Andrew Collins (broadcaster)

Collins was a member of the Labour Party between the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving after Labour's defeat in the 1992 General Election.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080926192620/http://www.wherediditallgoright.com/BLOG/2008/09/labour-conference-late-news-just-in.html#c1684008247931413055 "Labour Conference Late News Just In"] Never Knowingly Underwhelmed blog entry, September 2008 In 2007, he was made patron of Thomas's Fund,[http://www.thomassfund.org.uk/index.php?s=whoswho "Who's Who"] Thomas's Fund website, retrieved 15 June 2009 a Northampton-based music therapy charity for children with life-limiting illnesses.

Collins started his career as a music journalist, writing for the NME, Vox, Select and Q (where was editor, 1995–97). He also wrote for and edited film magazine Empire in 1995.[http://www.radiotimes.com/blog/2012-05-16/andrew-collins-no-cannes-do No Cannes Do, Collins' Radio Times column, 16 May, 2012] 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.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5302848/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_1/ IMDb listing, retrieved May 13, 2019]

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, 2007, 2013 and 2018.[http://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/shop/ "Books"] Never Knowingly Underwhelmed blog[https://www.billybragg.co.uk/product/still-suitable-for-miners-2018-update/ "Bragg's Emporium: Still Suitable for Miners 2018 Update"] Billy Bragg's website

Collins appeared on BBC, ITV and Channel 4 list shows, including 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 show.[http://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/26-seconds-of-fame/ 26 second of fame, Collins' blog, March 31, 2013] 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, and continues to appear on similar shows (most recently, The Comedy years on ITV in May 2019).[https://www.itv.com/hub/the-comedy-years/2a5703a0004 ITV Hub, retrieved May 13, 2019]

He has written three volumes of autobiography,[https://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/shop/ "Shop, Never Knowingly Underwhelmed blog", retrieved 13 May 2018] humorous accounts of "growing up 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 Podcast, with comedian Richard Herring, which began in February 2008 and ran for four years[http://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/collingsherrin/archive/ "Collings & Herrin archive"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616230941/http://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/collingsherrin/archive/ |date=16 June 2011 }} British Comedy Guide website, retrieved 13 June 2011 and was named "Podcast of the Week" in The Times in July 2008.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081120044815/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4383717.ece "Podcast of The Week"] The Times, July 2008 Some episodes were recorded in front of a live audience. A hiatus from June 2011 to 4 November 2011 was due to what Herring joked was "Collins' duplicitous careerism".[http://www.richardherring.com/warmingup/ "Richard Herring's "Warming Up" blog"] Richard Herring's "Warming Up" blog, retrieved 22 July 2011 Herring announced that the November 2011 podcast would most likely be the last, as Collins had lost enthusiasm for it.{{cite web|url=http://www.richardherring.com/newsletters/index.php?nlid=295 |title=Newsletter Archive |publisher=Richard Herring.com |access-date=2013-02-18}}

Collins presented solo shows on BBC Radio 6 Music as well as presenting shows with Richard Herring before and during their podcast series. Collins then presented a Saturday morning radio show with Josie Long on BBC Radio 6 Music between July and December 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012cp5r |title=BBC Radio 6 Music - Andrew Collins and Josie Long |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2011-12-17 |access-date=2013-02-18}}

In 2010 Collins made a brief foray into standup comedy, performing a show at the Edinburgh Fringe called Secret Dancing... and other urban survival techniques. This was recorded and released on DVD.[https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2010/08/19/28043/andrew_collins:_secret_dancing_.._and_other_urban_survival_techniques Chortle - Reviews][https://www.gofasterstripe.com/cgi-bin/website.cgi?page=videofull&id=10417 Gofasterstripe - Secret Dancing]

He co-wrote the first series of the sitcom Not Going Out for BBC One with Lee Mack, and co-wrote various episodes for the second, third and fourth series. The fifth was the first series he did not work on. The first series won the Rose D'Or for Best Comedy, and he and Mack won the RTS Breakthrough award.{{cite web|url=http://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/2007/03/14/yes/ |title=Yes! |publisher=Never Knowingly Underwhelmed blog |date=14 March 2007 |access-date=28 November 2014}}

He worked on the team-written sitcom Gates for Sky Living in 2012,[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/reference "Collins IMDb entry"] and re-teamed with Simon Day (with whom he'd co-written Grass for BBC Three and BBC2 in 2003) to co-write Colin, an episode of the anthology series Common Ground on Sky Atlantic in 2013.

Collins was script editor on sitcoms The Persuasionists on BBC Two, Little Crackers (specifically Shappi Khorsandi's) on Sky1, the broadcast pilot of Man Down on Channel 4 (2013), two series of Badults on BBC Three (2013–2014), and the second series of Drifters for E4.

In 2014, he acted as a script consultant on The Inbetweeners 2.[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-07-26/why-ill-be-in-the-credits-of-the-inbetweeners-2 Why I'll Be In The Credits Of The Inbetweeners 2, Radio Times feature, 26 July, 2014]

Collins is the film editor for Radio Times.[https://web.archive.org/web/20041026201231/http://www.radiotimes.com/content/filmreviewers/#AC "Radio Times reviewers"] Radio Times website, retrieved 18 June 2009 He wrote and filmed a weekly TV review column, Telly Addict, for The Guardian website, from May 2011 to April 2016.[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/series/andrew-collins-telly-addict The Guardian website, retrieved 23 April 2016] It returned in June 2016 on YouTube, now hosted and produced by UKTV.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jynG9OYy8pw&index=13&list=PLyk_nLKHU9QnjbHN0zPRhiozZOd5blk-v Telly Addict on YouTube, retrieved 14 September 2016]

