Reginald Yates (born 31 May 1983) is a British television presenter, actor, writer and director with a career spanning three decades on screen as an actor, television presenter and radio DJ. Yates played Leo Jones in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' and has worked at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in radio and television–presenting various shows for

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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

for a decade as well as hosting the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

singing show '' The Voice UK'', hosting the first two series with Holly Willoughby. Yates co-presented the prime-time

game show '' Prized Apart,'' alongside Emma Willis, the

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

reality show '' Release the Hounds'' from 2013 until 2017 and was also the presenter of the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

documentary series ''Reggie Yates' Extreme Russia,'' ''Extreme South Africa'' and ''Extreme UK'' as well as featuring as lead voice actor for the CBeebies animated cartoon series '' Rastamouse''. In 2021, Yates released his first feature film as writer/director, '' Pirates''.

Early life

Yates' parents, Felicia Asante and Reginald "Jojo" Yates,"Reggie Yates – A tale of complicated relationships in the Ghana goldrush of the early 20th Century..."
TheGenealogist, 24 September 2014. were both born in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

; however, his paternal grandfather Harry was the son of an English accountant, George Yates, who worked in the gold mining industry. Harry Yates' mother Dorothy was also a member of Ghana's Euro-African community: her father was a British colonial administrator, Augustus George Lloyd, while her mother Sarah was an ethnic Fante, who worked as a farmer and trader in Dixcove, Ghana. Yates grew up in North London, where he attended Central Foundation Boys' School in Cowper Street,

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

Career

Yates made his first television appearance in '' Desmond's'' at the age of eight. He also appeared in '' Disney Club'', as Robbie. In 1998, Yates appeared as a guest presenter on '' Diggit'' on

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

also under the name Robbie. In 2002, he played Carl Fenton in the popular children's series ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

''. From 2002 to 2004, he presented the Sunday morning programme '' Smile'', and then went on to present ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' with former ''Smile'' co-host Fearne Cotton before the final episode broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 30 July 2006. He also created and starred in the series '' The Crust'' and presented '' Dance Factory'' and his own radio show on

. In 2005, Yates appeared in the BBC singing contest '' Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'' in aid of

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

, finishing in fourth place. On the show, his songs included " Boombastic", " You're The First, The Last, My Everything", "It Ain't Over Til It's Over", " U Can't Touch This" and " This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)". He also sang a duet, " It Takes Two", with Edith Bowman, the eventual winner of the show. He dyed his hair red for his performance of " Dancing on the Ceiling". On 10 March 2006, Yates appeared on '' Stars in Fast Cars'' and won his heat to get into the final, beating Elton Welsby and Ben Fogle in the last round. Yates presented '' Mighty Truck of Stuff'' and '' Only in America'' with Fearne Cotton on

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

as well as a programme on

. They presented a breakfast show on Saturday and Sunday mornings, taking over from JK and Joel. They played from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 am. The duo then went on to present '' The Radio 1 Chart Show'' starting on 14 October 2007 until Sunday 20 September 2009. Cotton left following her promotion to weekday mornings on Radio 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 pm, leaving Yates to present on his own. In addition to the chart show, Yates also presented a request show on Saturday afternoons, known as ''The Radio 1 Request Show'', where listeners could send in a text or phone in to request a song. In April 2012, it was announced that Yates would finish the request show and continue with only ''

The Official Chart ''The Official Chart'' is a long-running United Kingdom music chart programme, airing each Friday afternoon on BBC Radio 1. It airs the UK singles chart compiled by the Official Charts Company. In July 2015 ''The Official Chart'' moved from ...

''. He announced in November 2012 that he would leave

, and his last show aired on 23 December that year. In 2006, Yates appeared on a Reality TV Special of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

'' and was voted off in the fourth round. In 2007, Yates appeared in the third series of revived science-fiction series ''

'' as Leo Jones, brother of the Tenth Doctor's companion Martha. Yates also presented series 1 of '' Escape from Scorpion Island'' with co-presenter

Caroline Flack Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television presenter and actress. Flack grew up in Norfolk and took an interest in dancing and theatre while at school. She began her professional career as an actress, ...

on BBC 1 between 3 and 21 September 2007. He also appeared on Dizzee Rascal's 2007 single " Flex" music video as one of the judges in a parody TV show called "Flex Factor". Yates co-hosted the MOBO Awards 2009 with Keri Hilson at the SECC, Glasgow. He has also presented live coverage of the

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

, Reading and T in the Park music festivals for

, and interviewed stars such as Estelle and 50 Cent for MTV specials. Yates made a cameo appearance in '' Jack Osbourne's Celebrity Adrenaline Junkie''. Yates appeared in a special ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' episode on

, counting down the top 20 characters of the show as part of a special ''Family Guy'' weekend. In 2011, Yates voiced the main character, Rastamouse, in the

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...

television show '' Rastamouse''. In March 2011, he appeared with

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944) is an English broadcaster, former newsreader, writer and journalist. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's ''BBC Nine O'Clock News, Nine ...

