Martin Leyland Roberts (born 20 July 1963) is an English television presenter, property expert, investor, entrepreneur and author. He presents the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
property auction series ''
Homes Under the Hammer'' with co-presenters
Martel Maxwell (since 2016) and
Dion Dublin, although his co-presenter for many years was
Lucy Alexander. He also hosts the
Talkradio show "Home Rule with Martin Roberts", where he chats about property.
Early life and career
Born in
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...
, Cheshire, Roberts was brought up in
Stockton Heath
Stockton Heath is a civil parish and suburb of Warrington, in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is located to the north of the Bridgewater Canal and to the south of the Manchester Ship Canal, which divides Stockton Heath from Latc ...
, a suburb of Warrington. Roberts began his career in the late 1980s at
BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...
. Roberts' grandfather was a well known organist at various Warrington chapels.
He attended Appleton Hall Grammar School then studied Electronic Engineering at the
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, bu ...
1983–86 and was a DJ on
Ramair, the university's radio station. Roberts has worked as a
property developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. ...
since the early 1990s and has contributed to several publications, both on the subject of property development and travel.
Since then, he has presented several other programmes including ''
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is'' and ''How to Survive the Property Crisis'', both for the
BBC as well as
ITV's travel programme ''
Wish You Were Here...?'' Roberts is most famous for being BBC's UK and Overseas Property expert writing and presenting Homes Under the Hammer having done since the programme began in 2003 to the present day, as well as making regular appearances on
BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from the BBC Television Centre, London before ...
,
BBC News 24
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
and
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Rona ...
Roberts has also made appearances on ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsl ...
'' with Homes Under the Hammer co-presenter, Lucy Alexander. He has been a celebrity contestant on BBC gameshows
Hole in the Wall and
Pointless
''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 ...
, raising money for charity. In July 2010 Roberts entered the BBC television programme ''
Celebrity MasterChef'', and was the first eliminated. In November 2016, Roberts was a contestant on ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. He was eliminated after spending 15 days in camp, coming in sixth place.
Roberts has presented radio throughout his career as the BBC's UK and Overseas Property expert contributing to many shows on BBC radios 2, 4 and 5 Live. He is a regular guest presenter on The Jeremy Vine Show which airs on BBC Radio 2 and Moneybox which airs on BBC Radio 4. In March 2016, Roberts began hosting a weekly property radio show for Talk Radio named “Gazumped” (Saturday 11am1pm and Sunday 57pm). The show was later renamed “Home Rule” and Sunday editions are no longer live, but recorded, broadcast from 6am to 8am.
In September 2012, Roberts publicly criticised proposed government changes to the planning laws of England that would double the size of extensions that do not need approval.
As well as presenting on both radio and television Roberts has written many books such as ''Teach Yourself Making Money from Property,'' and ''The Property Auction Guide''
Roberts has also contributed to travelling books including ''Great Festivals of the World'', ''The Travellers' Handbook'' and ''Intrepid Africa''. Roberts is the author of The Villes Children's Books series. One of the books in the series, Sadsville, was written in partnership with the NSPCC to encourage children to contact ChildLine if they need someone to talk to about any problems, although it is unrelated to the subject of mental health. To promote this book, Martin Roberts went to his local primary school, at which his children attended. He performed a reading of the book and brought in a red bus for the children to go on.
Roberts currently presents a radio show in which he investigates the living arrangements of famous footballers.
Personal life
For many years, Roberts has lived in
Paulton near
Bath, Somerset, and is married with two children. In 2017, he opened his village's annual "Party in the Park".
Credits
Television
* ''
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is''
* ''How to Survive the Property Crisis''
* ''
Wish You Were Here.''
* ''
Homes Under the Hammer''
* ''
BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from the BBC Television Centre, London before ...
''
* ''
BBC News 24
BBC News (also known as the BBC News Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel for BBC News. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic telev ...
''
* ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Rona ...
''
* ''
Ready Steady Cook
''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsl ...
''
* ''
Hole in the Wall''
* ''
Celebrity MasterChef''
* ''
Pointless
''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 ...
''
* ''
Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish''
* ''
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''
* ''The Real Full Monty''
Radio
* BBC Radio
* The Jeremy Vine Show
* Moneybox
* Gazumped
Books
* Great Festivals of the World
* The Travellers Handbook
* Intrepid Africa
* The Villes
* ''Teach Yourself Making Money from Property''
* ''The Property Auction Guide''
References
External links
*
personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Martin
1963 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Bradford
English television presenters
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants
People from Bath, Somerset
People from Stockton Heath
People from Warrington
Real estate and property developers
Television personalities from Somerset