NICKY Campbell has enjoyed a successful career as a TV and radio presenter spanning over 35 years.
He is best-known for hosting ITV‘s Long Lost Family with Davina McCall — here we take a look at his life, family, career and net worth.
Nicky Campbell was born in April 1961, making him 62 years old.
Born in Edinburgh, he was adopted when he was just four days old by his map publisher father and psychiatric social worker mother.
He studied history at the University of Aberdeen and graduated with a 2:1 degree.
Nicky decided to trace his birth mother in 1989, and after having children of his own, he then sought out his Irish biological father in 2002.
In 2004, he wrote a book called Blue Eyed Son, about his own adoption experience.
After starting out at Capital Radio in 1986, Nicky joined BBC Radio 1 in 1987 and presented a range of shows including weekend early morning shows and the weekday drivetime slot.
Nicky left Radio 1 in 1997 and moved to BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presented a mid-morning programme before replacing Julian Worricker in the breakfast slot in January 2003.
Campbell presented his final Breakfast show on BBC Radio 5 Live as he prepared to host a new phone-in programme on the network in November 2021.
TV-wise, Nicky was the face of the popular gameshow Wheel of Fortune from 1988 to 1996, he was also a regular host of Top of the Pops from 1988 until 1997.
In 2001 he started presenting Watchdog and stayed with the show until 2009 when Anne Robinson took over.
Since 2011, Nicky has presented BAFTA-winning ITV show Long Lost Family alongside Davina McCall.
Reports on Nicky’s net worth vary dramatically.
At the bottom end of the spectrum Net Worth Post estimates his accumulated earnings at $1million USD (£790,000).
In the middle Idol Net worth says it’s $17million USD (£13.5million).
Whereas at the top end Popularbio puts it at a whopping $74million USD (£58.6million).
His salary was revealed in 2019, as part of a long list of BBC stars and what they earn.
According to the BBC, the presenter earns £340,000-£345,999.
He has presented the Radio 5 Live breakfast show since 2003.
The radio host previously fronted the station’s mid-morning programme for five years, and the list revealed he earned between £410,000 and £419,999 in 2017/18.
Nicky married his second wife, Christina ‘Tina’ Ritchie, in December 1997 in Kensington, London.
Tina is a fellow journalist and the former head of Virgin Radio News.
Nicky was previously married to his first wife Linda Larnach, who he nursed through ME — which led to Nicky taking a career break — before they divorced.
The 61-year-old has said that Christina has restored his “equilibrium”.
In an interview speaking about his idea of love, he explained: “She had a big hand in restoring my equilibrium.
“Through her, I learnt that when you really fall in love it is an evolving process.
“The more I know her, the more in love I am.”
Nicky and his wife Christina have four daughters together.
Their names are Breagha, Lilla, Kirsty and Isla.
There isn’t much information available about his daughters, but in 2016 Campbell spoke to the Mirror about about having four girls: “It’s a cliché that men want a son; but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“By the fourth, I was rooting for another girl.
“I wanted four daughters because they’ll love me unconditionally and look after me when I’m old.
“It does mean I see life through a female lens, though. I get very worked up about misogyny and sexism!”
The description of the episode of Panorama on the BBC website is as follows: “Ever since Nicky Campbell went public about the abuse that he both experienced and witnessed in the 1970s, he’s become the public face of a campaign by former pupils of two renowned private schools in Scotland.
“Now, Panorama meets the men who shared a dark secret, they had been sexually and physically abused.
“Inspired by each other’s bravery, the men are determined that one teacher should be returned to the UK to face justice.”
The documentary is to be first broadcast at 9pm on November 30, 2023 on BBC One.
