Phil Upton

Phil Upton (born 9 October 1966 in Birmingham, England) is a British radio presenter in the West Midlands region.

Early life

Born the same day as David Cameron, he attended King's Norton Boys' School in Cotteridge from 1978 to 1985.

Upton studied Media and Communications at Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University), graduating in 1985.[1]

Early career

His first experience of radio was during his degree studies, although his broadcasting career began properly in 1987. He started on BRMB, presenting the lunchtime show, a Friday evening show devoted to dance music. He later took over the drivetime show, then the mid-morning show, and finally the afternoon show in 1997.

Heart FM

1998 saw him move from BRMB to 100.7 Heart FM, where he presented the weekday afternoon show from 1  to 4 pm.

Back to BRMB

Having spent five years at Heart, he moved back to BRMB in 2003.[2] There he took over the Weekday Mid-Morning show from 9 am to 1 pm and a Saturday morning slot from 9 am to midday. In addition, he also hosted a Saturday evening show. He remained at BRMB until the summer of 2006.

Current work

Phil was on BBC WM,[3] as the Breakfast show presenter every Monday - Friday from 6:30 am to 9:30 am. The show included a mix of news, chat and topical discussion. On his show on 2 February 2011, Phil told listeners that his father was a Muslim from Pakistan.

On 27 April 2012, Phil Upton presented his last Breakfast show on BBC WM. A tireless children’s charity campaigner who helped BBC WM to raise more than £1 million for the Kidney Kids Appeal at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Phil said in a pre-arranged statement: “It’s been a privilege to host the breakfast show for five and a half years.

“Recent events in my personal and family life mean that now is a good time for me to take some time away from day-to-day frontline radio presenting – something I’ve done pretty much non-stop for the last 23 years.

“I’m looking forward to making more films for BBC Inside Out and continuing to be part of the BBC family and very much hope to return to radio in the future.

“In the meantime I’m looking forward to waking up with my children on Monday mornings and taking them to school, something I’ve definitely missed.”

Gareth Roberts said: “Phil is a real professional who has put plenty of enthusiasm and hard work into the programme.

“Getting up in the middle of the night and presenting a three-hour show every day takes real dedication and we wish him all the best for the future.”

Phil also covered shows on BBC Local Radio stations in the midlands including BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC Radio Shropshire and now presents the drive time show on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire from 4 pm to 7 pm.[4]

Personal life

Phil lived in Claverdon, Warwickshire with his two children, James (born 17 May 2001) and Charlotte (born 15 November 2004). He is a keen cyclist, as well as an ardent Aston Villa supporter.[5] On his Breakfast show in August 2011 Upton announced live on air that he and his wife, Katherine, had decided to separate after 15 years of marriage. During the summer of 2019, he referred on air to commuting to Coventry from Meriden.

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References
  2. "UPTON QUITS HEART. | News | Broadcast". Broadcastnow.co.uk. 2003-05-08. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  3. Archived January 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Young, Graham. "Birmingham BBC WM presenter Phil Upton to quit Breakfast Show". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  5. "Birmingham - BBC WM - Villa team of '82 get their star". BBC. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
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