Peter Levy (presenter)
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Peter Levy | |
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Peter Levy
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Born | Farnborough, Kent, England |
5 September 1955
Occupation | Television and radio presenter |
Children | None |
Website | BBC Presenter Profile |
Peter Levy (born 5 September 1955) is a British television and radio presenter.
Since 11 November 2002, he has been a regular weekday host of the BBC regional news programme Look North, broadcast from Hull to the East Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, northwest Norfolk, west Suffolk, Rutland, east Leicestershire and northeast Nottinghamshire.
Contents
Early life
Levy was born in Farnborough, Kent, England, but attended a secondary modern school in Truro, Cornwall. He did not do well at school, and by his own admission passed few, if any, exams. Levy first came to Yorkshire in his late teens. He was an actor in his teenage years, when he essentially 'fled' home (and Cornwall) to live in London, having secured small roles in shows such as Dixon of Dock Green, Man About the House, Coronation Street and Z-Cars.[1] He admits he "could not believe his luck" at the time to be working with such attractive female actresses (such as Sally Thomsett) in Man About the House in the mid-1970s. He also appeared in a couple of Leeds pantomimes at this time in supporting roles. He also appeared in the sitcom Not in Front of the Children as Wendy Craig's oldest child, the only boy in the family.
Career
Radio
Although wanting to become an airline pilot when younger (he still enjoys flying), Levy was a disc jockey at Bradford's Pennine Radio (now The Pulse of West Yorkshire) from its launch in 1975 – having been hired by the then television journalist and later Member of Parliament Austin Mitchell. He became a presenter[2] at Liverpool's Radio City in 1979, starting on the afternoon show before progressing to the 'drive time' slot.
Television
He moved to Leeds-based Radio Aire, and then, in January 1987, to the BBC, eventually having a lunchtime show[3] at BBC Radio Leeds. At this time he started as a regular stand-in presenter for the Leeds edition of Look North, always doing the breakfast bulletins.
Look North was broadcast across the whole of the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire region at the time Levy started to work on it. He became the regular breakfast and lunchtime presenter of the programme in the mid-1990s. When the BBC split the region into two, Levy moved to present the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire edition from studios in Hull full-time from 11 November 2002.
Look North
Levy's on-screen rapport with weatherman Paul Hudson has made him a popular local figure. The duo visited shopping centres around the region and met the public as part of the 2006 Look North Sofa Tour, this was repeated in 2009. The pair have made public appearances as part of a campaign in the East Riding of Yorkshire's libraries concerning reading among the under 11s. Levy made reference to this campaign on his radio show saying he could not read properly until he was ten and this is why he is passionate about campaigns such as this.
Levy himself has become a minor cult figure in the local area due to his Look North connection. To some viewers, it is regarded as something of an achievement to have seen Levy, and many call in with reports of sightings, usually of a humorous nature.
He once controversially said live on air that the man who wrote the book Crap Towns (a book that had Hull as one of the "crappest") was an idiot and everyone who had been to Hull knew it was a "lovely city".
Radio Humberside
From 10 November 2008, he took over the Soapbox slot on BBC Radio Humberside from Blair Jacobs, with a programme from 12 – 2 p.m. called The Peter Levy Show.[4] At 1.55 p.m. each programme, he chatted to Paul Hudson.[5] The programme was also broadcast on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. The programme finished in August 2014.
Appearances
Levy has appeared in a Last of the Summer Wine episode called "The Man Who Invented Yorkshire Funny Stuff".[6] He was also mentioned in episode 6 of series 1 of The League of Gentlemen.[7] In 2012, Levy agreed in principle to make a cameo appearance in the upcoming British film, Dead Lies.
In 2012, Levy opened the Beverley Food Festival along with the Mayor of Beverley, Margaret Pinder; he is a supporter of the Driffield Show and other country events.[8]
Personal life
He enjoys surfing and bodyboarding in his native Cornwall. Levy is patron of the Kenneth Williams Appreciation Society.
References
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- ↑ [1][dead link]
- ↑ [2][dead link]
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- ↑ [3][dead link]
External links
- Articles with dead external links from June 2015
- Use British English from August 2014
- Use dmy dates from June 2015
- Articles with hCards
- 1955 births
- BBC newsreaders and journalists
- British reporters and correspondents
- English television presenters
- BBC people
- English radio presenters
- Living people
- People from Farnborough, London
- People from Truro
- Radio City DJs