Angus Purden
{{Short description|Scottish television presenter}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Angus Purden
| image = Angus Purden 1.jpg
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| birth_place = Lanarkshire, Scotland
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| nationality = Scottish
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| occupation = Television presenter/Teacher of Psychology
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| height = About {{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{citation|author=Lisa Adams|title=Hunk Angus back on home territory|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=hunk-angus-back-on-home-territory&method=full&objectid=18618512&siteid=66633-name_page.html|newspaper=Daily Record|date=14 February 2007}}.
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Angus Purden (born 1973) is a Scottish television presenter. A former Mr. Scotland and model, he wrote for a Scottish newspaper and is now best known for presenting do-it-yourself and Scottish lottery shows. One of the regular presenters for the BBC series Cash in the Attic since 2002, he also appeared in programmes such as Channel 4's Room For Improvement (2004-2010) and Ghost Towns (2005–2006) for Living TV, and he was a street prize presenter and public face of People's Postcode Lottery. In April 2010, Angus became the main host of STV gameshow Postcode Challenge.
Early life
The youngest in his family with two sisters and a brother. Purden was born in 1973 and named Gary. He was raised in the small town of Shotts in Lanarkshire.{{Cite web |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12608474.a-piece-of-my-mind-angus-purden-tv-presenter/ |title=A piece of my mind: Angus Purden, TV presenter |work=The Herald |date=9 November 2009|accessdate=14 January 2019 }} As a teenager, he won the title of Mr. Scotland in a Daily Record competition in 1992. The win opened the door to working as a catwalk model in Paris and Milan, including a three-year modelling stint for Giorgio Armani in Milan.{{citation|author=Sally Raikes|title=Work ethic|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/magazine.cfm?id=102712004|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202054829/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/magazine.cfm?id=102712004|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2013|newspaper=The Scotsman (Scotsman Magazine)|date=31 January 2004}} . According to Purden, "I was surrounded by beautiful people so I remember laughing my head off that they thought I looked exotic. I was just a wee boy from a housing estate in Lanarkshire but I had thick, long curly hair and they liked me. The designer Romeo Gigli used me as his muse, and designed an entire collection on me. It was an amazing time."
Career
Purden wrote a column for the Glasgow Evening Times before his break on television appearing on STV as a prize presenter for the quiz show Wheel of Fortune presented by John Leslie. Subsequently, he was a reporter for GMTV and Five News.{{citation|title=Angus Purden|url=http://www.rdfmanagement.com/clients/angus_purden.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211064458/http://www.rdfmanagement.com/clients/angus_purden.html|archivedate=11 December 2007|publisher=RDF Management|accessdate=16 November 2007}}.
Purden was a presenter on BBC's Cash in the Attic, visiting family homes to find out what they need to raise money for. They then explore the home to find items that may be taken to auction, which are valued by experts. Before this, he presented Series 1 to 3 of Channel 4's Room For Improvement, a home renovation show.
Purden appeared with TV personality and self-described psychic medium Derek Acorah. In 2005 he presented Quest for Guy Fawkes, which attempted to discover what happened during the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 by contacting Guy Fawkes's spirit. In the first season of Derek Acorah's Ghost Towns (2005–2006), Purden and co-presenter Danniella Westbrook accompanied Acorah to towns and cities throughout Great Britain said to be haunted. These programmes were produced for Living TV.
Purden did media work for British Airways TV, RBS, Scottish Television (now STV)He was the presenter of the STV show Watch to Win: {{citation|author=Lisa Adams|title=Hunk Angus back on home territory|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=hunk-angus-back-on-home-territory&method=full&objectid=18618512&siteid=66633-name_page.html|newspaper=Daily Record|date=14 February 2007}}. From 2007, he also hosted Postcode Challenge: {{citation|author=Paula Murray|title=People's Postcode Lottery launched in Scotland: Postcode game will raise millions|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2007/11/06/people-s-postcode-lottery-launched-in-scotland-86908-20067501/|newspaper=Daily Record|date=6 November 2007}}. and the Travel Channel, and also fronted TV We Love To Hate for BBC Three. Radio appearances include BBC Radio Scotland and LBC 97.3, and he writes occasional travel pieces for the Scottish tabloid the Sunday Mail.
