Christian O'Connell
Encyclopedia
Christian O'Connell is an English radio
DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.
He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live
's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk
alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie
music station Xfm London
. O'Connell joined the Virgin Radio
team making his first broadcast on 23 January 2006.
O'Connell has an ironic
style and sense of humour that some have found occasionally offensive or interpreted as childish, making use of irreverent features and sometimes mocking the music that he plays. He is well known for his frequent discussions of embarrassing real life situations, often discussing the gender differences between men and women, and what the role of the man should be in a given situation. In September 2008 he published a book The Men Commandments to this effect.
O'Connell has long been a fan of Hollywood action man Steven Seagal
, who he had mentioned several times on radio
, and remarked that he would love to meet. However, when Seagal rang O'Connell the relationship and understanding between the two was quite difficult and left O'Connell feeling disappointed. Seagal did not understand O'Connell's ironic personality and sense of humour
and much of the recorded interview had to be removed from the radio broadcast because of such uneasiness.The Observer
described the interview as, "a spectacularly terrible interview in which Christian's questions dropped into a seemingly bottomless well of apathy." O'Connell described the interview remarking; "It was the single worst thing I've ever done on radio. And the other week I was having a go at Michael Parkinson
, saying he used to be fantastic but sadly now he's become too fawning, and then I did the Seagal thing and I thought: I should just leave." However, even after the interview, O'Connell still regards Seagal as one of his action heroes, citing him and his films on numerous occasions.
reportedly attempted to ring Absolute Radio (Virgin radio at the time) on the Who's calling Christian where there is the chance to win £10,000 for charity. Liam was apparently in a drunken state and it took him 3 hours after an aggressive protest to convince Absolute bosses that it was indeed him and not an imposter. A great deal of swearing occurred off air between the managers and Gallagher who swore that he would come down to Absolute Radio and "Rip Christian O'Connell's fucking head off". After further phone calls from Polydor records and from Nicole Appleton
begging for him to be let on, Gallagher was eventually allowed on and swore live on air on a morning breakfast show. However, he did not complete the conversation, leaving his friend Scully to speak for him, saying that he had to take his kids to see Harry Potter
. However after an interview with his brother Noel Gallagher
in February 2007, O' Connell expressed his liking to Noel and regarded that he was one of the funniest men he had ever met in his life.
called Absolute Radio's Who's Calling Christian? hotline, after charity campaigner Graham Marsh contacted his Sedgefield constituency. If he won, Marsh, from North Shields and who received a heart transplant in 1999, said he planned to donate his £10,000 to the two charities he supports - the Freemans Heart and Lung Transplant Association and the Tyne Youth and Community Centre, both in Newcastle upon Tyne
.
Blair began by telling the programme: "Probably nothing in my career has prepared me for this." When O'Connell asked if he should be referred to as The Right Honourable Tony Blair, the Prime Minister replied: "Refer to me any way you like as long as it's reasonably polite! Tony will do fine."
He explained: "Someone from my constituency phoned me and said 'Why don't we do this?' and I said yes because they are really, really good causes." The exchange ended with O'Connell asking Blair to choose his favourite song from the 1980s. He chose "Street With No Name" by U2
- actually called "Where the Streets Have No Name
".
Graham Marsh and Tony Blair resoundingly won the contest on the 7 November 2006
actor David Tennant
, who, with a notable sense of humour, is a regular on the show and a close friend of O'Connell, has been involved in some of the show's and O'Connell's professed "shabbiest" moments including the 2006 Christmas panto
with Thandie Newton
and the axed Mr. T
escapade. In late March 2007 he appeared on the Breakfast show again and took part in another escapade "1 Golden Square" (the address of Absolute Radio). Later that week when he appeared on a rival show on BBC Radio 1
on the Saturday, Virgin Radio producer Roque Segade-Vieito contacted the station for a practical joke texting a question to Tennant as "I hear you have been signed up for a new programme called 1 Golden Square". Ironically the question was taken seriously and addressed to Tennant live on Radio 1 leaving O'Connell rather pleased with the gag.
In November 2009, Tennant co-hosted the Absolute Breakfast Show with O'Connell for three consecutive days.
In October 2010, Tennant co-hosted with O'Connell and acted out Copacabana with some of the Breakfast Show team to discover "just who shot who". Something with had been debated for a few days prior to this.
In September 2011, Tennant again co-hosted with O'Connell and experienced a fish-facing with a trout as well as participated in a tennis ball challenge outside the Absolute Radio studios.
, another friend of O'Connells has also appeared on the show several times. He also appeared before he moved to Virgin Radio, with a guest appearance on O'Connell's XFM show in 2004.
appeared on O'Connell's Absolute Radio show twice in 2009. His second appearance caused controversy when the Conservative
leader used the expletives "pissed off" (referring to the public reaction to the expenses scandal
) and "twat" (when referring to Twitter
) live on air.
