Samuel Nixon (born 21 March 1986) is an English singer and television presenter. He came third on the ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' television series in 2003 and is now one half of the duo

Sam & Mark Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, known collectively as Sam & Mark, are an English popular music and television presenting duo. They previously competed on the second series of ''Pop Idol'' in 2003, in which they finished third and second, respectiv ...

, with the other being fellow ''Pop Idol'' contestant

Mark Rhodes Mark Thomas Rhodes (born 11 September 1981) is an English singer and television presenter, best known as one half of Sam & Mark, the other being Sam Nixon. Career Born in Wolverhampton, England, Rhodes finished in second place in the second ...

Early life

He was originally a catering student from

Barnsley College Barnsley College is a further education college just outside the town centre of Barnsley, England. It has several campuses, including the SciTech Digital Innovation Centre and The Electric Theatre. The college provides A Levels, apprenticeship ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

. He attended Holgate School,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

from 1997 to 2002 and is still living in Barnsley.

Career

Television

Nixon's first television appearance was on popular children's game show ''

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractions ...

'' presented by

Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin known professionally as Pat Sharp, is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. He worked on the children's ITV programme '' Fun House'', was one of the Sky Channel's VJs and presented the Coca-Cola Eurochart T ...

. Nixon and fellow contestant Rosie Feast didn't manage to answer the final question to win the grand prize. Nixon began a television presenting career, co-hosting ''

Top of the Pops Reloaded ''Top of the Pops Reloaded'' (''TOTP Reloaded''), originally known as ''Top of the Pops Saturday'' (2002–2005), is a weekly children's music show that was broadcast as part of the Saturday morning CBBC schedule on BBC One and later BBC Two. It ...

''. He then formed a presentational double-act on the BAFTA winning

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 ...

show '' Level Up'', with

, from 3 April 2006 until 1 September 2006. He worked on the children's Saturday morning show, '' TMi'', 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 ...

, which started on 17 September 2006. The series finished on 7 February 2007. Sam returned to television at the beginning of the Easter holidays 2007 in a show called '' Do Something Different'' which he presents with Rhodes and Ayesha Asantewaa to attempt to get 1 million children to "try something new". Sam (along with Mark Rhodes) is the presenter of '' TMi Friday'' on the

CBBC Channel 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 ...

. Sam and Mark are now hosting ''

Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up ''Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up'' (also called ''Sam & Mark's Big Wind-Up'' for repeat compilations featuring just the pranks and ''Sam & Mark's Big Christmas Wind-Up'' for Christmas specials) is a British children's entertainment series aire ...

'', which features mainly trivia, as well as playing a

prank A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

on families. Sam and Mark took part in two episodes of '' Hole in the Wall'' airing on 11 October 2008 and 14 November 2009 and were contestants on a celebrity version of TV show ''

Total Wipeout ''Total Wipeout'' is a British game show hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges ...

'' which aired on 2 January 2010. In 2012, Nixon took part in the seventh series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

''. He was voted out of the show on 26 February 2012. In 2015, he participated in ''

Celebrity MasterChef ''MasterChef'' is a British competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2005 as ''MasterChef Goes Large' ...

'' on

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 ...

Music

Sam & Mark had a No. 1 UK chart hit with their cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

tune "

With a Little Help from My Friends "With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song recorded by English rock band the Beatles for their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and is sung by drummer Ringo Starr (a ...

". Their second single "The Sun Has Come Your Way" debuted in the UK top 40 at No. 19, but they were dropped from their record deal after this release. Nixon also performs in a band called

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

. Mason performed their first gig on 2 June 2007 at the "Burn down the Disco" night at The Arches in Barnsley, supported by local band

MUNICH Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, and also headlined a local mini music festival at

Darton Darton is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley (part of South Yorkshire), on the border with West Yorkshire, England. At the time of the 2001 UK census, it had a population of 14,927, increasing to 21,345 for both Darton War ...

, Barnsley a month later. They continue to perform local gigs as and when Sam's TV schedule allows.

Radio

From 2009 to 2015, Sam & Mark presented a Sunday show on Midlands-based radio station Free Radio.

Theatre

In 2019, Nixon appeared as Jack in Theatre Royal Wakefield’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk. In 2021, Nixon returned to perform at the Theatre Royal Wakefield in their version of Beauty and the Beast. In 2024, Nixon performed at the Theatre Royal Wakefield in their version of Cinderella playing the part of Buttons.

Filmography

;Television

''Pop Idol'' performances

*Top 50: "Walking in Memphis" by (

Marc Cohn Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song " Walking in Memphis", from his 1991 album '' Marc Cohn'', which was a To ...

) *Wildcards: "Over My Shoulder" (

Mike + The Mechanics Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

) *Top 12: "Handbags & Gladrags" (

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

) *Top 10: "True Colours" (

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

) *Top 8: "I Want Love" (

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

) *Top 7: "Blame It on the Boogie" (

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

) *Top 6: "With A Little Help From My Friends" (

) *Top 5: "Mr. Bojangles" (

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

) *Top 4: "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

) *Top 4: "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (

Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCar ...

) *Top 3: "Always" (

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

) *Top 3: "Maggie May" (

)

Discography

Singles * "With a Little Help from My Friends" – Sam & Mark (March 2004) * "The Sun Has Come Your Way" – Sam & Mark (May 2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixon, Sam 1986 births Living people 21st-century English singers 21st-century English male singers English television presenters Musicians from Barnsley Pop Idol contestants