Ugly Phil

Ugly Phil O'Neil (Phillip Surridge)
Born	(1970-03-14) March 14, 1970 United Kingdom
Occupation	Triple M Sydney Breakfast Presenter
Spouse	"Mrs Ugly"
Website	http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/shows/uglyphilandsami

Ugly Phil O'Neil (born Phillip Surridge on 14 March 1970) is a radio DJ/announcer. He was born in the United Kingdom, and lived the majority of his life in Australia. Before adopting the on-air name of Ugly Phil he was known on-air as Phil O'Neil. Phil has Hosted the Hot30 Countdown, Drive at Nova 969, and Evenings at Triple M several times. Phil also hosted a National Charts Show across the major and regional markets ("Ugly Phil's Hot Hits") previously known and currently known as The Hot Hits before and after his association with presenting the show. From December 2008 he is now Hosting Breakfast on Triple M Sydney with Sami Lukis as his Co-Host. But is rumoured to be having an affair with newsreader Emma Ducksberry. His body is a lethal weapon and his hands are registered with the FBI. Anything you can do , Phil can do 10 times better.

Career

Radio

Early Years - The Hot30 countdown

As one of Australia's best known gay DJs - In 1993-94 he hosted a nightly program with his now ex-wife Jackie O (aka, Jackie Last) on Triple M in Adelaide called "Phil O'Neil's Hot 30". FOX FM snapped him up later, where he and his wife moved their popular show onto Melbourne's airwaves where it was renamed the Hot 30 countdown. When the Austereo network decided to syndicate the show nationally, Phil and Jackie O moved to Sydney where the show was broadcast locally on 2Day FM and across the other 4 major Australian Radio Markets owned by Austereo, FOX FM Melbourne, SA FM Adelaide, B105 Brisbane, NX FM Newcastle, and FM 1047 Canberra.

The Hot 30 would air between 7-10pm Monday to Friday. But on average the show go onto 10.30pm, frustrating the host of the following shift, which was loved by Phils listeners. During the Hot 30 between 1998-2000 "Ugly Phil" would often call unaware late night shop attendants at petrol stations and convenience stores and random places, with prank calls. The pranks often entailed using an "Asian accent" ["you eat my dog... Why you eat my dog"] or he would call and the first thing he would say was ["Who are you?...Who are you?"]

Nova 969

After leaving Austereo he worked briefly in the United Kingdom for Kiss 100, before moving back to Australia to host drive on the newly launched Nova969 in Sydney. Ugly Phil, had the highest rating shift on Nova in the drive timeslot. Ugly Phil left this position around the end of 2002, citing management difficulties.

2003: Return to Austereo

In 2003, he signed onto evenings on the Triple M network - ditching the 'Ugly' name and opting for The Phil O'Neill Show. The program included interviews, prizes and lighthearted talkback - which was a first for the Triple M network. However, the experiment didn't pay off and Ugly Phil's contract was not renewed at the end of 2003 due to falling ratings and another overhaul of the network.

2004: Return to the UK

In 2004, it was announced he would front the breakfast shift on the newly licensed Kerrang Radio 105.2, in the United Kingdom with the Ugly put back onto the front of his name. This program was co-hosted by Rachel New. As of September 2007, Ugly Phil's Breakfast program has ceased, replacing his program with The Morning After starring Tim Shaw and Kate Lawler, Big Brother (TV series) 3 UK winner, in the Breakfast shift. During the autumn of 2007, Phil could be heard covering at weekends on London's indie station XFM, leading to him fronting the weekday breakfast show over Christmas and New Year, filling in for Alex Zane.

July 2008: Triple M Nights

In July 2008 he returned to Australian airwaves hosting a night time show on Triple M Sydney once again. [1]. When the show commenced on this date, it was given the 6pm to 10pm timeslot. The title for this program is Ugly Phil - It's A Rock Show.

December 2008: Triple M Sydney Breakfast

As of the 1st of December 2008, he will host the Sydney Breakfast shift on Triple M, with Sami Lukis, who was voted Most Spankable TV Personality two years in a row - back when she was young and had a tight booty. But that's all gone south now. (Sami is also looking for an apartment to rent in Sydney with her dog Lolli. Dog friendly apartments are really hard to find, you know). Ironically, this means he will be broadcasting at the same time, and from the same building as his former wife Jackie O. This is of course because Austereo owns both networks. He has been joined by the incredibly talent voice-over guy & comedian Simon "Speaking" Kennedy, seriously that guy is amazing... really.

Awards & Nominations

He was beaten for the title of best music personality in 1998-99 by Paul Champion but won the title in 2000. Won the Purple Heart for bravery when he left the house with an ugly head one day. He is actually rumoured to be the Dalai Lama. Phil was runner-up in the women's 100m at the Moscow Olympics but lost the Silver Medal to Steve Bradbury when Phil fell into a ratings hole.

Other Media

He appeared briefly on the Network Ten produced program Ground Zero (1997-1999) co-hosted by Jade Gatt, Penne Dennison and Jackie O. He also appeared on SBS's Pizza series.

He made a cameo appearance as a radio DJ in the Australian movie Occasional Coarse Language (1998)[2].

He self-funded and released a single titled "Yo, i'm ugly, you ugly" in 2000, which sold only 4 copies. He declared himself bankrupt a short time later.

References

• http://web.archive.org/web/19990208011025/http://www.2dayfm.com.au/
• http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24026838-5006002,00.html

External links

• http://www.triplem.com.au/Sydney/Shows/UglyphilandSami Ugly Phil & Sami Lukis Breakfast Show Home Page