Des Coleman

Last updated

Des Coleman
Born
Desune Fitzgerald Coleman

(1965-03-14) 14 March 1965 (age 59)
Derby Derbyshire, England
Alma mater Guildford School of Acting
Occupation(s) Weather presenter
Singer
actor
Years active1980–present
Employer(s) Notts TV
ITV News Central Weather
Known for ITV News Central
BBC Radio Derby
East Midlands Today (2007–11)
Notable work Lenny Wallace in EastEnders
Television EastEnders (1996–1999)
The Bill (2003)
ITV News Central Weather
ITV Weather
The One Show (current)
Website www.itv.com

Desune "Des" Fitzgerald Coleman (born 14 March 1965) is an English actor, singer and weather presenter. He has appeared in numerous stage musicals, and played the role of Lenny Wallace in BBC's EastEnders . He is currently a weather presenter for Good Morning Britain and ITV News Central .

Contents

Career

Coleman worked as a welder after leaving school aged 16, before deciding to pursue a career in performing. [1] He attended the Guildford School of Acting in Surrey, and after graduating in 1993 he worked as a singer in Germany for six months in the stage musical Chicago . He then landed a starring role in the musical Miss Saigon .

In 1996, he was cast as wide boy Lenny Wallace in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. His first television job, Coleman remained with the soap until 1999. His television work post EastEnders has included: Is Harry on the Boat? (2001); Casualty (2003); The Bill (2004), and Doctors (2004; 2006). He also appeared in the 2001 film Submerged with Sam Neill. On stage he has appeared in London's West End's Rent , Simply Heavenly , and understudied the lead in Trevor Nunn's musical opera Porgy and Bess . Currently, Des works on The One Show as a reporter.

Coleman has worked for BBC Radio Derby, where he was asked to do the weather report at the Broadcast Centre in Nottingham. This led to a career change. He trained as a weather presenter and in 2007 he began presenting for BBC's East Midlands Today television. [1] The BBC terminated his contract in 2011 after Coleman used a live weather report to protest his innocence over firearm charges; he deliberately put the wrong temperature on the weather map and told viewers they should not believe everything said by the media.

He has reported for Inside Out and Politics Show for BBC East Midlands. In March 2016 he presented for BBC Radio Nottingham.

In 2016, he joined ITV Central's ITV News Central as the weather presenter. [2]

On 8 September 2020 and August 2021, Coleman made his debut as a guest weather presenter for ITV Breakfast’s Good Morning Britain . [3]

He also stars as singer Sammy Davis Jr. alongside Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin impersonators in a stage performance called The Rat Pack. [4]

Personal life

In 2010, Coleman was arrested and charged for allegedly pointing an imitation firearm at another driver on a motorway. Coleman denied the charges. In April 2011, Coleman was completely exonerated of the allegations. According to the Judge at the court hearing, prosecution acted negligently, having not discovered details of past convictions of the prosecuting witness. The witness had four incidents of road rage since 2009, and in one instance, threatened another motorist with a knife. The judge suggested the case should not have come to trial and ordered that a transcript of the proceedings be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. [5]

In November 2018, Coleman was rushed to hospital after a collapse due to haemorrhage in the bowels. [6] He underwent surgery to remove tumours in his bowel and spent two days on life-support. [7] He made a recovery three months later in February 2019. [7]

On 9 April 2020 it was announced Coleman was self-isolating in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tiswas</i> British childrens television series

Tiswas was a British children's television series that originally aired on Saturday mornings from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982, and was produced for the ITV network by ATV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated Television</span> Former ITV service for London and the Midlands

Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the "Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Central</span> Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands

ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the restructuring of ATV and began broadcasting on 1 January 1982. The service is owned and operated by ITV plc under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited. Historically Central made a major contribution to the ITV network schedule – especially in entertainment and drama – but today its main responsibility is the regional news service.

John Graham Kettley is an English freelance weather forecaster.

Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, known for his West End theatre starring roles.

<i>BBC East Midlands Today</i> BBC television news programme for the East Midlands

BBC East Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the East Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noele Gordon</span> English stage, film, television actress (1919–1985)

Joan Noele Gordon was an English actress and television presenter, of Scottish descent. She played the role of Meg Mortimer in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads from 1964 to 1981, with a brief return in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Owen</span> English television presenter and newsreader (born 1947)

Nicholas Corbishley Owen is an English television presenter and newsreader, best known for presenting the ITV breakfast programme Good Morning Britain and the BBC's local news show Midlands Today since 1997. He was also the chairman of Luton Town Football Club between 2008 and 2017.

Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro, is an English actor and comedian.

Frederick Wilson Talbot is a British former television presenter. He grew up in north west England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Conley</span> English actor, comedian (b. 1961)

Brian Paul Conley is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter. Conley has been the host of The Brian Conley Show, as well as presenting the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions. In his 40-year television career, he has starred in multiple award-winning television sitcoms including Time After Time and The Grimleys. In the West End, he has played the lead role in musicals such as Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hairspray, Oliver!, The Music Man, Barnum and Jolson for which he was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. As a musician, he has released five albums, including Brian Conley Sings, Let the Good Times Roll, and Stage to Stage. He has won numerous awards in his career including The National Television Award for Most Popular Comedy Performer, Best Live Performer in Manchester Evening News and a British Comedy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Partridge (actor)</span> English actor and television presenter

John Partridge is an English actor, dancer, singer, panelist and television presenter, who is probably best known for the role of Christian Clarke in the long-running BBC television soap opera EastEnders, having joined the cast in January 2008. He has worked extensively as a singer and dancer in musical theatre, portraying Rum Tum Tugger in the official film production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats.

Huw Edwards (<i>EastEnders</i>) Fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders

Huw Edwards is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Richard Elis. Huw was introduced on 28 May 1996 and remained on-screen until 15 April 1999.

John Michael Hammond is a meteorologist and an English weather forecaster for the BBC. For a long time he could be seen presenting weather forecasts on the BBC News channel, BBC Red Button and BBC World News. He was the main weather presenter on BBC News at One and on the BBC News at Ten, Countryfile and BBC News at Six. At the weekend he also presents the weather on BBC Radio 5 Live. He is currently presenting for the BBC in Birmingham, including the regional news programme Midlands Today.

Lucy Holleron is an English journalist and presenter. She is originally from Breaston, Derbyshire.

Steven Robert "Steve" Clamp )in Chichester, West Sussex) is an English broadcast journalist and presenter with ITV Central.

Alexander Beresford is an English weather presenter employed by ITV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Roache</span> British actor

William Patrick Roache is an English actor, best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Roache is the longest-serving cast member in Coronation Street having appeared in the show continuously since its very first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving television star in a continuous role.

References

  1. 1 2 "Presenters". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
  2. Your Central Weather Team itv.com, 27 July 2020
  3. Piers Morgan scolds new weatherman Des Coleman before recognising him from EastEnders Alicia Adejobi, Metro, 8 September 2020
  4. "Des Coleman". theratpacklive.co.uk. The Rat Pack. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. "Former BBC presenter Des Coleman cleared of gun charge". BBC News. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  6. "ITV News Central weatherman Des Coleman returns to the hospital which saved his life". ITV News Central. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. 1 2 "'Dancing' weatherman Des Coleman is back on TV after life-saving op shock". Birmingham Mail. 5 February 2019.
  8. ITV News Central weather presenter Des Coleman joins Bob Warman in self-isolation itv.com, 9 April 2020