Peter Curran

• Photo

Topics:

• TV/Radio Presenter

Peter Curran is an award-winning  BBC presenter, comic writer, documentary maker, a failed drummer, but excellent after dinner speaker! 

Belfast Born & Bred

He was born and raised in Belfast where like many others he spent the mid-seventies improving his sprinting speed around the city streets. He formed the new wave band Pig and co-wrote an acclaimed satirical review ‘…And now before the Weather, The War’ which toured the country to good notices and terrible threats.

Studies & Travels

After briefly studying Politics and Theatre Studies he travelled the USA working on funfairs before moving to London to make bespoke office furniture for ten years. A recession in the building trade saw him reduced to retraining as a BBC reporter before going on to present the drive time show on BBC Greater London Radio.  He can still clear the floor as a DJ at parties and concerts.

BBC Televsion & Radio Presenter

Peter presented the popular history series Street Detectives for BBC Northern Ireland and he is a regular presenter of the music and comedy show Loose Ends and Pick of the Week on Radio 4 . He wrote and presented BBC2's Sunday morning business show The Business Cafe for three series and the profile interview series 'Personal Passions'.

Peter has a wealth of hair-raising anecdotes involving his encounters with many cultural icons such as Peter Cook, Debbie Harry, Buzz Aldrin and Sir Alan Sugar and his long running and hilarious game of cat and mouse with Van Morrison. 

For BBC2, he also presented When Art Went Pop and he fronted Culture Fix, a 40-part arts and culture series for BBC Knowledge.

Comic Writer

He‘s written and presented a new comedy for BBC Radio 2 with the team behind the spoof rock band Spinal Tap and like everyone else with a basic grasp of English, he's writing a musical.

The Big Picture

His great-grandfather was an electrician who built and operated the first sound cinema in Northern Ireland, so maybe he was just genetically suited to writing and presenting The Big Picture, a film programme which has seen him travel to interview Martin Scorsese, Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, Cate Blanchett and scores of Hollywood A-listers. ' I get all the tough jobs, I'm afraid' claims Mr. Curran.

Conference Chair & After Dinner Speaker

Peter Curran has chaired numerous high profile arts and culture conferences involving Cambridge University, The Royal Society,  Royal College of Art. and the BBC Music Festival. He's a dab hand at handing out awards and happy to share his many stories but mostly, he just enjoys making people laugh.

Critics

'On the radio Peter Curran is the master, he interrogates his guests in a thorough, seaching manner and is always looking for a reason to chuckle'
The Guardian

'This could have been a stodgy exercise but Curran gave it just the right mix of welly and wisecracks'
The Observer

For further information or to book Peter Curran, call us at Speakers Corner on +44 (0) 20 8365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk