Andrew Collins (broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Andrew Collins is the creator and writer of Radio 4
sitcom Mr Blue Sky. His TV writing work includes EastEnders
and the sitcoms Grass
(which he co-wrote with Simon Day
) and Not Going Out
(which he initially co-wrote with Lee Mack
).
between the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving after Labour's defeat in the 1992 General Election
.
In 2007, he was made patron of Thomas's Fund, a Northampton
-based music therapy charity for children with life-limiting illnesses.
, Vox
, Select and Q
(where was editor, 1995–97). He also wrote for and edited film magazine Empire
in 1995. He formed a double-act with fellow music journalist Stuart Maconie
, presenting the Sony Award
-winning BBC Radio 1
show Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade, after forging their style on a daily comedy strand on Mark Goodier
's BBC Radio 1 drivetime
show, and Collins & Maconie's Movie Club on ITV
.
In 1998, Collins published his first book, Still Suitable for Miners, an authorised biography of the singer/songwriter Billy Bragg
. The book was updated in 2002 and again in 2007.
Collins often appeared on BBC
, ITV
and Channel 4
list shows, including the popular I Love the '80s programme. He stated on BBC Three
's The Most Annoying TV Programmes We Love to Hate that he had appeared on 37 such list shows, and that this would be his last one. He subsequently appeared on Heroes Unmasked
on BBC Three
. He devoted a full chapter to the experience of appearing as a talking head on such shows in his third volume of autobiography, That's Me in the Corner.
He has written three volumes of autobiography, humorous accounts of "growing up [to be] normal" in 1970s Northampton, struggling with art school in London in the 1980s, and forging a media career in the 1980s and 1990s: Where Did It All Go Right? (2003) (a Sunday Times
and Smith's
bestseller), Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (2004) and That's Me in the Corner (which draws its title from a line from the R.E.M.
song "Losing My Religion
") published in May 2007.
He produced a regular (generally weekly) podcast, the Collings & Herrin
with comedian Richard Herring
, which began in February 2008 and was named Podcast of the Week in the Times
in July 2008. It was on hiatus from June 2011 only restarting 4 November 2011. The lull was due to what Herring joked was "Collins' duplicitous careerism". Herring announced that the November podcast looks like it would be the last, as Collins had lost enthusiasm for it.
.
He co-wrote the first three series of the sitcom Not Going Out
for BBC One
with Lee Mack
.
Collins currently presents a Saturday morning radio show with Josie Long
on BBC 6 Music
.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
sitcom Mr Blue Sky. His TV writing work includes EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
and the sitcoms Grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
(which he co-wrote with Simon Day
Simon Day
Simon Day is a British comedian most famous for his roles in the sketch show The Fast Show, sitcom Grass and a series of comedic adverts for Powergen.-Life and career:...
) and Not Going Out
Not Going Out
Not Going Out is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006. Starring Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Sally Bretton, Miranda Hart and Katy Wix, it was initially written by Mack, Andrew Collins, Paul Kerensa, Simon Evans and Peter Tilbury, but now features contributions from other...
(which he initially co-wrote with Lee Mack
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
).
Personal life
Collins was a member of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
between the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving after Labour's defeat in the 1992 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
.
In 2007, he was made patron of Thomas's Fund, a Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
-based music therapy charity for children with life-limiting illnesses.
Career
Collins started his career as a music journalist, writing for the NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, Vox
Vox (magazine)
Vox was a British music magazine, first issued in October 1990. It was published by IPC Media, and was later billed as a monthly sister-magazine to IPC's music weekly, the NME....
, Select and Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
(where was editor, 1995–97). He also wrote for and edited film magazine Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
in 1995. He formed a double-act with fellow music journalist Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week , alongside Mark Radcliffe, called the Radcliffe...
, presenting the Sony Award
Sony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
-winning BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade, after forging their style on a daily comedy strand on Mark Goodier
Mark Goodier
-Early career:Mark Goodier was born in Rhodesia . His family moved to the UK when he was a child, eventually settling in Scotland. He was educated at George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh. He became a mobile DJ in Edinburgh and then joined local station Radio Forth at the age of 19...
