English journalist and radio presenter (born 1965)
Jeremy Guy Vine
(born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his
BBC Radio 2
lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests and popular music, taking over from long-serving host
Jimmy Young
in 2003.
Vine is also the host of the
Channel 5
(formerly
BBC Two
) quiz programme
Eggheads
, taking over from former host
Dermot Murnaghan
full-time in 2014. In 2015, he was a contestant on the
13th series
of
Strictly Come Dancing
. Since September 2018, he has presented a
Channel 5
weekday current-affairs show,
Jeremy Vine
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Jeremy Vine was born in
Cheam
,
London
. He is the elder son of Guy Vine (1937?2018),
[3]
lecturer in civil engineering at
North East Surrey College of Technology
, and Diana (nee Tillett), who was a housewife and later a doctor's receptionist.
[4]
[5]
Vine has two siblings; a sister called Sonya and a brother,
Tim
.
[4]
Vine was educated at Lynton Preparatory School in
Ewell
, then
Aberdour School
in
Burgh Heath
, and then
Epsom College
.
[6]
He played the drums in a band called The Flared Generation, of which his brother Tim was also a member;
Smash Hits
magazine described them as "the most unfashionable punk band in the country".
[7]
At
Durham University
(
Hatfield College
), he graduated with a
2:2 undergraduate
degree in English.
[6]
He was a member of the sketch comedy group,
The Durham Revue
,
[8]
and was an editor of the student newspaper,
Palatinate
.
[6]
His radio career started on Durham Hospitals Radio, as a volunteer.
Following a short stint on
Metro Radio
,
[6]
Vine enrolled in a journalism training course with the
Coventry Evening Telegraph
,
[9]
before joining the BBC in 1987.
[10]
Broadcasting career
[
edit
]
Vine's career at the BBC included reading the news on the radio in
Northern Ireland
and working as a researcher on the
BBC1
series
Heart of the Matter
. In 1989, he became a regular reporter on the
BBC Radio 4
programme
Today
, filing reports from across Europe.
While working for
Today
, he published two comic novels set amidst the modern
Church of England
, including
Forget Heaven, Just Kiss Me
(1992) and
The Whole World in My Hands
(1993). The novels were not successful, and Vine now regards them as
juvenilia
.
[
citation needed
]
In the mid-1990s, Vine became familiar to BBC TV viewers as a political reporter, which included reporting on the ascent of
New Labour
under
Tony Blair
. He later made his mark offering irreverent reports on the
1997 General Election
.
Following the 1997 election, Vine became the Africa Correspondent based in
Johannesburg
, travelling across Africa. Reporting assignments took him to the war front to report on the
Eritrean?Ethiopian War
, the
Angolan Civil War
, the violence in
Lesotho
after
South African troops went in and hoisted a South African flag over the Royal Palace
, following leadership disputes. He also travelled to
Algiers
and
Kenya
, to report during political elections.
Vine was successful in gaining interviews with key leaders in various African nations, including the President of
Zimbabwe
,
Robert Mugabe
, and the leader of the Islamist regime in
Khartoum
,
Sudan
. Other areas of Africa from which he has reported include
Mali
,
Zambia
,
Sierra Leone
and the
Niger Delta
(to report on the
Nigerian
villagers' unrest over the work of the oil companies).
[
citation needed
]
In April 1999, Vine presented an exclusive report on
South African
police brutality for
BBC Two
's
Newsnight
. The film won the Silver Nymph at the
Monte Carlo Television Festival
and resulted in the suspension of 22 police officers. In July 1999, the BBC announced that Vine was joining
Newsnight
full-time as a co-presenter, having stood in for
Jeremy Paxman
over the two previous summers.
[11]
Paxman was reported to have called Vine "
mini-me
", a reference to the diminutive associate of
Dr. Evil
in the
Austin Powers
film series.
[12]
Vine was one of the original presenters of
Broadcasting House
on BBC Radio 4 and presented
The Politics Show
on
BBC One
from its launch in 2003 until
Jon Sopel
took over in 2005.
In May 2006, Vine was announced as
Peter Snow
's replacement for presenting the BBC election graphics, including the famous
Swingometer
. His performance on the night of the council elections in England and Wales on 30 April 2008 was widely criticised.
[13]
From 2007 until 2009, Vine co-presented the
Teaching Awards
with
Kate Thornton
(2007),
Myleene Klass
(2008) and
Christine Lampard
(2009).