. It was his first outing on national radio (his Xfm show was broadcast only in London) and he completed 16 months presenting the show before leaving to focus on his new breakfast show at Absolute Radio. The show won a Gold award at the 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards
, with O'Connell accredited as the presenter.
O'Connell returned to Five Live on Sunday mornings from September 2009, presenting The Christian O'Connell Solution, alongside comedian Bob Mills
, as well as two guests. The hour-long show sees the panel provide comedic solutions to various stories appearing in the week's news. From 10 January 2010 it was replaced by 7 Day Sunday
.
From January 2011, he presented the Saturday morning 9:00–11:00 on Five Live, standing in for Danny Baker.
as one of the fellow guests. In 2003, Christian replaced Chris Moyles
on Channel 5's Live With... show and went on to present trivia show "Pub Ammo" in 2004 on the same channel. In 2005 he also appeared on BBC2's Eggheads
quiz show with Chris Smith, Roque Segade-Vieito and an Xfm listener as the other panelists on his (losing) team. He has also narrated Channel 4
's Rock School
.
In May 2006, it was announced that O'Connell will front Sunday Service; a Chris Evans style Sunday evening show on Sky One. In June 2006, O'Connell started his own world cup show, World Cuppa
on ITV4
.
In November 2006 he appeared on the BBC TV gameshow The Weakest Link. The show, recorded in early November, was shown at Christmas 2006. O'Connell admitted on his breakfast show that he went out in the 3rd round after being voted off by his fellow contestants. He blames this on his ridiculous answer to the question "Which has more legs than the other? A dog or a duck? O'Connell answered "Neither, it's a trick question, they have the same". O'Connell appeared as a guest in a September 2008 episode of Loose Women
and Ready Steady Cook
to promote his book, and was reminded of his previous Weakest Link ordeal by Zoe Tyler
. He later appeared a second time on a Radio DJ special in mid-2009, but fared much better, being voted off in Round 7. In February 2010, O'Connell appeared as a presenter, commentator and interviewer for the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA)
, in a similar role to the UFC's Joe Rogan
.
and has an Irish
father. He attended Nottingham Trent University
. He supports Football League Championship
football side Southampton F.C.
, but claims he does not follow them so much since they were relegated from the top flight.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
DJ who presents the Absolute Radio weekday breakfast show.
He has formerly hosted BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
's weekend sports game show Fighting Talk
Fighting Talk
Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. Its first series aired in October 2003, and was presented by Johnny Vaughan. The second series featured Christian O'Connell. It is currently hosted by Colin Murray and is aired on Saturday...
alongside the weekday breakfast show on indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
music station Xfm London
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
. O'Connell joined the Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
team making his first broadcast on 23 January 2006.
O'Connell has an ironic
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
style and sense of humour that some have found occasionally offensive or interpreted as childish, making use of irreverent features and sometimes mocking the music that he plays. He is well known for his frequent discussions of embarrassing real life situations, often discussing the gender differences between men and women, and what the role of the man should be in a given situation. In September 2008 he published a book The Men Commandments to this effect.
Early Career
Christian started out on 2CR Radio in Bournemouth in 1999. He later moved to Juice FM in Liverpool in 2000. He commented "It was a budget, tin-pot station. They didn't have a lot of money."Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
, who he had mentioned several times on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and remarked that he would love to meet. However, when Seagal rang O'Connell the relationship and understanding between the two was quite difficult and left O'Connell feeling disappointed. Seagal did not understand O'Connell's ironic personality and sense of humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
and much of the recorded interview had to be removed from the radio broadcast because of such uneasiness.The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
described the interview as, "a spectacularly terrible interview in which Christian's questions dropped into a seemingly bottomless well of apathy." O'Connell described the interview remarking; "It was the single worst thing I've ever done on radio. And the other week I was having a go at Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
, saying he used to be fantastic but sadly now he's become too fawning, and then I did the Seagal thing and I thought: I should just leave." However, even after the interview, O'Connell still regards Seagal as one of his action heroes, citing him and his films on numerous occasions.