In 2010, Purden appeared in a cinema advertising campaign against the arms trade for Amnesty International.{{citation|author=Lesley Roberts|title=Every home should have gun: Exclusive shopping channel ad attacks arm trade|url=http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16640287&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=every-home-should-have-gun--name_page.html|newspaper=Sunday Mail|date=29 January 2006}}.
Purden, alongside Lorraine Kelly presented the six-part psychology series, Make Me Happier for STV, which was broadcast in November/December 2009, then appeared as a guest presenter on STV's daily lifestyle show The Hour on occasion – his first show being in February 2010, alongside main anchor Michelle McManus. In April 2010, he presented STV gameshow Postcode Challenge, replacing Carol Smillie until the show was cancelled. Purden read psychology via the Open University and in Edinburgh where he gained an honours degree. He subsequently retrained, worked at Hinchley Wood School for 2 years and is now head of psychology at an all boys private school in London.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}
Selected work
Some information in this table was obtained from {{citation|title=Angus Purden: Filmography|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2053629/|publisher=Internet Movie Database (IMDb)|accessdate=16 November 2007}}.
Personal life
Purden is interested in interiors and architecture. In January 2004 it was reported that he and his partner owned a 1722 five-storey Georgian townhouse in the East End of London which had taken seven years to renovate and furnish from its original near-derelict state. He later moved to Notting Hill.{{citation|author=Nichola Hunter|title=Rooms for improvement|url=http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1115102007|newspaper=The Scotsman|date=21 July 2007}}.
By April 2006 Purden had returned to Glasgow's West End after having spent 12 years in London. He said that being back in Scotland was a "breath of fresh air" and added: "Life seemed too hard in London. I needed to be there initially because of my career but now that I'm more established I feel it's going to be easier to commute. I'm elated to be back."{{citation|last=Natasha Weale|first=Natasha|title=Wearing a kilt makes you feel like George Clooney; TV hunk Angus says ladies go tartan barmy for Scots gear|url=http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17011927&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=wearing-a-kilt-makes-you-feel-like-george-clooney--name_page.html|newspaper=Sunday Mail|date=30 April 2006}}. In Glasgow, he acquired and renovated two B-listed properties. He later renovated a property in Edinburgh.
Purden lists his other main interests as including food, travel (he speaks fluent Italian) and consumer issues. However, in February 2008 he was branded a 'kitchen calamity' after recording the lowest-ever score on the BBC programme Ready Steady Cook.{{citation|author=Beverley Lyons |author2=Laura Sutherland |title=Angus Purden in a stew on Ready Steady Cook |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/entertainment-news/2008/02/23/angus-purden-in-a-stew-on-ready-steady-cook-86908-20328934/ |newspaper=Daily Record |date=23 February 2008 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}; {{citation|author=Heather Greenaway|title=Angus Purden has kitchen nightmare on Ready Steady Cook|url=http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/tv-showbiz-news/entertainment-news/2008/02/24/angus-purden-has-kitchen-nightmare-on-ready-steady-cook-78057-20329531/|newspaper=Sunday Mail|date=24 February 2008}}.
References
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{citation|title=Angus Purden|url=http://www.rdfmanagement.com/clients/angus_purden.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211064458/http://www.rdfmanagement.com/clients/angus_purden.html|archivedate=11 December 2007|publisher=RDF Management|accessdate=16 November 2007}}.
Further reading
- {{citation|author=Heather Greenaway|title=Attic panic: Exclusive TV star loses crucial show reports after forgetting laptop on a plane|url=http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17042422&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=attic-panic--name_page.html|newspaper=Sunday Mail|date=7 May 2007}}.
- {{citation|title=Cashing up in the attic [blog entry]|url=http://diaphania.blogspirit.com/archive/2007/06/index.html|publisher=Diaphania: Something of Nothing|date=28 June 2007|accessdate=16 November 2007}}.
External links
- {{IMDb name|2053629}}
- [http://www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/presenters/angus_purdenn.html Angus Purden at Channel 4]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704131815/http://www.dressedtokilt.com/ny2007gallery.html Angus Purden at Tartan Week NY on 2 April 2007]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purden, Angus}}
Category:Scottish television presenters
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:BBC television presenters
Category:Scottish expatriates in Italy