Between 2007 and 2010, Vine was the presenter of the BBC's flagship and the world's oldest current affairs programme,
Panorama
, which coincided with the show's move back to a Monday peak-time slot.
From 2008 to 2018,
[14]
Vine presented
Points of View
, taking over from Sir
Terry Wogan
. On 6 October 2008, he started hosting the former BBC Two quiz show
Eggheads
while the spin-off show,
Are You an Egghead?
, was presented by the regular host,
Dermot Murnaghan
. Once the spin-off show had finished, Vine continued to host the second half of each series, with Murnaghan hosting the first half. In Series 16, it was announced that Vine had become the sole presenter. As of 2014, Vine also hosted the spin-off series
Revenge of the Egghead
. The series ran for a 6-week period, between 24 February and 4 April 2014. On 12 March 2021, it was announced that after 18 years at the BBC, the programme would be moving to
Channel 5
, and Vine was to continue as host of the show.
[15]
From 2016 to 2017, Vine co-presented
Crimewatch
with
Tina Daheley
.
[16]
In September 2018, Vine replaced
Matthew Wright
as the presenter of
Channel 5
's weekday morning current affairs show, formerly called
The Wright Stuff
. The show's name has now changed to
Jeremy Vine
.
[17]
Vine said he would continue to present his Radio 2 weekday lunchtime programme.
[18]
In March 2021, it was announced that
Eggheads
would be joining his morning current affairs/phone-in show as a programme broadcast on Channel 5, after the BBC put the quiz on hiatus.
[19]
BBC Radio 2
[
edit
]
On 6 January 2003, after several stints as a stand-in for
Jimmy Young
on
BBC Radio 2
, Vine took over the weekday lunchtime show on a regular basis. The show consists of a mix of news-based discussions, including views from listeners, interspersed with popular music. After Vine took over the hosting duties, the show was revamped. While the regular Thursday food slot was dropped, the Monday health and Friday legal advice slots were retooled.
Monday's
The Health and Wellbeing Hour
includes either general practitioner
Sarah Jarvis
or Rabbi
Julia Neuberger
, while Friday's
Your Money and Your Life
, involves a variety of contributors, most frequently
Martin Lewis
. Since 2003, Friday's shows have frequently included a link-up to
Rhondda
gardener Terry Walton.
[20]
[21]
For four years, until October 2006, Lucy Berry served as the show's in-house poet.
[22]
[23]
Strictly Come Dancing
[
edit
]
On 10 August 2015, Vine was the first celebrity to be announced as taking part in the
thirteenth series
of the popular
BBC One
competition
Strictly Come Dancing
.
[24]
Vine was partnered with professional,
Karen Clifton
. On the fourth week of the contest, after Vine danced a
jive
to
Bobby Darin
’s "
Splish Splash
",
Bruno Tonioli
described him as a "Peculiar, off-the-wall artist like Tracey Emin", and
Craig Revel Horwood
compared him to "a stork that had been struck by lightning."
In week eight of the show he was in the dance-off, alongside
Jamelia
, and voted out of the show; finishing in ninth place.
[25]
He also took part in the 2017 Christmas special with the same partner.
Controversies
[
edit
]
It was revealed on 4 February 2015 that Vine received a five-figure sum for a post-dinner speech at a £250-a-head banquet organised by
ADS Group
, the trade organisation that represents defence and security industries in the UK, and attended by global arms manufacturers.
Campaign Against Arms Trade
lodged a formal complaint with the BBC, claiming a conflict for the organisation appearing to support an industry which "profits from dictatorships which silence and suppress debate". This prompted a BBC response saying: "Jeremy is a freelance presenter and so can make personal appearances without speaking on behalf of the BBC, as he did here."
[26]
In January 2018, Vine was one of six male BBC presenters who voluntarily took a pay cut when the gap between men's and women's pay at the BBC was revealed.
[27]
In December 2018, Vine apologised after a tweet suggested people in Wales should speak English. The tweet was deleted after Vine said that the tweet had been taken out of context and that he was talking about a caller to his show who had complained about Welsh people not talking in English in the pubs.
[28]
In October 2019, the journalist
Samira Ahmed
brought legal proceedings against the BBC under the Equal Pay Act. Key evidence cited in the case revealed that Vine had initially been paid £3,000 (later reduced to £1,300) per episode for presenting
Points of View
at a time when Ahmed had been paid £440 an episode for presenting
Newswatch
, a similarly formatted show. The differential was defended in part by a BBC executive referring to Vine having had a "glint in his eye" and a "cheeky" and light-hearted presentation style.