Liam Gallagher
On 27 October 2006 Liam GallagherLiam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
reportedly attempted to ring Absolute Radio (Virgin radio at the time) on the Who's calling Christian where there is the chance to win £10,000 for charity. Liam was apparently in a drunken state and it took him 3 hours after an aggressive protest to convince Absolute bosses that it was indeed him and not an imposter. A great deal of swearing occurred off air between the managers and Gallagher who swore that he would come down to Absolute Radio and "Rip Christian O'Connell's fucking head off". After further phone calls from Polydor records and from Nicole Appleton
Nicole Appleton
Nicole Marie Appleton-Gallagher is a Canadian pop singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of All Saints. She was formerly a member of Appleton along with her older sister Natalie.-Early life:...
begging for him to be let on, Gallagher was eventually allowed on and swore live on air on a morning breakfast show. However, he did not complete the conversation, leaving his friend Scully to speak for him, saying that he had to take his kids to see Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
. However after an interview with his brother Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
in February 2007, O' Connell expressed his liking to Noel and regarded that he was one of the funniest men he had ever met in his life.
Tony Blair
Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
called Absolute Radio's Who's Calling Christian? hotline, after charity campaigner Graham Marsh contacted his Sedgefield constituency. If he won, Marsh, from North Shields and who received a heart transplant in 1999, said he planned to donate his £10,000 to the two charities he supports - the Freemans Heart and Lung Transplant Association and the Tyne Youth and Community Centre, both in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
.
Blair began by telling the programme: "Probably nothing in my career has prepared me for this." When O'Connell asked if he should be referred to as The Right Honourable Tony Blair, the Prime Minister replied: "Refer to me any way you like as long as it's reasonably polite! Tony will do fine."
He explained: "Someone from my constituency phoned me and said 'Why don't we do this?' and I said yes because they are really, really good causes." The exchange ended with O'Connell asking Blair to choose his favourite song from the 1980s. He chose "Street With No Name" by U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
- actually called "Where the Streets Have No Name
Where the Streets Have No Name
"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's third single in August 1987. The song's hook is a repeating guitar arpeggio using a delay effect, played during the song's introduction and...
".
Graham Marsh and Tony Blair resoundingly won the contest on the 7 November 2006
David Tennant
Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
actor David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, who, with a notable sense of humour, is a regular on the show and a close friend of O'Connell, has been involved in some of the show's and O'Connell's professed "shabbiest" moments including the 2006 Christmas panto
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
with Thandie Newton
Thandie Newton
Thandiwe Nashita "Thandie" Newton is a British actress. She has appeared in a number of British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission: Impossible II, Crash, Run, Fatboy, Run and W....
and the axed Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
escapade. In late March 2007 he appeared on the Breakfast show again and took part in another escapade "1 Golden Square" (the address of Absolute Radio). Later that week when he appeared on a rival show on 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...
on the Saturday, Virgin Radio producer Roque Segade-Vieito contacted the station for a practical joke texting a question to Tennant as "I hear you have been signed up for a new programme called 1 Golden Square". Ironically the question was taken seriously and addressed to Tennant live on Radio 1 leaving O'Connell rather pleased with the gag.
In November 2009, Tennant co-hosted the Absolute Breakfast Show with O'Connell for three consecutive days.
In October 2010, Tennant co-hosted with O'Connell and acted out Copacabana with some of the Breakfast Show team to discover "just who shot who". Something with had been debated for a few days prior to this.
In September 2011, Tennant again co-hosted with O'Connell and experienced a fish-facing with a trout as well as participated in a tennis ball challenge outside the Absolute Radio studios.
Jimmy Nesbitt
James NesbittJames Nesbitt
James Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
, another friend of O'Connells has also appeared on the show several times. He also appeared before he moved to Virgin Radio, with a guest appearance on O'Connell's XFM show in 2004.
David Cameron
David CameronDavid Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
appeared on O'Connell's Absolute Radio show twice in 2009. His second appearance caused controversy when the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leader used the expletives "pissed off" (referring to the public reaction to the expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
) and "twat" (when referring to Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
) live on air.
David Jason
O'Connell mystified many by appearing to take great offence at a joke by David Jason when he guested on his show. Jason's joke included the line "Me hat, me coat", a play on the name Mahatma, similar to the joke about someone employed in a dentist's surgery called Phil McCavity. Labour MP Shahid Malik said he did not see the joke as racist and described the apparent controversy as a "storm in a tea cup".BBC Radio Five Live
On 7 August 2004, O'Connell became the second person to host the BBC Radio Five Live show Fighting Talk, following the departure of Johnny VaughanJohnny Vaughan
Jonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...
. It was his first outing on national radio (his Xfm show was broadcast only in London) and he completed 16 months presenting the show before leaving to focus on his new breakfast show at Absolute Radio. The show won a Gold award at the 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards
24th Sony Radio Academy Awards
The 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards were held on 8 May 2006 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane in London.There were 29 categories of award and two special awards.-Programme awards and winners:...
, with O'Connell accredited as the presenter.
