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The Redditch Standard Archives – 28 August 2015

TV’s Nick Owen lifts the lid on life in front of the camera at the Palace -
2015

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.”

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