Russell Grant
Encyclopedia
Russell John Dammerall Grant (born 5 February 1951) is a British
astrologer
and media personality. He has written several books on Astrology, provides syndicated
newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2010, he began offering a "Pet Psychic" service. He is also the author of The Real Counties of Britain.
programme Extraordinary presented by Valerie Pitts
and Melvin Harris. He was the regular astrologer on Granada Television
's Live from Two which ran from 1980-81. He is best known for his appearances on breakfast television
joining BBC
's Breakfast Time
to present the Your Stars section from 1983-86. In 1986 he joined TV-am
as resident astrologer appearing on Good Morning
and After Nine
until 1990. Later from 1992-95 he was a regular expert on This Morning
with Richard and Judy
offering astrological advice.
Grant has also taken the role of presenter on many shows, including Star Choice
, a celebrity quiz show based on the zodiac. In 1991 he co-hosted with Miriam Stoppard
episodes of daily show People Today and in 1994 Grant had his own six episode series, Russell Grant's All Star Show.
Following the launch of Channel 5
, Russell Grant presented Wideworld, a series in which members of the public were encouraged to make historical records for future generations. He also directed and starred in Russell Grant's Postcards from 1998–2002, which was a collection of over 100 five minute travelogues produced by his own production company, Russell Grant's World Productions.
In 2003 Grant presented a series of eight programmes called Russell Grant's Sporting Scandals for ITV1
and in 2004 presented The Russell Grant Show for Sky One
. On Bingo Night Live
, in 2008, pre-recorded videos of Grant were shown, in which he gave opinion on the chances of winning based on his horoscope readings.
, losing over 3 stone. In May 2010, he appeared on Kitchen Burnout
on ITV1
and in January 2011 he visited Turkey
as part of Channel 4
's Celebrity Five Go to....
. In the launch show, on 10 September, he was partnered with Flavia Cacace
. He was eliminated from the competition on 20 November 2011 at the show's Wembley weekend.
of the songs No Matter What Sign You Are
and Where Is Love?
.
in the 1950s, his father working as a sales rep for a car accessory business. Later his parents worked at Pinewood Studios
, his mother Jo dealing with contracts, his father a set designer and he spent most of his childhood in the care of his grandparents. After losing both his grandmothers to Alzheimer's disease
, Grant suffered clinical depression
.
Grants first job was as an unpaid Archivist & Statistician of Middlesex County FA
Grant's original career was as an actor and performed in a variety of productions including Tom Brown's Schooldays with Keith Chegwin
who shared a similar career path from acting to television. It is through this work he met his partner Doug Beaumont, who worked as a stagehand
in a Blackpool
theatre.
Grant helped design the badge for Brentford F.C.
, the team he supports though he has been a keen follower of all non league clubs in Middlesex since the 1950s, having regularly attended games at various clubs during childhood
Grant has worked as a Redcoat
at Butlin's
Holiday Camps.
Grant is gay and has been with his partner Doug Beaumont, who is also his manager, for 35 years.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
astrologer
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
and media personality. He has written several books on Astrology, provides syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2010, he began offering a "Pet Psychic" service. He is also the author of The Real Counties of Britain.
Television
Grant first appeared on television talking about astrology in 1979, featured in Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
programme Extraordinary presented by Valerie Pitts
Valerie Pitts
Valerie Pitts, Lady Solti, is the widow of Sir Georg Solti. She was one of the BBC's original team of television presenters during the 1950s. She left the programme in 1960 to marry James Sargent who was stage manager of the Sadler's Wells Opera Company. She also worked at Granada Television.She...
and Melvin Harris. He was the regular astrologer on Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's Live from Two which ran from 1980-81. He is best known for his appearances on breakfast television
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
joining 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...
's Breakfast Time
Breakfast Time
Breakfast Time was British television's first national breakfast show, beating TV-am's flagship programme Good Morning Britain to the air by two weeks.The show was revolutionary for the time...
to present the Your Stars section from 1983-86. In 1986 he joined TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
as resident astrologer appearing on Good Morning
Good morning
Good morning may refer to:* a commonly used greeting.In television:* Good Morning!!! , a children's show* Good Morning , a daytime talk show...
and After Nine
After Nine
After Nine was a programme on the former UK Breakfast Television Station TV-am. It ran from 09.00 until 09.25, finishing the day's broadcasting for TV-am. It concentrated on lifestyle issues such as fashion and health, and originally was presented by Jayne Irving and latterly by Kathy Tayler...
until 1990. Later from 1992-95 he was a regular expert on This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
with Richard and Judy
Richard and Judy
Richard and Judy is the name informally given to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a married couple who are both British television presenters and columnists. Since their marriage, their television appearances have been largely made as a couple. They are best known for presenting This Morning and...
offering astrological advice.
