| Mike Parry | |
| Birth Name: | Michael Alan Newton-Parry[1] |
| Birth Date: | 29 December 1954[2] |
| Birth Place: | Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Other Names: | Porky[3] |
Michael Alan Newton-Parry (born 29 December 1954) is an English broadcaster and former journalist.
Born in Chester, Parry attended The King's School and later completed his education at Trent Polytechnic, now known as Nottingham Trent University.[4]
After graduating, Parry became a "Fleet Street reporter" and worked for tabloid newspapers, including The Sun. In the late 1990s, he served as News Editor of the Daily Express and later as News Editor of the Press Association.[5] He then became a Press Officer for the Football Association.[6]
Parry has written three books. His first, Rooney Tunes, is a biography of footballer Wayne Rooney, published in 2006. He co-wrote two autobiographies of his fellow talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil: There's an Awful Lot of Bubbly in Brazil (2007) and Both Barrels from Brazil: My War On the Numpties (2008).[7] [8]
In 1999, Parry joined Talk Radio (later known as talkSPORT).[9] He originally co-presented the Sports Breakfast with Alan Brazil, but after experiencing health problems in 2004, he was replaced by Graham Beecroft and later by Ronnie Irani.
Following an improvement in his health, Parry returned to co-host The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show on Monday and Friday mornings, and sometimes stood in for Irani when he was unavailable. In 2009, he began presenting the 10:00–13:00 slot with Andy Townsend from Monday to Friday.
From June 2010, Parry co-hosted with Mike Graham in the same slot. They were replaced by Richard Keys and Andy Gray in February 2011.[10]
He stood in for regular presenter Mark Chapman on 606 on Radio 5 Live on 19 February 2011 and again on 2 April 2011 alongside Robbie Savage.[11]
Parry presented the Saturday lunchtime 'Warm-Up' show on talkSPORT from mid-2017 to August 2019. During this period, he had various co-hosts, including Brazil, Graham, Danny Kelly, and Jason Cundy. Parry left talkSPORT after 20 years in August 2019. He finished his final show by saying: "I think I'll end with words similar to those from the immortal John Lennon - 'thank you very much indeed for listening, folks, and I hope I passed the audition'".[12] [13]
From 2020 to 2021, he presented weekend shows on talkRADIO.[14]
Parry began his television career as the co-presenter of the Sports Tonight Live show with Chris Cohen, which was broadcast on Freeview channel 112 (internet connection required) and online.[15] However, Sports Tonight Live went bankrupt.
Since 2018, Parry has made regular guest appearances on Jeremy Vine, a topical discussion programme broadcast by Channel 5.
During an appearance on 1 October 2021, in a debate about protests by environmental activist group Insulate Britain, Parry controversially stated that ‘the problem in this country in all areas is that minorities always get the upper hand because we’re so tolerant, and minorities have to be squashed, like that… so that the rest of society can operate normally’, while slamming his hand on the desk. The incident was widely reported and led to complaints being filed with Ofcom.[16] [17]
In 2004, Parry suffered heart failure and was treated at Harefield Hospital.[18] Later that year, he was diagnosed with advanced dilated cardiomyopathy and placed on the transplant list. However, in April 2005, thanks to a combination of drug treatment and improvements in Parry’s digestion and exercise, leading to a weight loss of in six months, he was removed from the transplant list.[19]
Parry is a lifelong supporter of Everton Football Club and is also a minority shareholder in the club.[20]