James Whale (radio)

Michael "James" Whale (born 13 May 1951) is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.

He gained national attention in the late 1980s with The James Whale Radio Show, a late-night programme produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV. In 1995, he hosted The James Whale Show on TalkSport until he was fired in 2008 after urging his listeners to elect Boris Johnson as Mayor of London. He presented on bid tv before returning to the airwaves on LBC in London.Plunkett, John. , The Guardian, 2008-09-09. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.

Biography

Whale was brought up in Surrey by his Welsh mother and English father, who owned a pub. He has been married to Melinda Whale since 1970, and has two children, James and Peter, and owns three dogs.

Early radio and television career (1974–1995)

Whale started as a phone-in chat show host at Metro Radio in Newcastle, the first presenter of the Nightowls evening phone-in from the station's launch in 1974. He moved to Radio Derby to host a morning phone-in, working with Terry Christian, who became a colleague at talkSPORT.

In 1982, Whale joined Radio Aire in Leeds to host the night talk show. He was promoted to the...
Read More