Nick Hewer

Nicholas Radbourn Hewer[2] (born 17 February 1944) is an Anglo-Irish television presenter, company director (2010) and former public relations consultant. From 2005 to 2014, he appeared as Lord Sugar's adviser on the British television series The Apprentice. Since January 2012, he has presented the Channel 4 programme Countdown with Rachel Riley and Susie Dent, having taken over from Jeff Stelling. He is the fifth presenter of Countdown and the longest-serving one since original host, Richard Whiteley.

Nick Hewer
Hewer at the BAFTAs in 2009
Born
Nicholas Radbourn Hewer

(1944-02-17) 17 February 1944
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
EducationClongowes Wood College
Occupation
  • Television presenter
  • public relations consultant
Years active1966–present
Television
  • The Apprentice (2005–2014)
  • Countdown (since 2012)
Political partyLabour (1964-2019)[1]
Spouse(s)
Margo Spindler
(m. 1973; div. 1985)
Partner(s)Catherine
Parent(s)Patricia and John Hewer

Early life

Hewer was born in Swindon on 17 February 1944.[2] His mother was Mary Patricia Hewer (née Jamison; 1918 - 1999), and his father, John David Radbourn Hewer (1915 - 2010) was a senior partner of Hewer, Spriggs and Wilson, a veterinary practice in Swindon's Old Town area. They had met when both were university students in Dublin. The family lived in Old Town, and Hewer was educated at Clongowes Wood College, an exclusive Jesuit boarding school in County Kildare, Ireland.[3] Hewer has two sisters and two brothers.

Hewer's grandfather, John Radbourn Hewer, began as a vet in Swindon in 1912. His maternal grandfather, Oswald Jamison, was High Sheriff of Belfast during the 1920s.[4][5]

He secured a place to study law at Trinity College, Dublin, but his parents could not afford the fees for him to go there.

Career

Hewer moved to London in the 1960s[6] aged 20 to join a public relations (PR) consultancy as a trainee.[7] Within six years he had joined the board and eventually bought out the owner, becoming the sole shareholder. His PR company was hired by Amstrad to represent them in 1983. He spent 21 years in the Amstrad management group. He sold his PR agency in 1998.

Hewer's status as a businessman and public figure has been used in various ways; for example, in 2012, he was one of many celebrities to help promote the change in the UK pension scheme to automatic enrolment.[8] In 2013, he worked with Vista Print on their "Build Your Small Business" campaign,[9] and in 2014 worked with Bark.com to promote their services marketplace product.[10]

Television

Hewer and ex-Amstrad owner Alan Sugar became friends through their working relationship.[6] He became one of Sugar's advisers on The Apprentice on BBC One. On 18 December 2014, Hewer revealed that he had decided to leave the show after the tenth series, believing it to be "the appropriate time".[11]

On 9 January 2012, Hewer became the new host of the Channel 4 game show Countdown taking over from Sports presenter Jeff Stelling.[12]

In July 2012, Hewer presented a four-part series on BBC Two called The Farm Fixer, where he assisted farmers in Northern Ireland in diversifying.

Hewer also presented two BBC One series The Town that Never Retired and We All Pay Your Benefits with Margaret Mountford.

On 28 August 2013, Hewer appeared on an episode of BBC One's, Who Do You Think You Are?.

In July 2014, Hewer co-presented a BBC One documentary series with Margaret Mountford called Nick and Margaret: Too many Immigrants? which researched the impact of and attitudes towards immigrants in the UK.

Hewer has appeared on panel shows Would I Lie to You? (2011), Ask Rhod Gilbert (2011), Have I Got News for You (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016), Room 101 (2012) and Big Star's Little Star (2015).

In December 2015 Hewer appeared, alongside Margaret Mountford, in BBC's Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.[13]

Personal life

Hewer married Margo Spindler in 1973. They were divorced in 1985 after they had had two children.[14] His son, James Radbourn Hewer b.Feb 1975, briefly acted as co-director in his father's company

Hewer has been a patron of the charity Pancreatic Cancer Action since 2015.[15] In 2017 he presented the charity's BBC Radio 4 charity appeal during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.[16]

In July 2008, Hewer took part in the charity drive event, the Mongol Rally, in a Renault 4, driving from London to Ulan Bator. He raised over £12,000 for Hope and Homes for Children.[17] He wrote a series of blogs about his journey for the online travel section of the Daily Telegraph.

For many years, Hewer was a supporter of the Labour Party.[18] While appearing on Question Time in 2017 he stated that he had supported the party since Harold Wilson, but was critical of the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband. In January 2019, he stated that he would no longer vote for Labour, after his Countdown co-presenter Rachel Riley received abuse on social media for speaking out against anti-Semitism within the party.[1]

During one Countdown introduction Hewer recounted an anecdote about a £100 cheque, in his name as payee, left with a pub landlord. Thinking it was a scam, he didn't bank it. Time passed and a chap asked Nick did he get the cheque? Yes what was it for? You bet that sum that Donald Trump would become US President. "So I did" and proudly deposited his winnings. In an interview with the Irish Times in 2018 to promote his book Hewer offered regrets about his poor relationship with his children following his divorce, He expressed satisfaction that he had improved family relations and was a better grandfather. He and his partner have a home in south west France.

On 2 November 2012, Hewer received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Kingston University in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to business and entrepreneurship".[7][19]

On 1 April 2019 Nick became the President of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.[20]

See also

References
  1. Welch, Ben (8 January 2019). "Countdown's Nick Hewer 'will no longer vote Labour' after Rachel Riley suffers abuse over antisemitism". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. Jeffries, Stuart (9 May 2011). "Nick Hewer: 'The Apprentice does a great job for young people'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  3. "All Fired Up!". Independent.ie. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  4. "Who Do You Think You Are? Series 10 - 6. Nick Hewer". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  5. "Featured Articles". TheGenealogist. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. "BBC - The Apprentice - The Board". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  7. "Apprentice and Countdown star Nick Hewer receives honorary degree - News - Kingston University London". Kingston.ac.uk. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  8. "Celebrity bosses raise awareness of biggest pensions change in over a century". Department for Work and Pensions. 17 September 2012.
  9. Frost, Caroline (6 August 2013). "The Apprentice's Nick Hewer Reveals The Three Things Anyone Thinking of Starting a Business Should Know". Huffington Post.
  10. "Nick Hewer teams up with Bark". Bark Blog.
  11. "Nick Hewer to leave The Apprentice". BBC. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  12. "The Apprentice star Nick Hewer is new host of Countdown". the Guardian. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  13. "Nick Hewer and Margaret Mountford, Series 4, Celebrity Antiques Road Trip - BBC Two". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  14. "Nick Hewer on The Apprentice: Interview". The Daily Telegraph. London. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  15. PCA, Pancreatic Cancer Action. "Our patrons and trustees · Pancreatic Cancer Action". Pancreatic Cancer Action. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  16. "Pancreatic Cancer Action, Radio 4 Appeal - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  17. "Justgiving - Nick Hewer". Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  18. "BBC News - Nick Hewer: The Labour Party's new 'apprentices'". www.bbc.co.uk. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  19. "Businessman and TV presenter Nick Hewer receives Honorary Doctorate | Kingston Business School, London". Business.kingston.ac.uk. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  20. "Three, two, one...broadcaster Nick Hewer appointed President of RCSLT". RCSLT. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
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