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Russell John Dammerall Grant (born 5 February 1951) is a British
astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
and media personality. He has written several books on astrology, provides syndicated newspaper
horoscopes A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...
and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2010, he began offering a "Pet Psychic" service. He is also the author of ''The Real Counties of Britain'', and founded the
Association of British Counties The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a non-party-political society formed in 1989 by television personality Russell Grant to promote the historic counties of the United Kingdom. It argues that the historic counties are an important part ...
in 1989. In recent years, Grant has participated in the ninth series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'' in 2011 and ''
Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 20 ...
'' in 2014.


Career


Early career

Grant first appeared on television talking about astrology in 1979, featured in
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
programme ''Extraordinary'' presented by
Valerie Pitts Ann Valerie, Lady Solti (née Pitts; 19 August 1937 – 31 March 2021) was a British television presenter who was one of the BBC's original team of presenters during the 1950s. She left the programme in 1960 to marry James Sargent who was stage ...
and Melvin Harris. He was the regular astrologer on
Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
's ''Live from Two'' which ran from 1980–81. He is best known for his appearances on
breakfast television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...
joining
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's '' Breakfast Time'' to present the ''Your Stars'' section from 1983–86. In 1986 he joined
TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchise ...
as resident astrologer appearing on '' Good Morning Britain'' and '' After Nine'' until 1990. Later from 1992–95 he was a regular expert on '' This Morning'' with
Richard and Judy Richard and Judy is the name informally given to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a British married couple who are both television presenters and columnists. They presented the daytime television programme '' This Morning'' from 1988 until 2 ...
offering astrological advice. In 1983 Russell Grant and the Starlettes released
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of the songs "
No Matter What Sign You Are "No Matter What Sign You Are" is a song released for Diana Ross & the Supremes by the Motown label. Background Originally intended to be Diana Ross & the Supremes' final single before the departure of Diana Ross and penned by Berry Gordy, the s ...
" and "
Where Is Love? "Where is Love?" is a song from the Tony Award-winning British musical '' Oliver!'' and the 1968 film of the same name, based on the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. The musical was written by Lionel Bart and was first staged in ...
". Grant has also taken the role of presenter on several shows, including ''Star Choice'', a celebrity quiz show based on the zodiac. In 1991 he co-hosted with
Miriam Stoppard Miriam, Lady Hogg ( Stern; formerly Stoppard; born 12 May 1937), known professionally by her former married name Miriam Stoppard, is an English medical doctor, journalist, author and television presenter. Early life and medical career Miria ...
episodes of daily show ''People Today'' and in 1994 Grant had his own six episode series, '' Russell Grant's All Star Show''. Following the launch of Channel 5, Grant presented ''Wideworld'', a series in which members of the public were encouraged to make historical records for future generations. He also directed and starred in ''Russell Grant's Postcards'' from 1998–2002, which was a collection of over 100 five-minute travelogues produced by his own production company, Russell Grant's World Productions.


2003–2005: Television presenting

In 2003 Grant presented a series of eight programmes called ''Russell Grant's Sporting Scandals'' for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and in 2004 presented ''The Russell Grant Show'' for
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
. On Bingo Night Live, in 2008, pre-recorded videos of Grant were shown, in which he gave opinion on the chances of winning based on his horoscope readings.


2006–2011: Reality television

In January 2006, Grant took part in the fourth series of ''
Celebrity Fit Club ''Celebrity Fit Club'' is a reality television series that follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight for charity. Split into two competing teams of four, each week teams are given different physical challenges, and weighed t ...
''. In May 2010, he appeared on ''
Kitchen Burnout ''Kitchen Burnout'' is a British cookery reality show airing on ITV, and was created by ITV Studios, which features prospective chefs competing with each other for a final prize. The series aired in April 2010, presented by Marco Pierre White ...
'' on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and in January 2011 he visited
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
as part of
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''Celebrity Five Go to...''.


2011–12: ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and theatre

On 6 September 2011, it was announced that Grant would take part in the ninth series of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
''. In the launch show, on 10 September, he was partnered with professional dancer
Flavia Cacace Flavia Cacace-Mistry born 1980 is an Italian British professional dancer. Her professional dance partner is Vincent Simone (they are branded when performing together as 'Vincent and Flavia'), and for ten years both partners appeared on the BBC's ...
. He was eliminated from the competition on 20 November 2011 at the show's
Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...
weekend. Grant also appeared in the 2012 series of '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' as 'Stat Man', with a guide to the numbers of winners of ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
''. It was revealed in October 2012, that the annual Children in Need Appeal Night would feature a ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'' special, it featured Grant alongside
Ann Widdecombe Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician, author and television personality. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010 and Member of the E ...
. Beginning performances on 14 February 2012, Grant took over from
Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' an ...
in the titular role of '' The Wizard of Oz''. The 2011 revival played at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...
and featured new music by
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...
and
Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...
. Grant played a limited 12-week engagement through 6 May 2012, starring alongside Sophie Evans as Dorothy.


