Richard Alexander (TV producer & presenter)
Encyclopedia
Richard Alexander is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
Alexander was born in WibseyWibsey
Wibsey is a ward in the Metropolitan Borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Wibsey is named after Wibsey village which makes up the main part of the ward...
, Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and went to both the First School
First School
First school and lower school are terms used in some areas of the United Kingdom to describe the first stage of primary education. Some English Local Education Authorities have introduced First Schools since the 1960s...
and Middle School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
(as Richard Milnes) in the area Buttershaw
Buttershaw
Buttershaw is a residential area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded by Horton Bank Top to the north, Wibsey to the east, Woodside to the South and Shelf to the west....
where the feature film directed by Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
, Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Rita, Sue and Bob Too is a 1986 British film directed by Alan Clarke about two West Yorkshire teenaged schoolgirls who have a sexual fling with a married man. It was adapted by Andrea Dunbar, based on two of her stage plays; Rita Sue and Bob Too and The Arbor...
was filmed (although he never attended the upper school). At age 13 he attended Hipperholme Grammar School
Hipperholme Grammar School
Hipperholme Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Hipperholme , West Yorkshire, England. It educates pupils between the ages of 11 and 18....
, where he shared the same class, and subsequently became acquainted with, Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
of Embrace. Later on he studied under the EIMC Department at the University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
or the National Media Museum (formerly the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television).
Television
Over the past few years, Alexander has appeared in various programmes on both terrestrial and satellite TV. At present, he is featured on a show called BRAZENBrazen (TV series)
BRAZEN is a British television show that was filmed on location around the entire United Kingdom. Aired on Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV Digital...
http://www.brazencentral.com; an eclectic mix of professionally shot reality TV, and more amateur-style footage, along with animated satire and parody http://www.menandmotors.co.uk/page/Home/0,,12133,00.html. The animations featured in the show are aimed at deriding reality TV, whilst the live-action footage purports to promote the concept.http://www.menandmotors.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,12133,00.html. Another show, called Rubbernecker (broadcast on Nuts
Nuts (magazine)
Nuts is a weekly lad mag published in the United Kingdom. It was the first weekly lads magazine to be published in the UK and is sold every Tuesday...
TV in the UK) features him as the narrator/host. http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/796017/Nuts-TV-unveils-cops-football-fights-girls-schedule/
Alexander is well known for his work with Men and Motors, a digital channel in the UK operated by ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
, having appeared in over 150 shows on their channel in the last 5 years. His first appearance was on his own creation, a reality clubbing show called UK Uncovered
UK Uncovered
UK Uncovered is a British reality television show that was filmed on location as part of a national tour, visiting nearly every major town and city in the United Kingdom. Three series aired originally on the Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV plc, starting...
in which he and other presenters interviewed everyday people in the environment or nightclubs. This simple formula was relatively successful, which resulted in a further three more series of the same show, culminating recently with a version incorporating Nuts
Nuts (magazine)
Nuts is a weekly lad mag published in the United Kingdom. It was the first weekly lads magazine to be published in the UK and is sold every Tuesday...
magazines' search for a new model, listed as "UK Uncovered vs The Nuts Babe Search" http://cruellablog.blogspot.com/2008/12/dirty-nigella-sexy-underwear.html. This latest incarnation mirrors a technique first used in BRAZEN
Brazen (TV series)
BRAZEN is a British television show that was filmed on location around the entire United Kingdom. Aired on Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV Digital...
, specifically where the show's voiceover is done by a computer-generated personality but according to feedback found in various sources, this unique approach is not always popular with viewers. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=29621446
He also hosted a current affairs show for a younger audience on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
, called Late Attitudehttp://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/2542/ . He has also produced several other series, such as The Steam Room
The Steam Room
The Steam Room is a UK reality television show that has been hosted by Jo Guest and Michelle Marsh. The first season, was broadcast in autumn 2004 and the second was co-hosted by Michelle Marsh with Richard Alexander recently...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3dGuLwkMvc, Bak2Skool, http://www.ukuncovered.co.uk/UKU/Ricardo%20Q%26A.html and he appeared in a mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
TV series entitled The Randomball Run http://www.sirgar.gov.uk/index.asp?locID=3451&docID=8294&COMMAND=PRINTER.
