Ian Peacock

Ian Peacock (born 14 December 1962) is a radio presenter and writer. He has appeared regularly on BBC Radio 4 since the late 1980s. Described as "a natural broadcaster" by The Observer, he has a Gold Sony Award for feature-making (Radio Academy Awards). He was named by The Independent as a 'Media Star 2006' – one of the media people who would "have the most impact" over the year.

Ian Peacock was born in Westerhope, a village in Northumberland to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne.

His radio career began unexpectedly in 1976 when he was aged 14. During work experience at BBC Newcastle, presenter Frank Wappat lost his voice and asked him to present part of his afternoon show.

He graduated in 1984 with a first class degree in English Literature, followed by a PGCE. While at Cambridge University, he presented a student programme and outside broadcasts for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

After graduating, he lived in Valais in Switzerland and Innsbruck in Austria, working as a tourist rep. He also spent a term at Salzburg University studying literary German.

At BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Peacock produced and presented a weekly arts programme and made features for news programmes.

While at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, he produced John Peel. He also reported for BBC Radio 4 programmes such as PM, Kaleidoscope (UK radio series),You and Yours and Today (BBC Radio 4). His first Today Programme feature was about the rise of the Sloane Ranger. He then became a reporter on The AM Alternative presented by Johnnie Walker on BBC Radio 5.

In the early 1990s, he produced documentaries for BBC Radio 1, such as Pinkpop, which was the BBC's first ever programme about gay pop music, presented by Laurie Pike. While making programmes for Radio 1, he interviewed Take That, Mark Wahlberg and East 17.