Grant has also taken the role of presenter on many shows, including Star Choice
Star Choice (TV series)
Star Choice was an early evening quiz programme produced by Yorkshire Television which ran on ITV for two series. The show was hosted by Russell Grant and consisted of two teams of celebrities who answered questions about the zodiac.-Transmission Guide:...
, a celebrity quiz show based on the zodiac. In 1991 he co-hosted with Miriam Stoppard
Miriam Stoppard
Miriam Stoppard OBE , is a British doctor, author, television presenter and agony aunt.- Early life and medical career :...
episodes of daily show People Today and in 1994 Grant had his own six episode series, Russell Grant's All Star Show.
Following the launch of Channel 5
Channel Five
Channel 5 is a television network that broadcasts in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1997, it was the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue network to launch. The station was branded as Five between 2002 and 2010...
, Russell Grant presented Wideworld, a series in which members of the public were encouraged to make historical records for future generations. He also directed and starred in Russell Grant's Postcards from 1998–2002, which was a collection of over 100 five minute travelogues produced by his own production company, Russell Grant's World Productions.
In 2003 Grant presented a series of eight programmes called Russell Grant's Sporting Scandals for 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...
and in 2004 presented The Russell Grant Show for Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
. On Bingo Night Live
Bingo Night Live
Bingo Night Live was an interactive television programme featuring a free-to-play bingo game, broadcast in the United Kingdom on the ITV Network...
, in 2008, pre-recorded videos of Grant were shown, in which he gave opinion on the chances of winning based on his horoscope readings.
Reality television
In January 2006, Grant took part in the fourth series of Celebrity Fit ClubCelebrity Fit Club
Celebrity Fit Club is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed to see if they reached their target weights...
, losing over 3 stone. In May 2010, he appeared on Kitchen Burnout
Kitchen Burnout
Kitchen Burnout was a British cookery reality show airing on ITV, and was created by ITV Studios, which features prospective chefs competing with each other for a final prize. The first series aired in April 2010, presented by Marco Pierre White...
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...
and in January 2011 he visited Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
as part of 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 Celebrity Five Go to....
Strictly Come Dancing
On 6 September 2011 it was announced that Grant would take part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come DancingStrictly Come Dancing (series 9)
The ninth series of Strictly Come Dancing began on 10 September 2011 with a Launch Show, and the live shows started on 30 September and 1 October 2011. The show was broadcast from Wembley Arena on 19 November with all proceeds going to the BBC charity, Children in Need...
. In the launch show, on 10 September, he was partnered with Flavia Cacace
Flavia Cacace
Flavia Cacace , is an Italian professional dancer. Her professional dance partner is Vincent Simone, and both regularly appear on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. Their brand name when performing together is VincentandFlavia...
. He was eliminated from the competition on 20 November 2011 at the show's Wembley weekend.
Music
In 1983 Russell Grant And The Starlettes released cover versionsCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the songs No Matter What Sign You Are
No Matter What Sign You Are
"No Matter What Sign You Are" is a song released for Diana Ross & the Supremes by the Motown label.-Background:Originally intended to be Diana Ross & the Supremes' final single before the departure of Diana Ross and penned by Berry Gordy, the song failed to fulfill Gordy's expectations as the...
and Where Is Love?
Where Is Love?
"Where is Love?" is a song from the Tony Award-winning British musical Oliver!, and the 1968 film Oliver! based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens...
.
Early and personal life
Grant was raised in a council houseCouncil house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
in the 1950s, his father working as a sales rep for a car accessory business. Later his parents worked at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, his mother Jo dealing with contracts, his father a set designer and he spent most of his childhood in the care of his grandparents. After losing both his grandmothers to Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, Grant suffered clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
.
Grants first job was as an unpaid Archivist & Statistician of Middlesex County FA
Grant's original career was as an actor and performed in a variety of productions including Tom Brown's Schooldays with Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
who shared a similar career path from acting to television. It is through this work he met his partner Doug Beaumont, who worked as a stagehand
Stagehand
A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their duties include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production.-Types of stagehand:...
in a Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
theatre.
Grant helped design the badge for Brentford F.C.
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
, the team he supports though he has been a keen follower of all non league clubs in Middlesex since the 1950s, having regularly attended games at various clubs during childhood
Grant has worked as a Redcoat
Redcoats (Butlins)
Redcoat is the name given to frontline staff at Butlins holiday camps. A Redcoat may have many duties ranging from adult entertainer or children's entertainer to stewarding.-History:The first Redcoat was Norman Bradford...
at Butlin's
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
Holiday Camps.
Grant is gay and has been with his partner Doug Beaumont, who is also his manager, for 35 years.