| Stephen Nolan | |
| Birth Name: | Stephen Raymond Nolan |
| Birth Date: | 1973 8, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Shankill, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Employer: | BBC |
| Alma Mater: | Queen's University Belfast |
| Occupation: | Radio and television presenter |
| Years Active: | 2002–present |
Stephen Raymond Nolan (born 20 August 1973) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland.[1] [2] In the 2023–2024 financial year he earned a salary in the range of £405,000-£409,999 for his work on BBC Radio Ulster (which is almost always broadcast on BBC Radio Foyle as well), Nolan Live on BBC One (Northern Ireland) and The Stephen Nolan Show on Radio 5 Live.[3]
Born in the Shankill Road area of Belfast, Nolan was educated at Springhill Primary School, the Royal Belfast Academical Institution[4] and the Queen's University of Belfast, where he studied French and Business Studies, graduating with a BA in 1995.[5]
In 2002, Nolan joined Belfast CityBeat, where he won a Sony Radio Academy Award. The following year, he was hired by BBC Northern Ireland, where he has worked since 2003, presenting The Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster.[6] The show is also broadcast on BBC Radio Foyle.
Since 16 July 2005, Nolan has presented his own weekend phone-in show for BBC Radio 5 Live,[7] airing from 10 pm to 1 am every Friday and Sunday, and from 9pm to 12am every Saturday. The show includes updates on the latest news from BBC correspondents, discussion about the news with contributions from listeners and guests, and discussion of the newspaper headlines of the following day. Until 2017, he also co-hosted Question Time Extra Time, a simulcast of BBC One's Question Time, followed by a continuation of debates on 5 Live.[8]
In 2006, Nolan was involved in a mock boxing match with Gerry Anderson in aid of the BBC's Children in Need appeal.[9]
On 13 October 2021, he launched a podcast, Nolan Investigates.[10]
Following coverage of the Bobby Storey funeral during the COVID pandemic, Sinn Fein – the largest nationalist political party – began boycotting the show.[11] The SDLP also began to boycott the radio programme after the abrupt, on-air removal of the SDLP's Stormont leader, Matthew O'Toole, in March 2023 over comments about the spokesman for the Loyalist Communities Council, an umbrella group which issues statements on behalf of some loyalist paramilitary groups.[12]
The Irish Times reported that in April 2023 a "heated" meeting took place between the SDLP and BBC Northern Ireland director Adam Smyth, with party leaders raising concerns about the balance of the programme's contributors and editorial accountability. Smyth sent the party an email in late June 2023, confirming that an assessment of "content" on the program over a "typical one month period" had been performed to address the issues mentioned in the meeting. The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit concluded that Nolan was justified in stopping O'Toole's participation during the 3 March broadcast. The SDLP described the BBC's handling of the situation as "extremely poor" and refused to meet Smyth and other BBC executives again until it has a copy of the review into The Nolan Show.[12]
The SDLP ended their boycott at the beginning of the campaign for the 2024 general election.[13]
Nolan has presented several television programmes. Nolan Live on BBC Northern Ireland is a weekly television debate and phone-in show. Fair Play, also on BBC Northern Ireland, was a weekly consumer watchdog programme. Mission Employable was a series focusing on helping a group of unemployed people to find their dream career. He has also presented the BBC's Children in Need Northern Ireland broadcast. Since 2008 he has presented Panic Attack, a new game airing on Friday nights in Northern Ireland. The show was repeated nationwide in a daytime slot starting in February 2010. In 2008 he stood in for Matthew Wright on Five's The Wright Stuff. In 2011, Nolan presented a documentary focusing on the Shankill Butchers. Since 2008, Nolan has hosted a weekly TV version of The Nolan Show on BBC Northern Ireland every Wednesday.[14]
In 2013, a new series, Story of a Lifetime, hosted by Nolan, began with episode one focusing on the life of his Radio Ulster colleague Hugo Duncan.[15]
In 2023, Nolan gained access to Maghaberry Prison for his six-part documentary for BBC television, screened nationwide, Jailed: Inside Maghaberry Prison.[16]
His television and radio shows have been accused of having a pro-Unionist bias and have been referred for impartiality/bias by Ofcom to the BBC.[17] [18] [19] Nolan has defended himself against such claims.[19]
In 2023-24, Nolan earned between £405,000 and £409,999 as a BBC presenter.[20]
In 2023, Nolan was accused by multiple employees of "bullying and harassment", fostering a "siege mentality", and sending unsolicited sexually explicit images.[21] He admitted to, and apologised for, the sending of a sexually explicit image.[22]
In total, Nolan has won twelve Sony Radio Academy Awards. Of these, seven are Gold, giving him the record for the most Golds in the history of the awards. Five of these were awarded during his time with Belfast CityBeat radio, including: UK Speech Broadcaster of the Year 2003 and for his show, The Nolan Show, The Speech Programme Award of the Year 2006. He also won the Royal Television Society's Regional Presenter of the Year Award in 2005 and 2006, as well as being nominated for the National Presenter Award in 2008.[23]
Nolan often discusses starting work, aged 12, in a video store while at school. Religion is a regular feature on his radio shows. In 2015, he stated he was an atheist and as a result he issued an apology for breaching BBC guidelines.[24]
In February 2021, Nolan criticised online trolls on Twitter and said: "[i]t's clear I have a weight problem."[25]
Nolan lives in Mahee Island in County Down.[26]
He is unmarried.