, and Samantha Womack in the BBC fundraising documentary for

called '' Rich, Famous and in the Slums'', where the four celebrities were sent to

Kibera Kibera (Kinubi language, Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division and neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and also the largest urban slum in all of Africa. The 2009 Kenya Popul ...

in Kenya, Africa's largest

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

. In October 2011, Yates starred in Arjun Rose's UK slasher '' Demons Never Die'' as Officer Mason. In 2012, as part of

's Criminal Britain Season, Yates explored the culture of fear, anger and violence that drives the dangerous world of teen gangs. The show, ''Reggie Yates: Teen Gangs'', involved him speaking to current and former gang members to find out why and how teens get into gangs. In 2012 and 2013, Yates hosted the

singing show '' The Voice UK'', hosting the first two series with Holly Willoughby. They were replaced by Emma Willis and Marvin Humes in 2013. 2013 saw Yates travel to South Africa to shoot a series, ''Reggie Yates' Extreme South Africa: White Slums'', which aired in Spring 2014 on

. It was successful enough for Yates to return with ''Reggie Yates' Extreme Russia'' in April 2015 for BBC Three. In 2013, his first short film ''Patriarch'' aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

as part of their "Random Acts" season and he has just completed his second short called ''Date Night'', starring

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is an English actor. His work encompasses both screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Kaluuya, his accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two British Academy ...

and Tony Way, which won "Best UK Short Film" at the London Independent Film Festival. Yates hosted the

programme '' Release the Hounds'' from 2013 until 2017. He was replaced by Matt Edmondson in 2017. Yates appeared in an episode of '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', first aired on 25 September 2014, for which he travelled to Ghana to trace his family history. Yates, along with Emma Willis presented the Saturday-night game show '' Prized Apart'' on

in 2015. The show was axed shortly after. In 2016, Yates was awarded Best Presenter for his critically acclaimed series Extreme Russia at the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Awards and Best Multi-channel Programme at the Broadcast Awards. Continuing his documentarian journey, in 2016 Yates's BBC Three series ''The Insider'' saw the presenter spend time behind bars in Texas and join Unit 27 of the 56th Infantry Battalion in Acapulco to live the life of an ordinary soldier fighting on the front line of the brutal war against the country's powerful and violent drug cartels. In 2018, Yates was the themed category judge for Koestler Trust's ''I'm Still Here'' at the Southbank Centre, London, an exhibition of art works by prisoners, detainees and ex-offenders. The theme was 'connections'. Yates has also been listed in the '' Powerlist'', as one of the most influential people in the UK from African/African-Caribbean descent, most recently making the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

editions. In 2020, Yates' television film '' Make Me Famous'' premiered on

. In 2021, Yates's debut directorial feature film, '' Pirates'', was released. The film, a comedy-drama set in 1990s London, received largely favourable reviews from critics.

Controversies

In 2017, the BBC was forced to apologise for a Yates (and independent production company, Sundog Pictures) piece on Australia's Indigenous communities called ''Hidden Australia: Black in the Outback'', filmed in Wilcannia,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The Aboriginal people Yates interviewed and filmed for the documentary said they were misled by Yates and the production crew. They accused Yates of portraying them in a negative light, after Yates had promised them the story would be fair. In November 2017, Yates stated on a podcast: "The thing that makes it great about this new generation of artists is that they ain't signing to majors. They're independent, they're not managed by some random fat Jewish guy from north west London, they're managed by their brethren". His remarks were condemned by the Community Security Trust's Dave Rich who said: "Even worse than any offence is the message Yates gives his audience by reinforcing an anti-Semitic stereotype". Yates was "hugely apologetic" for his comment. Following his comments, he stood down from presenting the 2017 festive special editions of ''

''. In 2019, when filming for his MTV television series ''Reggie Yates vs The World'' in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, Northern Ireland, it was claimed that tensions on the street were stoked by dissident Republicans "for the benefit of the film crew", resulting in a riot during which Lyra McKee was murdered. Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy of the Police Service of Northern Ireland said that those claims were untrue.