Other work
Alexander worked on a (relatively) low-budget digitalDigital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
project between 1997 and 2000, which was to be distributed internationally but the deal was held up by complications, at which point he left the otherwise-completed project to pursue his TV ambitions. He was director of photography, editor
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
and assistant producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
on the feature length film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, at the time titled Fluffy Little Bunnies - later re-titled Bad Day http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/catalogue/browse/?id=514D3B7A18c1c2C883MoL413F42E which went on to win Best of the Fest at ReelHeArt International Film Festival
ReelHeArt International Film Festival
The ' known as The Filmmakers Film Festival is an annual independent film festival that screens over 100 films from 30 or more countries during six days around the 3rd week of June in Toronto, Canada....
. Alexander was also featured heavily in a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on Discovery Health
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, UK called Who's the Daddy, a one hour film following people trying to track down their biological fathers, which endured some national criticism for the way paternity tests were handled. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/watchdog-criticises-tv-paternity-tests-689692.html
Personal life
He is related to J B Priestley, who is his mother's great uncle and by strange coincidence there is a statue of him (Priestley) outside the National Media Museum where Alexander studied media.Filmography
- UK UncoveredUK UncoveredUK Uncovered is a British reality television show that was filmed on location as part of a national tour, visiting nearly every major town and city in the United Kingdom. Three series aired originally on the Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV plc, starting...
vs. The Nuts Babe Search (2008) TV series — Producer/Host http://www.ipcmedia.com/press/article.php?id=200679 - RUBBERNECKERRubbernecker (TV series)Rubbernecker is a reality television show that is hosted by Richard Alexander, currently broadcasting on Nuts TV, the Freeview/cable/satellite channel in the UK, operated by Turner Broadcasting...
(2008) TV series — Producer/Writer/Voice http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/796017/Nuts-TV-unveils-cops-football-fights-girls-schedule/ - BRAZENBrazen (TV series)BRAZEN is a British television show that was filmed on location around the entire United Kingdom. Aired on Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV Digital...
(2008) TV series — Producer/Host/Writer/Voice http://www.menandmotors.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,12133,00.html - The "C" Word (2007) documentary — Producer/Director http://www.cht.nhs.uk/fileadmin/trust_publications/newsletters/trustnews_oct06.pdf
- The Steam RoomThe Steam RoomThe Steam Room is a UK reality television show that has been hosted by Jo Guest and Michelle Marsh. The first season, was broadcast in autumn 2004 and the second was co-hosted by Michelle Marsh with Richard Alexander recently...
: with Michelle MarshMichelle Marsh (model)Michelle Marsh is a British glamour model and television personality from Royton in Greater Manchester, England.-Career:Before becoming a model, Marsh worked as a care assistant at a nursing home in her hometown of Royton....
(2007) TV Series — Co-Host/Producer - Bak2Skool (2006) TV Series — Master Bates http://www.ukuncovered.co.uk/UKU/bak2skool.html
- UK Uncovered : Full OnUK UncoveredUK Uncovered is a British reality television show that was filmed on location as part of a national tour, visiting nearly every major town and city in the United Kingdom. Three series aired originally on the Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV plc, starting...
(2005) TV Series — Host/Producer - The Randomball Run 2004 (2004) TV Series — Himself
- The Steam RoomThe Steam RoomThe Steam Room is a UK reality television show that has been hosted by Jo Guest and Michelle Marsh. The first season, was broadcast in autumn 2004 and the second was co-hosted by Michelle Marsh with Richard Alexander recently...
: with Jo Guest (2004) TV Series — Narrator/Producer - Who's the Daddy? (2004) documentary — Himself
- UK Uncovered 2UK UncoveredUK Uncovered is a British reality television show that was filmed on location as part of a national tour, visiting nearly every major town and city in the United Kingdom. Three series aired originally on the Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV plc, starting...
(2004) TV Series — Host/Producer - Late Attitude (2004) TV Series — Host
- Summer Party (2003) TV Series — Host
- UK UncoveredUK UncoveredUK Uncovered is a British reality television show that was filmed on location as part of a national tour, visiting nearly every major town and city in the United Kingdom. Three series aired originally on the Men and Motors cable/satellite channel in the United Kingdom, operated by ITV plc, starting...
(2002) TV Series — Host/Producer