Neil Buchanan

Neil Buchanan (born 11 October 1961)[1] is an English television presenter, artist, and musician. He presented the CITV programme Art Attack, a television programme that he co-created, during its original run from 1990 to 2007. He also presented Finders Keepers (1991–1996) and It's a Mystery (1996–2000), and produced and appeared in ZZZap! as Smart Arty (1993–1998).

Neil Buchanan
Born (1961-10-11) 11 October 1961[1]
Aintree, England
OccupationTelevision presenter, television producer, musician, guitarist, artist
Years active1976–2012
Notable work
Art Attack (1990–2007)
Finders Keepers (1991–1996)
Musical career
GenresHeavy metal
Instrumentsguitar
Labels
  • Mountain
  • RCA
  • Ultranoise
  • Gas Station Music
Associated actsMarseille
Websitehttp://www.neilbuchanan.co.uk
Notes
Co-founder of The Media Merchants

Early life

Neil Buchanan was born in 1961 in Aintree, which was then in the county of Lancashire. He attended Barlows Lane primary school and Liverpool Institute High School, now the Paul McCartney-sponsored Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.[2][3]

Career

Buchanan was in a heavy metal band called Marseille which formed in 1976: they were part of the new wave of British heavy metal scene, releasing four albums and six singles, touring America and performing with Judas Priest, Nazareth and Whitesnake.[4][5][6] The band reformed in 2009 with a performance at The Cavern Club, Liverpool.[6]

Television

Buchanan made his television debut on a Saturday morning show called No. 73, later renamed 7T3.[2] He had attended the original audition, having met the No. 73 producers when his band Marseille appeared on Southern Television's Saturday Banana. He did not become a regular until the third series of No. 73 shown in 1983. After production ceased on 7T3 in 1988, he went on to present Motormouth, another Saturday morning children's programme made by TVS alongside Gaby Roslin. Buchanan stayed with Motormouth until the show's cancellation in 1992.

He presented the CITV show Art Attack from its inception in 1990 until the show ended in 2007.[5] The show won two BAFTA awards.[7] In March 2000, Britt Allcroft (subsequently Gullane Entertainment) purchased the rights to the series from Buchanan in a £14 million transaction.[8]

In 1991, he hosted the British version of Finders Keepers, a room-raiding game show for TVS, then Scottish Television when TVS lost their licence to broadcast. He co-hosted the show with Diane Youdale, the former Gladiators star, in its final series in 1996. He also presented Animal Crazy with co-host Jenny Powell for two series between 1994 and 1995 which was produced by the Media Merchants for Granada Television, and It's a Mystery alongside Sophie Aldred, from 1996 to 1999.

From 1995 to 1997, Buchanan presented the awards show The CITV Awards, which gave viewers a chance to vote on who they think should win a CITV award.

Buchanan briefly appeared as a guest on Celebrity Juice on 8 November 2012 during series 8 episode 11,[9] in which he discussed ending Art Attack and his current activities, playing with his band.

In 2020, due to rumours spreading online, Buchanan released a statement denying suggestions that he was the English-based street artist Banksy.[10]

References
  1. "Neil Buchanan - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  2. "Meet Neil". HitEntertainment.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  3. "Neil Buchanan". Educate. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. Banim, Julia (14 June 2018). "Art Attack Presenter Neil Buchanan Is in a Metal Band And Looks Completely Different". UNILAD. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  5. McCold, Sophie (5 September 2020). "Where Art Attack star Neil Buchanan is now". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. "Why Children's TV star Neil Buchanan has hung up his pencil for life as heavy metal rock star". Liverpool Echo. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  7. Bland, Simon (23 June 2020). "Neil Buchanan on 30 years of Art Attack: 'Every kid thinks they're Picasso until they're six or seven'". i. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. Robins, Jane (16 March 2000). "Sooty firm snaps up 'Art Attack' makers for £14m". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  9. "Celebrity Juice | Episode #8.11 (2012) | Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  10. "Neil Buchanan: Former Art Attack host denies Banksy rumours". BBC News. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.