Eddie Mair

Early life

Mair was born in Dundee. His father was a lorry driver and his mother was a nurse. His amateur broadcasting career is reported to have started by using the public address system in his school, Whitfield High School, (now Braeview Academy School) in the Dundee housing scheme, Whitfield. Mair's professional career began after he rejected a university place in order to present on Radio Tay, a local Dundee station.

Career

Mair joined the BBC in 1987 as a sub-editor for Radio Scotland. He moved on to present Good Morning Scotland and Reporting Scotland, then Eddie Mair Live in the drive-time slot for Radio Scotland. In 1993 he hosted Breakaway, the weekly 'travel and leisure' programme on BBC Radio 4. He then joined Radio Five Live when it began in 1994 presenting the Midday with Mair news show. From 1996 to 2000 he presented the BBC/PRI programme The World.

Mair was the host of the weekly current affairs programme Broadcasting House from its launch in April 1998, until 2003, when he took over PM and the programme was handed to Fi Glover. On both programmes, Mair developed his trademark style of mixing serious journalism with witty and satirical commentary. After reading out the weather forecast, he would invariably encourage listeners with a jaunty "Do wrap up", whether the forecast was cold or warm. Since Nick Clarke died in 2006, Mair has substituted for Jonathan Dimbleby as the presenter of Any Questions. Standing in for Andrew Marr on his Sunday morning show on 24 March 2013, Mair interviewed London Mayor Boris Johnson asking critical questions about past known misdeeds such as lying to a minister and commenting: "...you're a nasty piece of work". Patrick Wintour in The Guardian commented that "Johnson's reputation had taken a severe pounding", while Dan Hodges in his Telegraph blog thought Mair's approach was a "disgrace". Johnson himself said that Mair had done a "splendid job".

Mair has also presented Newsnight on BBC Two and The 7 O'Clock News on BBC Three.

On PM, Mair had a long-running on-air feud – real or simulated – with Robert Peston, the BBC's former Economics Editor. For leap day in 2012, Peston co-hosted the PM programme with Mair, and in 2015 they co-hosted the show "The Robert Peston Interview Show (With Eddie Mair)"

Mair was the original host of the 2003 BBC Two series Time Commanders. From 27 to 30 October 2014, Mair guest presented four editions of The One Show with Alex Jones on BBC One.

On 29 February 2016, to the accompaniment of Nat King Cole playing Let There Be Love, Valerie Singleton proposed marriage to Mair live on Radio 4's PM programme, in line with the tradition that women may propose marriage on one day only – February 29. In the same spirit of gentle humour, he promised to think about it and give her an answer in 2020.

Awards

In 2005, Mair won the News Journalist award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards. He has also won a Sony Award for Speech Broadcaster of the Year, Best Breakfast Show and was nominated for two Sony awards for Midday with Mair on 5 Live.

In 2012, Eddie won a Gold award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards for his interview with Julie Nicholson, who lost her daughter Jenny in the London bombings of 7 July 2005. The PM programme also won a Gold award the same year for its coverage of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as president of Egypt.

Mair was listed as the fifth most powerful person in British radio in a 2005 poll in the Radio Times, and 28th most influential LGBT person in The Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2013.

Personal life

Mair lives with his partner Paul Kerley, a journalist working for BBC online, in Harrow, North-West London.