O'Connell returned to Five Live on Sunday mornings from September 2009, presenting The Christian O'Connell Solution, alongside comedian Bob Mills
Bob Mills (comedian)
Robert Edward "Bob" Mills is a British comedian, notable for his appearances in cult TV series such as In Bed with Medinner and The Show, the latter an attempt to do a non-fictional British version of The Larry Sanders Show.Born in Chester, after a very short spell training for the Merchant Navy,...
, as well as two guests. The hour-long show sees the panel provide comedic solutions to various stories appearing in the week's news. From 10 January 2010 it was replaced by 7 Day Sunday
7 Day Sunday
7 Day Sunday is a British comedy radio talk show hosted by Chris Addison on BBC Radio 5 Live. Broadcast weekly on Sunday mornings, the show takes an irreverent look at the topical news stories of the past seven days. Addison is joined by regular guests Sarah Millican and Andy Zaltzman, and a fourth...
.
From January 2011, he presented the Saturday morning 9:00–11:00 on Five Live, standing in for Danny Baker.
Awards
- 2004 Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for DJ of the Year.
- 2004 Sony Radio Academy Silver Award for Breakfast Show of the Year.
- 2005 Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Entertainment.
- 2005 Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Breakfast Show of the Year.
- 2006 Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Sports Programme (Fighting Talk).
- 2007 Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for a Competition (Who’s Calling Christian?).
Television career
O'Connell has appeared as a guest on a BBC2 sports show with Dickie DaviesDickie Davies
Richard "Dickie" Davies is a British television presenter, best known for presenting World of Sport from 1968 until 1985....
as one of the fellow guests. In 2003, Christian replaced Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
on Channel 5's Live With... show and went on to present trivia show "Pub Ammo" in 2004 on the same channel. In 2005 he also appeared on BBC2's Eggheads
Eggheads
Eggheads is a BBC quiz show created by 12 Yard Productions, first broadcast in 2003, and presented by Dermot Murnaghan. For the 2008 series, Jeremy Vine was brought in to present on nights when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series Are You an Egghead? This happened again from October 2009 while...
quiz show with Chris Smith, Roque Segade-Vieito and an Xfm listener as the other panelists on his (losing) team. He has also narrated 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...
's Rock School
Rock School
Rock School is a British reality TV series starring Gene Simmons , in which he has a short time to turn a class of school children into a fully fledged rock band, at the end of which they must perform in a supporting slot for a leading rock band.Rock School is made by British production company...
.
In May 2006, it was announced that O'Connell will front Sunday Service; a Chris Evans style Sunday evening show on Sky One. In June 2006, O'Connell started his own world cup show, World Cuppa
World Cuppa
World Cuppa was a one-hour ITV4 show, which launched on June 9, 2006, and ran for the duration of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.The show was fronted by Virgin Radio breakfast host Christian O'Connell and featured up to 50% of user content...
on ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
.
In November 2006 he appeared on the BBC TV gameshow The Weakest Link. The show, recorded in early November, was shown at Christmas 2006. O'Connell admitted on his breakfast show that he went out in the 3rd round after being voted off by his fellow contestants. He blames this on his ridiculous answer to the question "Which has more legs than the other? A dog or a duck? O'Connell answered "Neither, it's a trick question, they have the same". O'Connell appeared as a guest in a September 2008 episode of Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
and Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
to promote his book, and was reminded of his previous Weakest Link ordeal by Zoe Tyler
Zoe Tyler
Zoë Tyler, is an English voice coach, cruise ship singer, performer and reality television show judge. She is also a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.-Early career:...
. He later appeared a second time on a Radio DJ special in mid-2009, but fared much better, being voted off in Round 7. In February 2010, O'Connell appeared as a presenter, commentator and interviewer for the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA)
BAMMA
The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It is considered by many as the biggest MMA promotion in the country. It premièred on June 27, 2009 and was shown on the television channel Bravo...
, in a similar role to the UFC's Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan
Joseph James "Joe" Rogan is an American comedian, video blogger, actor, writer, podcaster, and martial artist. He is best known for his work on NewsRadio, his work as color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and his hosting work on Fear Factor.-Acting:In 1994, Rogan co-starred on...
.
Author
In September 2008, O'Connell published his first book, The Men Commandments (Collins 0007284950). Dubbed The Bible for Blokes from the Daddy of Breakfast Radio, this is O'Connell's campaign to save manhood and help men reclaim their masculinity.Personal and family
O'Connell originally came from WinchesterWinchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
and has an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
father. He attended Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
. He supports Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
football side Southampton F.C.
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, but claims he does not follow them so much since they were relegated from the top flight.
External links
- Christian's profile at absoluteradio.co.uk
- absoluteradio.co.uk - The Breakfast Show
- Christian O'Connell interviewed From London's Evening Standard (May 2003)
- Press Gazette interview (January 2006)
- Interview with 'The Independent' (May 2006)
- Christian's first book, The Men Commandments, Sept 2008