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Alex Brooker

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Alex Brooker
Brooker in 2022
Born
Alexander James Brooker

(1984-05-15) 15 May 1984 (age 40)
Croydon, Greater London, England[1]
Education
Occupation(s)Journalist, television presenter, comedian
Employer(s)Press Association, Channel 4
Notable credits
SpouseLynsey Brooker
Children2

Alexander James Brooker (born 15 May 1984) is an English journalist and presenter best known for his television work with Channel 4.

Since 2012, Brooker has co-hosted The Last Leg, a Channel 4 panel show with Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe as well as co-presenting Channel 4 ski jumping show The Jump with Davina McCall in 2014. In 2016, he began presenting The Superhumans Show for Channel 4 daytime. In February 2018 Brooker signed with Leeds Rhinos' Foundation PDRL (Physical Disability Rugby League) team.[2]

Career

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Brooker went to the Norton Knatchbull School in Ashford, Kent, before graduating from Liverpool John Moores University in 2006[3] and worked as a sports reporter on the Liverpool Echo. He now works for the Press Association.

Brooker entered Channel 4's Half a Million Quid Talent Search in 2012,[3][4] which aimed to find disabled talent for coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games and beyond. He first appeared as a trackside reporter on Channel 4's coverage of the 2011 BT Paralympic World Cup.[3] Brooker interviewed the likes of Boris Johnson and David Cameron during the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony and was a co-host on The Last Leg with Adam Hills, a nightly alternative look at the Games.[5] Brooker was also on The Last Leg of the Year, an end of year special with Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe.

Since 25 January 2013, Brooker has been a co-host on The Last Leg on Channel 4.[6] In February 2015 Brooker interviewed Nick Clegg for the programme: his performance was described by political journalist Hugo Rifkind as "a model of how to talk normally to a politician – and make them talk normally back".[7]

On 1 August 2013, Brooker hosted a one-off documentary about body image on Channel 4, titled Alex Brooker: My Perfect Body.[8]

In January and February 2014, Brooker co-presented the first series of celebrity reality show The Jump on Channel 4 opposite Davina McCall. The series was broadcast live over 10 nights from a mountainside in Austria.[9] However, Brooker did not return for the second series in 2015. In 2016, he presented The Superhumans Show on Channel 4.

From 2020 to 2021, he co-presented One Night In with Josh Widdicombe.[10][11][12]

In May 2022, the BBC announced that Brooker would be one of the guest presenters to take over Richard Osman's role on Pointless.[13]

In 2024, Brooker participated as "Bigfoot" on the fifth series of The Masked Singer and finished in second place.[14]

Personal life

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Brooker was born in Croydon. He now lives in Huddersfield[1] He was born with congenital abnormalities of his hands and arm, and a twisted right leg which had to be amputated when he was a baby. He now wears a prosthetic leg.[15]

In 2014 Brooker married accountant Lynsey, and the couple have two daughters.

Brooker is a supporter of Arsenal F.C., appearing regularly on the Footballistically Arsenal podcast.[16]

Charity

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In May 2014, Brooker fronted a campaign called "End The Awkward" by disability charity Scope, which used comedy to shine a light on the awkwardness that many people feel about disability. Brooker appeared in three advertisements guiding viewers through awkward situations that they may encounter with a disabled person.[17]

In September 2012, Brooker won The Million Pound Drop Live with Josh Widdicombe playing for Echoes Foundation, Scope Joseph's Goal.[18][19]

Brooker is the official ambassador of UK-based charity Legs4Africa.[20]

Filmography

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Television

  • Half a Million Quid Talent Search (2012)
  • The Last Leg (2012–present)
  • Alex Brooker: My Perfect Body (2013)
  • The Jump (2014)
  • The Superhumans Show (2016)
  • The NHS: A People's History (2018)
  • Very British Problems (2018)
  • Alex Brooker: Disability and Me (2020)
  • One Night In (2020–21)
  • Hobby Man (2022)[21]

Guest appearances

References

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  1. ^ a b "Twitter posts from Alex Brooker". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. ^ "TV star Alex signs up for team". Yorkshire Evening Post. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Graduate lands top TV sports presenting job". JMU Journalism. 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Alex Brooker – Half-Million quid talent search video". YouTube. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  5. ^ Ned Boulting (2 September 2012). "Ned Boulting: Alex Brooker deserves a medal for his Paralympic performance". Metro. London: Metro. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  6. ^ Paul Kalina (20 February 2013). "Risking laugh and limb pays off". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  7. ^ Rifkind, Hugo (7 February 2015). "How Alex Brooker made political interviews interesting again". spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Alex Brooker: My Perfect Body". Channel 4. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Channel 4 reveals the famous faces preparing to take The Jump". Channel 4 Press. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  10. ^ "One Night In... - C4 Comedy". British Comedy Guide.
  11. ^ "One Night In... Returns with Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe". 23 December 2021.
  12. ^ "One Night in (TV Series)".
  13. ^ "Guest host line-up for BBC One's Pointless revealed". BBC. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Masked Singer 2024: Who won? Was it Bigfoot, Cricket or Piranha?". BBC Newsround. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  15. ^ Smith, Reanna (19 August 2022). "Alex Brooker feared his kids would be 'scared' of him because of his disability". mirror. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Footballistically Arsenal". podcast.playbackmedia.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  17. ^ Tovey, Alan (21 June 2014). "Campaign to 'End the Awkwardness' of dealing with disabled". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Million Pound Charity Drop Benefits Disability Charities". Posability. 14 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  19. ^ Lucy Lyon (14 September 2012). "Million Pound Drop TV win 'saves' Hull's Echoes Foundation". This Is Hull and East Riding. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  20. ^ "Comedian Alex Brooker becomes Legs4Africa ambassador". Legs4Africa. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Alex Brooker is… Hobby Man". channel4.com/press. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Big Zuu's Big Eats". uktvplay.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
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