[29]
The London Central Employment Tribunal unanimously found in Ahmed's favour on 10 January 2020. There was no suggestion that Vine was involved in Ahmed being underpaid.
[30]
On 25 May 2023, a post from the "Jeremy Vine on 5" Twitter account asked if it was "time to crack down" on sick people claiming out-of-work benefits. The tweet was criticised by disability campaigners who accused it of "trolling" and "demonising" sick people. The tweet was later deleted.
[31]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Vine was married to an American banker, Janelle, for seven years, which ended in 2000. Vine stated that it was "very sad", but their jobs and travel meant they had "seen very little" of each other in three years.
[32]
He married
Rachel Schofield
, a journalist and news presenter, in 2002.
[2]
The couple have two daughters.
[33]
Vine is the patron of Radio St Helier,
[34]
a UK?registered charity providing radio programmes to patients at
St Helier Hospital
in
Carshalton
.
Vine is a practising
Anglican
and attends church. He has deplored what he sees as the marginalisation of Christians in British society, saying that "You can't express views that were common currency 30 or 40 years ago".
[35]
In August 2016, a car driver threatened and was abusive to Vine while he was cycling along Hornton Street in
Kensington
, London. Vine captured the encounter on his
helmet camera
, later broadcasting it on
YouTube
where it was viewed several million times. Vine also reported it to the police. On 18 April 2017, the car driver was jailed for nine months for threatening behaviour.
[36]
In October 2021, anti-vaccine campaigners protested outside Vine's home, objecting to the BBC's coverage of
COVID-19 vaccines
.
[37]
As Vine was not at home at the time, they presented their "anti-vaxx writ", a document without legal authority, to his wife. He later posted videos of the incident online. Vine has said he contracted
COVID-19
and commented on receiving the vaccine.
[37]
[38]
In February 2022, Vine was "knocked out cold for a minute or two" after falling 8 ft (2.4 m), onto grass, from his
penny-farthing
bicycle. He was taken to
Charing Cross Hospital
where doctors told him he was "lucky to have just a black eye and some aches from the fall".
[39]
In August 2022,
Alex Belfield
, a former
BBC Radio Leeds
presenter and the host of
YouTube
channel "Alex Belfield - The Voice of Reason", was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of
stalking
Vine and three others.
[40]
Vine described Belfield as "the
Jimmy Savile
of trolling", and said he had been subjected to an "avalanche of hatred" and a "constant bombardment" of harassing tweets and YouTube videos. Vine also told the court that he feared Belfield or one of his followers would go to his home, which led him to putting a picture up of Belfield so that his family could recognise him. Vine also sued Belfield for
defamation
.
[41]
The next month, on 16 September, Belfield was sentenced. The "simple stalking" element relating to the case involving Vine resulted in a sentence of thirteen weeks; this was added to the other sentences to provide an overall sentence of five-and-a-half years.
[42]
In May 2024, a High Court judge ruled in favour of Vine, who had sued former footballer
Joey Barton
for
libel
over posts on Twitter; 11 of the 14 cited tweets were found to be defamatory. Barton had repeatedly called Vine a "bike
nonce
", a vulgar British term for a paedophile, and had falsely associated Vine with paedophiles including
Jimmy Savile
and
Jeffrey Epstein
.
[43]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Radio
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Station
|
2003?present
|
Jeremy Vine
|
Presenter
|
BBC Radio 2
|
2024
|
Money Gone
|
himself
|
BBC Radio 4
drama
|
Awards and honours
[
edit
]
Vine was named Speech Broadcaster of the Year at the 2005 and 2011
Sony Awards
. At the latter, the 2010 election interview with
Gordon Brown
, in which the then-Prime Minister put his head in his hands as he was played
the recording
of him calling a voter a
bigot
, won Vine the Sony Award for Interview of the Year.
[44]
[45]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Ough, Tony (20 October 2019).
"Jeremy Vine: I thought as a teen that I just wasn't cut out to be a boy"
.
The Telegraph
. Retrieved
11 October
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Bond, Kimberley.
"Who is Jeremy Vine's wife Rachel Schofield and how long will she be co-presenting the show for?"
.
Evening Standard
. Retrieved
11 October
2021
.
- ^
Joseph, Shanique (24 August 2018).
"Jeremy Vine: BBC Radio 2 host shares emotional message following father's tragic death"
.
- ^
a
b
Hassell, Katherine (11 September 2015).
"Jeremy Vine: my family values"
.
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.
