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Robert Crampton (born 10 August 1964) is an English journalist. He is also the son of Peter Crampton, former
Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
for Humberside.


Early life

Crampton was born in
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
in 1964. His family lived in
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
for a while before moving to Hull in 1970, where he grew up in an affluent suburb. He has an older brother, David, born in 1962. Their parents were active in politics locally; Peter Crampton was a teacher and lecturer in geography and later a United Kingdom member of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
from 1989 to 1999, representing the Humberside constituency for the Labour Party. Robert's mother came from London and was a geography teacher. Crampton attended St Andrews County Primary School, then Wolfreton School, a local comprehensive school. At this time, he was heavily involved in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. When he was 18, he was convicted of a
breach of the peace Breach of the peace or disturbing the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public order England, Wales and Norther ...
, and fined £20 for his part in a political demonstration. After leaving school he retook his A-levels, and then went on to
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...
, in 1986. Later, he attended the City University Journalism Department at City University, London.


Career

He joined ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' as a columnist in 1991. He writes ''Beta Male'', a regular weekly column in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' Saturday magazine. In 2008 he used the column to advertise his wish to gain practice in public speaking, "not because I was any good, but because I wasn't and wanted to be...At the risk of humiliation I want to come to talk to your school, business, darts team, whatever. I do not require, nor indeed do I merit, any payment." He received more than 400 requests. He subsequently described his experiences of speaking at Caistor Grammar School in Lincolnshire, Highbury Grove School in North London, a training day in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, a
Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...
, a women's group, a prison, a church sermon, as a best man at a wedding and delivering a eulogy at a family funeral. He also writes features and interviews in the newspaper itself. In February 2008 he exclusively previewed the new
Wii Fit is a 2007 exergaming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It features a variety of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance mini-games for use with the Wii Balance Board peripheral. Designer Hiroshi Matsunaga ...
computer game. His past interviewees include
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
,
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...
, Kelly Brook,
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
, David Walliams,
Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...
, Sienna Miller, and John Terry. In 1999 he signed a deal with a publisher to write a book, tracking down his old O-Level classmates. The book was given the working title ''"Whatever happened to...?''" and even issued with an ISBN (), but Crampton got bored with the project and never finished it.


Critical reception

The author and journalist Bryan Appleyard described his ''Beta Male'' column as "light in tone, insightful but unpretentious, and above all, just the right length. I always enjoy Crampton – a naturally funny, likeable columnist. He's the kind of fellow you'd like to go for beer with, so he'd make a good US President. It's a real drag when he's away and a substitute fills in for him." Nigel Williams has praised his interviews: "Robert Crampton's work I really like. Somehow, he combines showmanship with something like self-effacement in a very entertaining way. To me he sounds like he's telling the truth, which is one of the most difficult things to pull off in journalism. His opinions sound hard-won and thought through, and that's to do with his prose style, which puts me in mind of what Orwell said about good prose being like a window".


Awards

* Shortlisted, "Columnist of the year",
British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...
, 2002. * Winner, "Interviewer of the year", British Press Awards, 2004. * Shortlisted, "Interviewer of the year", British Press Awards, 2007.


Personal life

He met his future wife Nicola Almond when at school aged 12 in 1977, but only started going out with her thirteen years later. They married on 2 May 1998 in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. They live in Hackney, London, with their children Sam and Rachel. They own a second home at Kingsdown Park near
Deal, Kent Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover, England, Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked t ...
.


Weight loss

Crampton has written about reducing his weight from 16 stone at age 50 to 12 stone at age 60, moving him into the NHS normal weight category. He has written that one weight loss method he has used was to not eat dinner 3 or 4 times per week. or not eat after 7pm at all. He now treats bread as a rare treat.


References


External links


The Times & The Sunday Times
* 'Your Take' Youtube interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Crampton, Robert 1964 births Living people Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford English male journalists Journalists from Kingston upon Hull People from Blackpool The Times people People from Hackney Central People educated at Wolfreton School English republicans