Filmography

Television

*''

'' (BBC One; 2004–2016) – Co-presenter, with Fearne Cotton *'' Mighty Truck of Stuff'' (CBBC Channel; 2005) – Presenter *'' Only in America'' ( CBBC Channel; 2005) – Co-presenter, with Fearne Cotton *'' Dance Factory '' *''Beckham's Hotshots'' *'' Smile'' (BBC Two) *''Bring It On'' (BBC One) *'' UGetMe'' (CBBC & BBC One) *''Trevor Nelson's Lowdown'' (BBC Three) *''The Big C Concert'' (BBC) *''Blue Peter Jubilee Special'' (BBC) *''Kids Passport to London'' (Miramax) *''Disney Club'' *'' Diggit'', ''RoadHog'' (Buena Vista) *'' Get 100'' (

; 2007) *'' Escape from Scorpion Island'' (CBBC Channel; 2007) – Co-presenter, with

*''The Almost Perfect Guide to Life'' ( BBC Switch) *''MTV Base Backstage EMA 2007'' (MTV Base) *'' MOBO Awards'' (BBC; 2009) *''School for Stars (CBBC) – Narrator *''Autistic Superstars 2010'' (BBC Three) *''Frankenstein's Wedding... Live in Leeds'' (BBC Three) *''Reggie Yates: Teen Gangs'' (BBC Three) – Presenter *''This is Justin Bieber'' (ITV; 2011) – Presenter *'' The Voice UK'' (BBC One; 2012–2013) – Co-presenter, with Holly Willoughby *''Unity: A Concert for Stephen Lawrence'' (BBC One) *'' Release the Hounds'' (ITV2; 2013–2017) – Presenter *'' Who Do You Think You Are?'' (BBC One; 2014) – Subject *''Reggie Yates: Extreme South Africa'' (BBC Three) – Presenter *''Reggie & Thunderbirds: No Strings Attached'' (ITV2; 2015) – Presenter *'' Thunderbirds Are Go'' – Ellis the Security Guard (voice) *''Reggie Yates: Extreme Russia'' (BBC Three; 2015–) – Presenter *'' Prized Apart'' (BBC One; 2015) – Co-presenter, with Emma Willis *''Reggie Yates: Race Riots USA'' – Presenter *''Reggie Yates Extreme Countries'' (BBC Three; 2015–) – Presenter *''Reggie Yates: The Insider'' (BBC Three; 2016–) – Presenter *''Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week'' (BBC Two; series 2, 2017–) – Presenter *''Reggie in China '' (BBC Two; series 1, 2019) – Presenter

Radio

*''Fearne & Reggie'' (BBC Radio 1) *''The Trevor Nelson Show'' (BBC Radio 1) *''Reg & Dev'' (BBC Radio 1Xtra) *''Smile Radio'' (Smile Website) *''The UK Top 40 (Formally known as Radio 1's Chart Show)'' (BBC Radio 1) *''The Fearne & Reggie Saturday request show'' (BBC Radio 1) *''The Request Show with Reggie Yates'' (BBC Radio 1) *''The Official Chart with Reggie Yates'' (BBC Radio 1)

Television acting

*''Thunderbirds Are Go'' (ITV) *'' The Crust'' (Archie) *''UGetMe'' (Calvin) *''

'' (BBC) *''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' (ITV) *''Priest'' (Screen Two) *'' Family Affairs'' (Five) *''I Bring You Frankincense'' (Crucial Films) *''Ghostbusters of East Finchley'' (BBC) *''Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars'' (Jenks) (BBC) *''Focus'' (Harrison) (BBC Schools) *''Pirates'' (Child's Play) *''Children's Society'' (Breechhurst) *''Between the Lines'' (BBC) *'' Desmond's'' (Humphrey Barclay) *''Promotional Advert'' (Trouble TV) *'' Stars in Fast Cars'' (BBC) *''

'' (BBC) (as Leo Jones) *''

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

'' (ITV2) *'' Rastamouse''(CBeebies) *''

Playhouse Presents ''Playhouse Presents'' is an anthology series of self-contained TV plays, made by British broadcaster Sky Arts. The series started airing on 12 April 2012, on Sky Arts. Each episode is written by a different writer and stars a different cast. The ...

'' – Episode: "The Pavement Psychologist" (Sky Arts), Series 2 2013 (as Tommy) *'' Release the Hounds'' (ITV) 2013–2017 *''Reggie Yates: Outside Man'' (Netflix) 2017

Writing and directing

*''Patriarch'' (2013). Cast was just three performers: Trevor Laird, Ansu Kabia and Kareem Onyiukah. *''Date Night'' (2014) – Won Best UK Short Film at the London Independent Film Festival *''Shelter'' (2015) *''Roadkill'' (2016) *'' Make Me Famous'' (2020)"Make Me Famous"
BBC iPlayer website, 20 June 2020. * '' Pirates'' (2021)

Awards

National Television Awards

Royal Television Society Television Awards

Broadcast Awards

Broadcast Digital Awards

Edinburgh TV Awards

Attitude Pride Awards

London Independent Film Awards

Children's BAFTA Awards

References

External links

* *
Production company - FIVE7

Reggie Yates Photography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Reggie Living people 1983 births BBC Radio 1 presenters BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters Black British filmmakers Black British male actors Black British radio presenters Black British television personalities English male television actors English people of Ghanaian descent English television presenters People educated at Central Foundation Boys' School People from Archway, London