2014: ''Celebrity MasterChef''

On 24 May 2014, it was announced that Grant would be taking part in the ninth series of ''
Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 20 ...
''. The series began airing on 10 June 2014 with Grant taking part in the first two episodes of the series until he was eliminated on 12 June, one stage away from reaching the semi-finals. The first challenge was the Mystery box task, where Grant made two types of Spring Rolls. The outside challenge saw Grant, along with
Jodie Kidd Jodie Elizabeth Kidd (born 25 September 1978) is an English fashion model, racing driver, and television personality. Early life Kidd was born in 1978 and is the daughter of the businessman and former showjumper Johnny Kidd. She is the grandda ...
go to Babbo, a high-end Italian restaurant in
Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
, London. Grant had to make a dish in order to impress the head chef. The third and final challenge of the episode saw Grant cook a two-course meal for the judges. The meal had to be inspired by something or someone. Grant made his Aunt's Fish and Chips & Bread and Butter pudding. On the second episode dated 12 June 2014, Grant needed to identify a variety of ingredients and making Brandy snaps with piped ginger cream in the knowledge and skills test. The outside challenge was to cook for 120 people at Mount Pleasant in North London. He also then cooked for three previous ''Celebrity MasterChef'' finalists. He cooked Three counties sausage toad in the hole and Honey, cinnamon and Apple crumble with custard and was eliminated from the contest.


Guest appearances

*''
Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes ''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format ''Soundmixshow''. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars. The show premiered on 21 July 1 ...
'' (27 December 2003) – Contestant *''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and ...
'' – Contestant *''
Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...
'' (21 October 2011, 12 March 19 November 2012, 11 April 2013) – Guest *'' This Morning'' (14 November 14 December 2011, 7 March 21 June, 23 July 31 August 2012, 6, 20 September 4, 18 October 2013) – Guest *'' Daybreak'' (23 November 2011, 22 May 2013) – Guest *''
Paddy's Show and Telly ''Paddy's Show and Telly'' is a British one-off game show that aired two editions on ITV on 29 December 2011 and 22 December 2012, hosted by Paddy McGuinness. Format The format of the show involves three rounds, and three different teams. The f ...
'' (29 December 2011) – Contestant, won £10,000 for
Alzheimer's Society Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research Charitable organization, charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charitieAlzheimer Scotlandand Alzheimer's ...
*''
Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
'' (20 January 24 August 2012) – Guest *''
The Alan Titchmarsh Show ''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" the ...
'' (30 January 2012, 6, 28 February 10 September 2013) – Guest *''
All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV (TV network), ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''#All Star Family Fortunes, All St ...
'' (11 February 2012) – Contestant, won £10,000 for
Alzheimer's Society Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research Charitable organization, charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charitieAlzheimer Scotlandand Alzheimer's ...
*''
Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers to ...
'' (2 June 2012) – Contestant, alongside
Carol Smillie Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish television presenter, actress and former model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on ...
*'' Let's Do Lunch with Gino & Mel'' (21 August 2012) – Guest *''
Britain's Secret Treasures ''Britain's Secret Treasures'' is a British documentary shown on ITV hosted by Michael Buerk and Bettany Hughes. The programme features fifty archaeological discoveries that have been made in England, Wales and Scotland by members of the public. ...
'' (31 October 2013) – Reporter *'' The Chase: Celebrity Special'' (21 December 2013) – Contestant, won £0, as he was caught by the "chaser" *''
The Guess List ''The Guess List'' is a British comedy game show that was broadcast on BBC One from 12 April to 24 May 2014. Presented by Rob Brydon, it features two contestants competing for a prize specially selected for them. Production The pilot episode wa ...
'' (24 May 2014) – Guest *''
Celebrity Squares ''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show ''The Hollywood Squares, Hollywood Squares''. It first ran from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Mon ...
'' (8 October 2014) – Guest


Early and personal life

Grant was raised in a
council house A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...
in the 1950s, his father working as a sales rep for a car accessory business. Later his parents worked at
Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
, his mother Jo dealing with contracts, his father a set designer and he spent most of his childhood in the care of his grandparents. After losing both his grandmothers, Lily Grant and Alice, to
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
, Grant suffered clinical depression and once weighed 27 stone (172 kg). Grant's original career was as an actor and he performed in a variety of productions including ''
Tom Brown's Schooldays ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...
'' with
Keith Chegwin Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 – 11 December 2017) was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' and ''Cheggers Plays Pop''. ...
who shared a similar career path from acting to television. It is through this work he met his partner Doug Beaumont, who worked as a
stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General S ...
in a
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
theatre. Grant helped design the badge for
Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club is a professional football club in Brentford, West London, England, which competes in the Premier League, the highest tier of English football, having gained promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020–21 Champi ...
, the team he supports, though he has been a keen follower of all non-league clubs in Middlesex since the 1950s, having regularly attended games at various clubs during childhood. He is a patron of
Wealdstone F.C. Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National League, the fifth tier of ...
Grant has worked as a Redcoat at
Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one ...
Holiday Camps. Grant moved to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
in 1969 then lived in
Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
for 20 years as well as
Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...
near
Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...
. He now lives near the village of
Maentwrog Maentwrog () is a village and community in the Welsh county of Merionethshire (now part of Gwynedd), lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog just below Blaenau Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the vi ...
, Merionethshire, and has learnt basic Welsh. Grant has been with his partner Doug Beaumont, who is also his manager, for 40 years.


References


External links


Official websiteOfficial Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Russell 1951 births Living people 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers Butlins Redcoats English astrologers 20th-century astrologers 21st-century astrologers English television personalities British gay writers English LGBT writers