Christopher Smith is an English radio newsreader. He is most famous for presenting ''

Newsbeat ''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically you ...

'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and co-hosting the '' That's What He Said'' podcast alongside

Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English radio and television presenter, comedian and author. He is the host of BBC Radio 1's breakfast show, co-presenter on the cricket podcast ''Tailenders'' alongside Felix White and ...

Early life

Smith was born in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

, England and grew up in

Raunds Raunds is a market town in North Northamptonshire, England. It had a population of 9,379 at the 2021 census. Geography Raunds is situated north-east of Northampton. The town is on the southern edge of the Nene Valley and surrounded by ar ...

, where he was a Bus Prefect. He studied English at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

and was offered on-the-job training at a radio station afterwards. Then, he started reading the news on air.

Radio

Smith first broadcast on

Chiltern Radio Heart Dunstable (formerly 97.6 Chiltern FM) was an Independent Local Radio station based in Chiltern Road in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. History Together with sister stations Heart Bedford, 96.9 Chiltern FM, Northants 96 and Horizon Radio (UK), Hor ...

in Dunstable, where he started as an intern and became trainee journalist afterwards. He then moved to the newly launched Heart 106.2 in London. He was the newsreader and cohost on the

Christian O'Connell Christian Liam O'Connell (born 7 April 1973 in Winchester, Hampshire) is a British radio disc jockey, television host, writer, and comedian living in Australia. He presents ''The Christian O'Connell Show'' on weekday mornings on Gold 104.3 in ...

breakfast show on

XFM London Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

. When O'Connell moved to

Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...

(now

Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British Independent National Radio, National radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK, Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and ...

), Smith joined him. He left in 2007 and began reading the news on

. He took over from

Tulip Mazumdar Tulip Mazumdar is a British journalist and broadcaster who currently works for the BBC as their global health reporter. Mazumdar is from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, her first name chosen by her mother as she looked out on tulip fields in Linco ...

as the regular afternoon newsreader in May 2011. These bulletins were simulcast on

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

from September 2012. He regularly presented both the 12:45 and 17:45 ''

'' programmes. Smith joined Radio 1's '' Greg James Show'' regularly and took part in a number of segments during the show, when he was free of ''Newsbeat'' duties. On air he was almost always referred to with the extended moniker "Chris Smith with the news", reflecting the way he was habitually introduced in his ''Newsbeat'' segments by Greg James and other presenters. He took part in various games, such as Mayor of Where and What's My Age Again. Smith was also co-host of the "Greg James - That's What He Said Podcast", that started in October 2013 and was released every Friday until August 2018. On the podcast, Smith established himself as a singer/songwriter by writing, producing and singing 'The Ghost Owl' song and the theme tune to the game 'Mug on a Dog'. In March 2015, Chris travelled to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...

alongside Greg, 1Xtra's

Yasmin Evans Yasmin Evans (born 27 October 1990) is an English television and radio presenter. She is best known for presenting on BBC Radio 1Xtra (2012–2021). She's also known for presenting on CBBC's '' Saturday Mash-Up!'' (2017–2019), Heart Radio (f ...

and other celebrities including

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcast ...

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme '' Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and ...

and

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ' ...

to participate in

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

's Operation Health, a project to refurbish the Iyolwa Health Centre in eastern Uganda. Radio 1 listeners raised £551,405. It was announced on the '' That's What He Said'' podcast that Smith would not be moving with

to read the news on the '' Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', and shortly after Greg left drivetime, Smith announced he was moving to an off-air role. He presented his final ''Newsbeat'' programme on Friday 10 August 2018, during which his colleagues paid tribute to him.

Other work

Together with

, Smith wrote a children's book titled ''Kid Normal''. It was published by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

on 13 July 2017 in the UK and is available in three languages, English, Spanish and German. Smith features on the

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV Generation, MTV generation and is one of the List ...

song " Outside". The track samples Smith reading the sentence "George Michael has been arrested in a park in Los Angeles" as part of a news bulletin. His voice is also heard towards the end of the '' Bad Education Movie'' reading out a news story about the resignation of a fictitious

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

References

External links

''Newsbeat''
on bbc.co.uk
Greg James
on bbc.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chris BBC Radio 1 presenters English radio personalities Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Kettering People from Raunds