's BBC Radio 1 drivetime
DriveTime
DriveTime Automotive Group Inc., based in Phoenix, Arizona, is the largest used car seller and automobile finance company focusing on buyers with credit problems. The company has 88 dealerships in 36 U.S. metropolitan areas, and more than 2000 employees...
show, and Collins & Maconie's Movie Club on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
.
In 1998, Collins published his first book, Still Suitable for Miners, an authorised biography of the singer/songwriter Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
. The book was updated in 2002 and again in 2007.
Collins often appeared on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
list shows, including the popular I Love the '80s programme. He stated on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
's The Most Annoying TV Programmes We Love to Hate that he had appeared on 37 such list shows, and that this would be his last one. He subsequently appeared on Heroes Unmasked
Heroes Unmasked
Heroes Unmasked is a behind-the-scenes documentary television series of the American television series Heroes, made by the BBC and narrated by Anthony Head in series 1-2, and in series 3 by former Heroes actor Santiago Cabrera...
on BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
. He devoted a full chapter to the experience of appearing as a talking head on such shows in his third volume of autobiography, That's Me in the Corner.
He has written three volumes of autobiography, humorous accounts of "growing up [to be] normal" in 1970s Northampton, struggling with art school in London in the 1980s, and forging a media career in the 1980s and 1990s: Where Did It All Go Right? (2003) (a Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
and Smith's
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
bestseller), Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (2004) and That's Me in the Corner (which draws its title from a line from the R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
song "Losing My Religion
Losing My Religion
"Losing My Religion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time. Based around a mandolin riff, "Losing My Religion" was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV due...
") published in May 2007.
He produced a regular (generally weekly) podcast, the Collings & Herrin
Collings and Herrin (podcast)
The Collings and Herrin Podcast was a topical podcast produced by broadcaster Andrew Collins and comedian Richard Herring. Its title derives from the recurring Richard Herring trope of misspelling names for comic effect....
with comedian Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
, which began in February 2008 and was named Podcast of the Week in the Times
Times
The Times is a UK daily newspaper, the original English language newspaper titled "Times". Times may also refer to:In newspapers:*The Times , went defunct in 2005*The Times *The Times of Northwest Indiana...
in July 2008. It was on hiatus from June 2011 only restarting 4 November 2011. The lull was due to what Herring joked was "Collins' duplicitous careerism". Herring announced that the November podcast looks like it would be the last, as Collins had lost enthusiasm for it.
Current work
Collins is the film editor for the Radio TimesRadio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
.
He co-wrote the first three series of the sitcom Not Going Out
Not Going Out
Not Going Out is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006. Starring Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Sally Bretton, Miranda Hart and Katy Wix, it was initially written by Mack, Andrew Collins, Paul Kerensa, Simon Evans and Peter Tilbury, but now features contributions from other...
for BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
with Lee Mack
Lee Mack
Lee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
.
Collins currently presents a Saturday morning radio show with Josie Long
Josie Long
Josie Long is an English comedian.-Background:Long spent her early life in Orpington, South East London, where she attended Newstead Wood School for Girls in Swift House. She also attended GIFT Ltd. summer schools. She began performing stand-up comedy at 14, winning the BBC New Comedy Awards at...
on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
.
Books
- Still Suitable for Miners: Billy Bragg: The Authorised Biography (2002, rev. ed.), ISBN 0-7535-0691-2
- Friends Reunited: Remarkable Real Life Stories from the Nation's Favourite Website (2003), ISBN 1-85227-039-X (ed.)
- Where Did It All Go Right?: Growing Up Normal in the 70s (2003), ISBN 0-09-188667-8
- Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now: My Difficult Student 80s (2004), ISBN 0-09-189691-6
- That's Me in the Corner: Adventures of an Ordinary Boy in a Celebrity World (2007), ISBN 0-09-189786-6
- Shouting at the Telly (2009), Contributor (Editor John Grindrod) Faber and Faber ISBN 0571248020 ISBN 978-0571248025
External links
- Where Did It All Go Right? - His official website
- Never Knowingly Underwhelmed - His blog
- Collings and Herrin - His podcast (with Richard HerringRichard HerringRichard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
)