Alex Zane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Alex Zane | |
|---|---|
 Alex Zane at the Xfm Music Awards, January 2008 |
|
| Born | 3 March 1979 Leeds, Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Radio/Television presenter |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Alex Zane (born Alexander Laurence, born 3 March 1979 in Leeds) is an English television presenter and DJ.
Contents |
[edit] Background
He attended Boston Spa School before going on to study Medicine at University College London,[1] a course which he left after a year, and then Media and Communications at Goldsmiths College.[1] He left Goldsmiths also without graduating.
His father currently resides in Trinidad, and has done so for some time. His mother lives in his native Leeds. Zane has mentioned on many occasions that while he was growing up, he, his mother and his brother lived in the upstairs of the house while their cats lived downstairs.
[edit] Stand-up comedy and radio
Zane began his career at the age of 18 when he became a finalist on an open-mic competition called So You Think You're Funny. He moved to London to concentrate on his career, and before leaving medical school, he presented "The Alex Zane Show" on UCL's student radio station Rare FM. He also presented on Wired FM, which led to his own show on London alternative/Indie station Xfm. His radio show was heard by MTV producers, who subsequently signed him up to present shows such as Screenplay and TRL. From April 2007 to April 2009 he presented the weekday breakfast show on Xfm.[2] Zane and his team (Marc Haynes and Sunta Templeton) were suspended from the show in August 2008 after he broadcast a self-created song about rape, deemed to be offensive by the station.[3] All three returned a week later, with Zane accusing Xfm of "over-reacting in the extreme" and claiming that his song had been misinterpreted.[4][5] As of April 2009 Alex Zane no longer presents the Xfm Breakfast Show. It is understood that his contract has not been renewed by "mutual agreement." Ian Camfield has now taken his place. It's believed Alex will begin working on BBC 6Music at some stage this year.[6]
[edit] Television presenting
In 2006 Zane was signed by Channel 4 under an exclusive contract. He co-presented Popworld and the accompanying Popworld Radio podcast with Alexa Chung until the programme ended in July 2007. He has narrated an E4 television show, Princess Nikki, and made appearances on Channel 4 entertainment programmes such as The Law of the Playground, 8 out of 10 cats and Balls of Steel. He presented E4's coverage of Channel 4's hoax reality show Space Cadets,[2] as well as Death Wish Live, the Digital Music Awards 2005 and Carling Live 24. He has also presented television coverage of several large scale music events, including the V Festival, and the Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park and more recently Orange Unsigned Act. He presented Celebrity Scissorhands first on BBC Three, then on BBC One, as part of the BBC's Children in Need charity campaign in November 2006.[2] He is also presenting orange unsigned act on Channel 4. He has presented Channel 4's variety show based on YouTube videos, Rude Tube, three times (February 2008, January 2009 and January 2010). Zane also co-presented the Kerrang! music awards 2008 with Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil. He has done promotional presenting work with BBC Blast including a piece on what creativity means.
He had small acting roles in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Land of the Dead (2005) and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)
In July 2009, he co-hosted Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: A T4 Special with Rick Edwards and hosted the Channel 4 coverage of Inglourious Basterds.
Zane also hosts a film show, Alex Zane's Guest List, on Sky Movies Premiere.[7]
In early 2010 he appeared with Bill Bailey as a team captain on birdwatching show 'Bill Bailey's Bird Watching Bonanza' for Sky 1.[8]
[edit] Comedy writing
Zane has written comedy material for The Eleven O'Clock Show (Channel 4), Smack the Pony (Channel 4), Brain Candy (BBC Three), and The Sketch Show (ITV1). He also presents some shows on Kerrang! TV.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Alex Zane". The Independent. 2006-05-29. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060529/ai_n16433358. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- ^ a b c "Zane steps into Laverne's shoes". Guardian Unlimited. 2006-12-26. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/apr/20/radio. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
- ^ "DJ Alex Zane suspended after playing 'joke' song about rape". Daily Mail. 2008-08-23. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1048526/DJ-Alex-Zane-suspended-playing-joke-song-rape.html. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ "'Axed' Alex Zane Accuses XFM Of Over-Reacting". Gigwise.com. http://www.gigwise.com/news/45686/axed-alex-zane-accuses-xfm-of-overreacting. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ "DJ Zane's anger at XFM suspension". BBC News. 2008-08-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7586406.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ John Plunkett (21 April 2009). "Alex Zane to leave Xfm". http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/21/alex-zane-to-leave-xfm. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ http://movies.sky.com/show/alex-zanes-guest-list-episode-list
- ^ "TV review: Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza/Silent Witness - The Scotsman". thescotsman.scotsman.com. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/TV-Review-Bill-Bailey39s-Birdwatching.5965597.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
