Richard Holt Madeley ( born 13 May 1956) is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. Alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, he presented ITV's This Morning (1988–2001, 2019–2020) and Channel 4 chat show Richard & Judy (2001–2008).
Madeley's solo projects include the series Fortune: Million Pound Giveaway (2007) and covering for The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. He was the main relief presenter of Channel 5's The Wright Stuff (2012–2017), and since 2017, he has been one of three main relief presenters of ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain.
Early life
Richard Holt Madeley was born on 13 May 1956 in Romford, Essex, the son of journalist Christopher Holt Madeley (died 1977), from a family of tenant farmers at Kiln Farm, Shawbury, Shropshire, and Mary Claire (née McEwan). His mother was Canadian. He attended Shenfield High School in Brentwood.
In 2008, Madeley told The Guardian that his father was physically abusive,
Due to low audience numbers, the show ended in July 2009. The presenters stated that viewers "simply couldn't find us".
Madeley and Finnigan's show Richard & Judy Book Club was shown on digital channel Watch. Madeley presented the last two seasons of the game show, quiz show Connections, from 1988–1989, and the daytime quiz Runway from 1988–1993. In 1991, he presented a series on the world's wildest weather, Eye of the Storm. and was the presenter for the unaired pilot of the home video show You've Been Framed in 1990.
Madeley hosted the news quiz Have I Got News for You on 14 December 2007, and then featured as a guest panellist in May 2011. He sat in for Richard Bacon on BBC Radio 5 Live. Madeley also covered for Dawn Patrol presenter Sarah Kennedy during the week of 27–30 April 2009, for Zoe Ball for two months until 27 February, and on numerous occasions for Chris Evans' Breakfast Show, all on BBC Radio 2. He appeared on Piers Morgan's Life Stories in April 2009 and was a guest on BBC Question Time in January 2010. In 2011, Madeley was featured in the eighth season of Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his mother's ancestors to Canada and the United States. In April 2013, he appeared as a Dictionary Corner guest on Countdown for five shows.
Madeley presented his own show on Radio 2, Madeley on Sunday (previously Made on Sunday), covering for Terry Wogan's Weekend Wogan over Wogan's holidays. Wogan died in January 2016, and Madeley's show became a semi-permanent replacement. From April 2016, the slot was shared between Madeley and Michael Ball, with Madeley presenting for approximately 10 weeks a year and Ball taking the remainder.
In 2002, the couple co-wrote their autobiography, Richard and Judy: The Autobiography, published by Hodder & Stoughton. In 2008, Madeley wrote the book Fathers and Sons, which charts his family history; it was published by Simon & Schuster. Madeley is the author of three novels: Some Day I'll Find You (2013), The Way You Look Tonight (2014) and The Night Book (2016).
Since August 2017, Madeley has been a relief presenter on ITV's breakfast programme Good Morning Britain. He has been compared by viewers to the fictional talk show and radio host Alan Partridge for his perceived parallels to Steve Coogan's bumbling, tone-deaf comedy character.
In November 2018, The Telegraph appointed Madeley as their agony uncle to succeed Graham Norton who had stood down the previous month. In June 2020, he apologised after being criticised for the advice he gave a reader who thought their neighbour could be experiencing domestic violence. It included the line "If they were going to kill each other, they'd have done it by now." The charity Refuge said he had written "appalling and dangerous advice".
In January 2021, Madeley covered for Steph McGovern on her Channel 4 programme Steph's Packed Lunch while she had to self-isolate due to the coronavirus pandemic. In November 2021, Madeley was a contestant on the twenty-first series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!., but withdrew after being taken to hospital due to an unspecified illness.
Personal life
Madeley's first marriage to Lynda Hooley, at age 21, lasted five years and ended in divorce.
Madeley met Judy Finnigan in 1982 when they worked on separate programmes for Granada Television. They also have a second home at Talland Bay, near Polperro, Cornwall, having been on holiday together there before their marriage. Madeley is also stepfather to twin sons from Finnigan's first marriage to journalist David Henshaw.
In October 2011, Madeley was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Anglia Ruskin University for his contribution to television, reading, entertainment and media.
In 1994, while the co-host of This Morning, Madeley faced legal issues when he was arrested at a Tesco supermarket in Manchester for allegedly failing to pay for certain items, including champagne. He was subsequently acquitted of all shoplifting charges. Madeley attributed the incident to a lapse in memory, stating that he had simply forgotten to pay for the champagne while going through the checkout. Reflecting on the experience years later, he described the incident as a 'horrible cropper' and said the negative publicity was 'mortifying', although he has since been able to joke about it.
Political views
Madeley has expressed strong support for former Prime Minister Tony Blair. In a 2001 interview for The Guardian, he said the UK had got better under New Labour, identified independent MPMartin Bell as his favourite politician, and expressed support for the euro. He supported the Iraq War, saying international law on the issue was "incredibly complicated".
Madeley was critical of the UK government's response to the COVID-19 virus, especially the lockdown response after 24March 2020, saying there was "no point in running away and hiding from the virus".
Madeley’s habit of airing his unfiltered personal views on subjects featured on the shows he has presented have inspired writers Neil and Rob Gibbons to base the continuing career of comedy character Alan Partridge on Madeley. "People like Richard Madeley are on air because they're going to say something that's beyond the pale or a bit daft because that's meme-able content," said Neil Gibbons in the Daily Mirror. "So we have to build into the premise ways that Alan can have jeopardy."