He took over the weekly radio show Saturday Night at the Movies on classical music station Classic FM in March 2015 (from presenter and composer Howard Goodall). In March 2023, Jonathan Ross replaced Collins as presenter.{{cite web |title=Jonathan Ross joins Classic FM for Saturday Night at the Movies |url=https://ontheradio.co.uk/2023/03/jonathan-ross-joins-classic-fm-for-saturday-night-at-the-movies/ |website=On The Radio |date=6 March 2023 |access-date=6 March 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Sawyer |first1=Miranda |title=The week in audio: Dynamite Doug; Death of an Artist; Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets and more |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/11/dynamite-doug-podcast-review-douglas-latchford-cambodia-death-of-an-artist-ana-mendieta-carl-andre-cover-up-ministry-of-secrets-lionel-buster-crabb-saturday-night-at-the-movies-classic-fm-jonathan-ross |website=The Guardian |access-date=13 May 2023 |date=11 March 2023}}

Collins' first solo-written comedy, Mr Blue Sky for BBC Radio 4, starred Mark Benton and Rebecca Front and aired in May and June 2011. It was recommissioned for a second series in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/radio/mr_blue_sky/details/ |title=Mr Blue Sky - Production Details & Cast and Crew - British Comedy Guide |publisher=Comedy.co.uk |access-date=2013-02-18}} It focused on Harvey Easter (Benton), an eternally optimistic man in his 40s and his more realistic wife Jax (played in series two by Claire Skinner), and the rest of the family including son Robbie, daughter Charlie and grandmother Lou.{{cite web|last=Collins|first=Andrew|title=Andrew Collins on his radio comedy Mr Blue Sky|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-04-09/andrew-collins-on-his-radio-comedy-mr-blue-sky|work=Radio Times|access-date=5 March 2013|date=9 April 2012}} Jim Bob of indie duo Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine recorded a cover of "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra for the theme tune.{{cite web|title=Jim Bob releases new single Mr Blue Sky |url=http://www.lightsgoout.co.uk/?p=3362 |work=Lights Go Out |access-date=29 November 2014 |date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205092725/http://www.lightsgoout.co.uk/?p=3362 |archive-date=5 December 2014}}

Radio critic Miranda Sawyer in The Observer praised Benton's "lovely" performance and said "this series charms".{{cite news|last=Sawyer|first=Miranda|title=Rewind radio: Ed Reardon's Week; Mr Blue Sky; My Name is Not Hey Baby; Today; Shakespeare's Restless World – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/apr/22/mr-blue-sky-radio-review|newspaper=The Observer (UK)|date=22 April 2012}} The List gave it 3/5, calling it "warmly cosy".{{cite web|last=Donaldson|first=Brian|title=Mr Blue Sky|url=http://www.list.co.uk/article/41268-mr-blue-sky/|work=The List (Edinburgh/Glasgow)|date=27 March 2012}} The Guardian found it "full of warm, nicely observed lines".{{cite news|last=Mahoney|first=Elizabeth|title=Radio review: School for Startups; Mr Blue Sky|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/may/17/school-startups-mr-blue-sky|access-date=5 March 2013|newspaper=The Guardian (UK)|date=17 May 2011}} After its second series aired in April and May 2012 (Moira Petty in The Stage praised Benton's performance as "an essay in finely nuanced felicity"),{{cite news|title=Mr Blue Sky - In The Press|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/radio/mr_blue_sky/press/|access-date=1 August 2014|website=British Comedy Guide|date=11 April 2012}} Mr Blue Sky was not recommissioned for a third series.

• Still Suitable for Miners: Billy Bragg: The Authorised Biography (1998, 2002, 2007, 2013, 2018 rev. ed.), Virgin Books {{ISBN|075355271X}}
• Friends Reunited: Remarkable Real Life Stories from the Nation's Favourite Website (2003), Virgin Books {{ISBN|1-85227-039-X}} (ed.)
• Where Did It All Go Right?: Growing Up Normal in the 70s (2003), Ebury Press {{ISBN|0-09-188667-8}}
• Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now: My Difficult Student 80s (2004), Ebury Press {{ISBN|0-09-189691-6}}
• That's Me in the Corner: Adventures of an Ordinary Boy in a Celebrity World (2007) Ebury Press {{ISBN|0-09-189786-6}}
• Dads (2008), Contributor, (Edited by Sarah Brown and Gil McNeil) Ebury Press {{ISBN|0091922720}} {{ISBN|978-0091922726}}
• Shouting at the Telly (2009), Contributor, (Edited by John Grindrod) Faber and Faber {{ISBN|0-571-24802-0}} {{ISBN|978-0571248025}}
• Modern Delight (2009), Contributor, Faber and Faber {{ISBN|0571251250}} {{ISBN|978-0571251254}}
• Grandparents: A Celebration (2009), Contributor, (Edited by Sarah Brown and Gil McNeil) Ebury Press {{ISBN|0091930782}} {{ISBN|978-0091930783}}
• End of a Century: Nineties Album Reviews in Pictures (2015), Editor, SelfMadeHero {{ISBN|190683895X}} {{ISBN|978-1906838959}}
• Gogglebook: The Wit and Wisdom of Gogglebox (2015), Macmillan Books {{ISBN|1509809309}} {{ISBN|978-1509809301}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/ Never Knowingly Underwhelmed] – Collins's blog
• [https://tellyaddict.wordpress.com/ Telly Addict] – blog connected to Telly Addict TV review

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Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:English television writers

Category:English non-fiction writers

Category:English radio personalities

Category:English radio DJs

Category:Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts

Category:English soap opera writers

Category:English podcasters

Collins, Andrew

Category:People from Northampton

Category:People educated at Weston Favell Academy

Category:Alumni of the University of Northampton

Category:English male non-fiction writers

Category:English male television writers