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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Frances Kindon

Andi Peters' life behind the camera - real age, relationships and Phillip Schofield sass

As one of the original members of the BBC Broom Cupboard, Andi Peters was rocking a nineties look way before it became cool again.

His snazzy waistcoats and Edd the Duck banter made him as much a part of the decade as Pogs and the Argos catalogue.

But after leaving Live and Kicking in 1996, the star seemingly disappeared.

His departure was all the more shocking given that, along with Phillip Schofield, he'd been one of CBBC's biggest deals.

In fact, it was a somewhat awkward exchange with Phil, 58, that inspired Andi to pursue a career in TV.

He told an interviewer: "I wrote to Phillip saying that I'd like to be a presenter. I got a signed picture back, which I sent back with a note saying that I didn't ask for a signed picture, I wanted advice on how to become a Children's BBC presenter.

"Phillip then wrote on the back of the signed picture and sent it back saying 'get some local radio or hospital radio experience, and I'm sure you'll make it one day.' And he was right!"

Andi's first gig was for Top Man's in-store radio in Oxford Street, London, which led to a job linking shows on ITV.

The Beeb quickly took notice of the young talent, and signed the then 18 year old in 1989, pairing him with TV legend Edd the Duck.

Andi's stint in the Broom Cupboard was one of kids' TV's defining 90s moments (BBC)

He graduated from the cupboard in 1993 for a move to brand new Saturday morning show, Live and Kicking.

But the promotion still proves to be a bone of contention, with Good Morning Britain's Ben Shephard claiming Andi actually applied to host Blue Peter but didn't get the part.

Outraged, Andi snapped back: "Rude! Quick fact check – I was offered the Blue Peter job!

"I turned it down because I wanted to do Live & Kicking. When he offered it to me, I was really conscious that I didn't want to do the job.

"I got really upset and ran all the way to the controller of BBC One and said 'They just told me that I had to do Blue Peter but I don't want to do it, I want to do [Live and Kicking] instead'.

"Luckily, he said don't worry, you'll get to do Saturday mornings. So yes! The rest is history."

His three-year stint alongside Emma Forbes, 55, catapulted the show to success. But Andi had other plans and traded his coveted gig to go behind the camera at LTW.

Andi at the Red Nose Awards 1994 which were presented on Live & Kicking (Comic Relief via Getty Images)

While some might have considered his break away from the spotlight to have been an odd move, it turned out Andi was a natural producer and after joining Channel 4 he became the architect of their entire T4 offering.

Launching the careers of the likes of Vernon Kay, Alexa Chung, Dermot O'Leary, he even hand-picked the cast Shipwrecked - one of the first every reality TV shows.

Asked about the stars whose careers he kick-started and who he's still in touch with, Andi told Metro: "Loads. Ben Shephard works on the same show as me.

T4 Presenters Margarita Taylor and Dermot O'Leary (Channel 4)

"I still talk to Dermot O’Leary, Margherita Taylor, June Sarpong, Vernon.

"There’s a generation of people who grew up with T4 so it’s interesting when people come up and say it meant a lot to them. Yesterday a girl came up to me in a coffee shop and said she was in the first series of Shipwrecked and I cast her. Jeff Brazier was in Shipwrecked and he still works in TV."

In 2003 the BBC coaxed him back to run its music and lifestyle programmes for younger viewers, including Top of the Pops, Later with Jools Holland and the broadcaster's Glastonbury coverage.

But he quit just two years later when TOTP was relegated to BBC2 amid dwindling viewing figures, although he denied that was why, insisting the time had come to get back in front of the camera to host BBC One's City Hospital.

Asked why the sudden 180, he told Metro: "[Presenting is] my passion. I started out as a presenter and without that I wouldn’t have been able to produce anything.

Andi Peters hosted Live and Kicking alongside Emma Forbes (ITV)

"And unlike producing, you don’t have to take the work home with you. Once you’ve done the show, it’s done. When you’re producing, you’re sometimes managing big teams and that never stops. I thought I’d go through a phase of presenting for a while."

Since then he's narrated The Big Reunion and regularly appears hosting competitions from far-flung destinations on ITV's Good Morning Britain and Lorraine. He also works as a rugby agent and owns a fitness modelling agency.

But what about his life away from the office? Andi has always kept his private life private, making no mention of romantic partners in interviews.

He's not believed to be married and in 2016 he appeared to suggest he was unattached by tweeting a picture of a sign about being single.

'Now that's a fact I like!' he commented on the sign that read: "Superman: Single, Batman: Single, Spiderman: Single, I am single because I'm a superhero."

In 2016, Andi said he was single (Andi Peters/Twitter)

Viewers, did, however, get a good look at his house during lockdown, with Andi even clearing out his garage to host one segment for GMB.

And fans were in awe of his sprawling garden which feature a dazzling array of cottage garden flowers and mature shrubs.

The star - who turns 51 today - is in famously great shape, doesn't drink alcohol and is heavily into fitness, working out three days on and one off.

He said: "I have protein shakes at least every day. I go to the gym, so my muscles are fatigued a lot, so the shakes help keep the muscles strong."

And just before he turned 50, fans were dumbfounded by the youthful-looking star's real age.

"Cannot believe @andipeters is 50!! My jaw just nearly hit the floor. We need your secret! Look amazing," one fan tweeted.

Another added: "STFU @andipeters gonna be 50?? How the funk did that happen? arghhhhh not far behind lol #GMB."

Despite his clean living, the star does have a penchant for McDonald's and scones, which he bakes every Saturday morning and shares the results online.

And Live and Kicking fans will be pleased to hear he's still great mates with Emma Forbes.

"We were just really lucky that Emma and I got on so well," he said. "We still very much keep in contact. I'm godfather to one of her children, so we speak a lot."

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