- ^
"Family detective: Jeremy Vine"
.
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. 7 December 2007. Archived from
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on 28 May 2010.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Jonathan Sale (22 October 2009).
"Passed/Failed: An education in the life of broadcaster Jeremy Vine"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
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- ^
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. yourlocalguardian.co.uk. 5 July 2012.
Archived
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. Retrieved
18 April
2017
.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
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. Archived from
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- ^
Gibbons, Duncan (8 November 2017).
"Revealed: When Jeremy Vine worked at the Coventry Evening Telegraph"
.
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. Retrieved
21 September
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.
- ^
Gibson, Janine (12 July 1999).
"Vine's Newsnight job makes him Paxman's heir apparent"
.
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. Retrieved
8 December
2019
.
- ^
Tweedie, Neil (30 April 2008).
"Jeremy Vine: 'Being treated badly once in your career is a good thing'
"
.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
26 May
2015
.
- ^
Martin, Nicole (2 May 2008).
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.
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. Archived from
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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. BBC News. 11 June 2018.
- ^
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. Channel 5. 11 June 2018
. Retrieved
1 July
2018
.
- ^
"EGGHEADS MOVES TO CHANNEL 5"
.
TVZoneUK
. 12 March 2021.
- ^
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.
Archived
from the original on 21 December 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^
"Jeremy Vine ? Meet the Team"
.
BBC Radio 2
.
Archived
from the original on 28 December 2009.
- ^
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.
www.bbc.co.uk
.
- ^
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.
Lucy Berry
.
- ^
"Strictly Come Dancing ? Jeremy Vine revealed as our first Strictly celebrity of 2015!"
.
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Blog
. 10 August 2015.
Archived
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. Retrieved
16 November
2015
.
- ^
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.
The Daily Telegraph
. 19 November 2015.
Archived
from the original on 17 November 2015
. Retrieved
19 November
2015
.
- ^
Cusick, James (4 February 2015).
"Jeremy Vine, the presenter leading the BBC's General Election coverage, accepts 'five-figure sum' to speak at arms trade dinner"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2015
. Retrieved
26 May
2015
.
- ^
"Jeremy Vine: Pay cut is 'a no-brainer'
"
.
BBC News
.
- ^
Davies, Gareth (30 December 2018).
"Jeremy Vine criticised over attitude to Welsh language"
.
The Telegraph
.
ISSN
0307-1235
. Retrieved
9 April
2019
.
- ^
Mohdin, Aamna (7 November 2019).
"BBC 'deliberately failed to call key witnesses' in Samira Ahmed dispute"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
24 February
2020
.
- ^
"Samira Ahmed wins BBC equal pay tribunal"
.
BBC News
. 10 January 2020
. Retrieved
10 January
2020
.
- ^
"Broadcaster's silence over 'rabblerouser' tweet on disability benefits"
. Disability News Service. 1 June 2023
. Retrieved
21 June
2023
.
- ^
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"It's the JV prog"
.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
26 May
2015
.
- ^
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"Jeremy Vine: my family values"
.
The Guardian
.
Archived
from the original on 23 September 2016.
- ^
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.
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. Archived from
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on 23 December 2016
. Retrieved
23 December
2016
.
- ^
Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (17 January 2009).
"Christians are becoming social pariahs in Britain"
.
The Daily Telegraph
. Archived from
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on 28 February 2009
. Retrieved
17 April
2009
.
- ^
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. BBC News. 18 April 2017.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Jeremy Vine 'unnerved' after home targeted by anti-vaccine protesters"
.
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. PA Media. 10 October 2021
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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2021
.
- ^
"Jeremy Vine rushed to A&E after bike fall left him 'knocked out cold'
"
. 16 February 2022.
- ^
"Alex Belfield trial: Former BBC presenter found guilty of stalking"
.
BBC News
. 5 August 2022.
- ^
"Alex Belfield: Jeremy Vine tells stalking trial of 'avalanche of hatred'
"
.
BBC News
. 13 July 2022.
- ^
"Alex Belfield: Former BBC presenter jailed for stalking"
.
BBC News
. 16 September 2022.
- ^
Stavrou, Athena (25 May 2024).
"Joey Barton calling Jeremy Vine 'bike n***e' had defamatory meaning, judge rules"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Danny Baker wins Speech Radio Personality of the Year award"
.
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. 10 May 2011
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
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.
TheGuardian.com
. 10 May 2005.
Archived
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. Retrieved
25 August
2014
.
External links
[
edit
]