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Terry Christian

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Terry Christian

Terence Christian is an English broadcaster, journalist, author and stand-up comedian. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late-night entertainment show The Word (1990–1995) and six series of ITV1 moral issues talk show It's My Life (2003–2008). He has also been a regular guest panelist on the topical Channel 5 series The Wright Stuff and Jeremy Vine.

Christian presented two series of Turn on Terry with regular guest Tony Wilson and numerous other programmes for ITV, MTV, VH1, Channel 4 as well as a variety of different local and national radio programmes on stations including BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 6 Music, Talksport, Century Radio, Key 103, Signal and BBC Radio Derby and BBC Radio Manchester. While at Radio Derby he won two Sony Awards.

Christian grew up in the Brooks Bar neighbourhood of Old Trafford with five brothers and sisters to Irish immigrant parents from Dublin: Daniel Christian and Margaret Christian (née Cullen). One of his siblings died when Christian was aged two.

He was educated at St Alphonsus' RC Primary School, Ayres Road, Old Trafford, and then passed his 11 plus to attend Catholic Grammar School for Boys St Bede's College, Manchester.[citation needed] His father was a labourer, rivet heater operated a fork-lift truck at Esso in Trafford Park and 25 year shop steward in the Transport & General Workers Union. He attended Thames Polytechnic (now the University of Greenwich) in London but failed his second year exams and transferred onto the final year of a biology HND at Manchester Metropolitan University graduating with HND in July 1981.

He first appeared on national TV in 1981 with other unemployed youngsters from inner-city areas of Manchester on Devil's Advocate, a 7-week ITV television series made for ITV by the World In Action team, presented by former World in Action editor Gus Macdonald and produced by Geoff Moore. The show was made in reaction to the Scarman report which looked into the causes of that summer's riots in Moss Side in Manchester, Toxteth in Liverpool, Brixton in London, Handsworth in Birmingham and St Pauls in Bristol. Other contributing youngsters on Devil's Advocate included Johnny Marr of the Smiths. As a result of his appearances on the programme, Christian was offered his own radio show on BBC Radio Derby called Barbed Wireless.

Christian presented Barbed Wireless between 1982 and 1988 at BBC Radio Derby. The show won Sony Awards in the Best Specialist Music category in 1985 and again in 1986. He also contributed regularly to Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4. From 1986 to 1988 he presented BBC School Radio programme Wavelength, which became Wavelength Plus or WPFM (broadcast on Radio 4 frequencies), on which Jo Whiley was his researcher.

Christian managed a twelve-piece reggae band from the Derby/Nottingham area, Junior C Reaction, who received airplay on John Peel and Janice Long's shows on BBC Radio 1 for their first independent release on Centurion Records, a double A side, "Cry Jahoviah" and "Love & Emotion". They were signed to Cooltempo, a Chrysalis subsidiary, and enjoyed a modicum of success with their first release, a version of the Delroy Wilson classic "Better Must Come", which was C-listed on Radio 1 and Capital Radio at the time, as well as playing a live session on Radio 4's Saturday Live. Christian also promoted concerts around the Derby and Nottingham area, and regular house nights at Derby's Twentieth Century club, where the resident Saturday-night DJ was Graeme Park.

In late 1988, Christian joined Piccadilly Radio's Key 103 FM, presenting weekday evenings and Sunday afternoon with 100% free choice in the music. Here he played all the up-and-coming bands of that era: Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and James. Christian also wrote "The Word" page in the Manchester Evening News from September 1989, dedicated to the Manchester music scene.

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