Sam Nixon

{{Short description|English singer and television presenter (born 1986)}}

{{Other people||Samuel Nixon (disambiguation){{!}}Samuel Nixon}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Samuel Nixon

|image = Sam Nixon in 2015 (cropped).png

|caption = Sam Nixon in 2015

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1986|3|21}}

|birth_place = Monk Bretton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England

|education = Holgate School
Barnsley College

|occupation = Singer, television presenter

|years_active = 1998–present

|known_for = Pop Idol
Top of the Pops Reloaded
TMi
Copycats
Crackerjack

|spouse = {{marriage|Anne Foy|2012}}

|children = 2

}}

Samuel Nixon (born 21 March 1986) is an English singer and television presenter. He came third on the Pop Idol television series in 2003 and is now one half of the duo Sam & Mark, with the other being fellow Pop Idol contestant Mark Rhodes.

Early life

He was originally a catering student from Barnsley College in South Yorkshire.{{cn|date=September 2022}} He attended Holgate School, Barnsley from 1997 to 2002 and is still living in Barnsley.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

Career

=Television=

Nixon's first television appearance was on popular children's game show Fun House presented by Pat Sharp. Nixon and fellow contestant Rosie Feast didn't manage to answer the final question to win the grand prize.

Nixon began a television presenting career, co-hosting Top of the Pops Reloaded. He then formed a presentational double-act on the BAFTA winning CBBC show Level Up, with Mark Rhodes, from 3 April 2006 until 1 September 2006. He worked on the children's Saturday morning show, TMi, on BBC Two, which started on 17 September 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006v7xf/episodes/2007|title=BBC – CBBC – TMi – Next on|publisher=BBC|accessdate=28 June 2015|archive-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207151242/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006v7xf/episodes/2007|url-status=dead}} The series finished on 7 February 2007. Sam returned to television at the beginning of the Easter holidays 2007 in a show called Do Something Different which he presents with Rhodes and Ayesha Asantewaa to attempt to get 1 million children to "try something new". Sam (along with Mark Rhodes) is the presenter of TMi Friday on the CBBC Channel.

Sam and Mark are now hosting Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up, which features mainly trivia, as well as playing a prank on families.

Sam and Mark took part in two episodes of Hole in the Wall airing on 11 October 2008 and 14 November 2009 and were contestants on a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout which aired on 2 January 2010.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/10_october/28/wipeout3.shtml|title=Total Wipeout celebrity special press pack: episode two celebrities|publisher=BBC|accessdate=28 June 2015}}

In 2012, Nixon took part in the seventh series of Dancing on Ice. He was voted out of the show on 26 February 2012. In 2015, he participated in Celebrity MasterChef on BBC One.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/entries/d05a63df-b4f3-4c7b-acc9-40ff112ec2a2|title=BBC Blogs – TV blog – How To Survive Celebrity MasterChef: Heat two with Sam Nixon|author=Sam Nixon|work=TV blog|accessdate=28 June 2015}}

=Music=

Sam & Mark had a No. 1 UK chart hit with their cover of The Beatles tune "With a Little Help from My Friends". Their second single "The Sun Has Come Your Way" debuted in the UK top 40 at No. 19, but they were dropped from their record deal after this release.

Nixon also performs in a band called Mason. Mason performed their first gig on 2 June 2007 at the "Burn down the Disco" night at The Arches in Barnsley, supported by local band MUNICH, and also headlined a local mini music festival at Darton, Barnsley a month later. They continue to perform local gigs as and when Sam's TV schedule allows.

=Radio=

Sam & Mark present a Sunday show on Midlands based radio station Free Radio.

=Theatre=

In 2019, Nixon appeared as Jack in Theatre Royal Wakefield’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/jack-and-beanstalk-comes-theatre-royal-wakefield-1331595|title=Jack and the Beanstalk comes to Theatre Royal Wakefield|website=Wakefield Express|access-date=2020-10-14|archive-date=16 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616134914/https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/jack-and-beanstalk-comes-theatre-royal-wakefield-1331595|url-status=dead}}

In 2021, Nixon returned to perform at the Theatre Royal Wakefield in their version of Beauty and the Beast.