Ian Collins is a UK Radio Host

Ian Collins fronts one of the UK’s top radio shows. He also appears on the telly. Additionally, he is a member of the Westminster Press Gallery.

Ian started in music radio working for the Capital Radio group at Kent’s Invicta FM. After three years combining music and phone-in formats he moved on to the BBC to host the Early Breakfast show. It was this journalistic grounding that soon ensured a place on the National airwaves; he was poached to host The Late Show on the UK’s first National commercial speech station, Talk Radio. Whilst the station has gone through various evolutions – culminating in the station talkSPORT – Ian has remained constant throughout. He continues to present the highly rated nightly radio programme The Ultimate Late Show - Live. Whilst the station boasts a top notch schedule of sport, 50% of the output is still lent to non sports programming, current affairs and phone based debate.

The uniqueness of his radio shows has always been to blend both pop culture and current affairs into the same format. A typical show may well include the political mite of John Reid or Michael Howard but will also feature the likes of Jimmy Carr and Ross Noble into the same mix. Far from reducing the gravitas of topical debate or losing out to comedy die-hards, the programme has achieved what TV formats have consistently failed to do; bringing current affairs to a younger demographic. The show’s audience remain high and, crucially, the 18-40 age group dominate.

Additionally, the show takes on all news based issues - whether reporting or lampooning - and dedicates a huge chunk of its output to popular culture & consumer issues, focusing on scams and cons, film and music and a particularly emphasis on comedy. Ian is both writer and exec producer of the show.

Ian is also a regular contributor to TV formats. Sky News, Channel 5 News, BBC3’s the Most Annoying People of 2006, Richard & Judy are all recent shows that he has either guested or contributed on. He is also in the middle of his second book 87 People I’d like to Slap – a year long diary of every nook, cranny and corner of British life that has riled, bothered, or given him the chronic hump.

Some Stunning Facts About Ian

Ian has specialised in bringing current affairs to a younger audience. This has often involved a mix and matching with his guest list. Lord Douglas Hurd and Ross Noble were two notable examples...on the same show. Mr Hurd was flummoxed and Mr Noble was just, well, hilarious.

For a bet Ian once auditioned to be a monster in Dr. Who. He got the part, playing the lead Haemavore in The Curse of Fenric. This involved chasing Nicolas Parsons around a graveyard in Sussex.

During a heated interview exchange with John Prescott, the tubby MP got up and legged it. A spokesman later told Collins that he’s got fed up with being interviewed and didn’t like the line of questioning. Er, nice one John, ever considered a career change?

George Michael, Kevin Spacey and HRH Prince William are all said to be die-hard fans of Ian’s radio shows (Allegedly, supposedly, apparently etc etc....) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.