westwood's show in particular was accused of encouraging knife and gun crime by the Leader of the Conservative Party and then Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, who was speaking at a British Society of Magazine Editors event.

In interviews, Sacha Baron Cohen has stated that Tim Westwood, including his accent, was an inspiration for his fictional Ali G character.

Tim Westwood has been accused in the media of giving false statements about his age and background.

In 2000, at the age of 43, Tim Westwood insisted to a Guardian journalist that he was aged 27.

In July 2022, following a Freedom of Information request in relation to the BBC and Guardian investigation challenging the BBC's response, the BBC said it had received six complaints about Tim Westwood and referred one complaint to the police.