BBC Radio 5 Live has unveiled Rick Edwards as the new host of its popular sports-based panel show, Fighting Talk.
Edwards, who co-hosts the 5 Live Breakfast show each weekday morning with Rachel Burden, will start playing judge and jury in September, when the show returns to its MediaCityUK studio after its annual summer break.
Broadcast in the Saturday 11am slot, the award-winning hour long comedy show features various comedians, sports stars and broadcasters debating the biggest sporting issues of the week, as they fight it out to earn points for punditry. The winner is the pundit who can manage to get on top of the issues and – in one round – ‘defend the indefensible’.
Edwards takes over from long-serving Fighting Talk host and 5 Live presenter, Colin Murray, who announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down from the show while continuing to concentrate on the station’s late night programme four days a week.
Edwards said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Fighting Talk since the Johnny Vaughan days which, I accept, does age me. Over the years my performance as a guest has been patchy, and I am really looking forward to bringing that inconsistency to the host’s chair. I can already feel the power going to my head. The bosses will regret giving me the keys to that sound effects’ box”
Edwards began his career on the stand-up circuit after graduating with a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, and has since presented popular television shows including Channel 4’s Freshly Squeezed and the BBC quiz show Impossible, co-hosts the cult science podcast Eureka! and joined the BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast show in 2021.
Richard Maddock, lead commissioning editor at BBC Radio 5 Live said: “We are delighted to be announcing Rick as the new Fighting Talk host. He’s got big shoes to fill but he is a brilliant broadcaster. Having been a guest on the show many times, we know he’ll do a fantastic job chairing one of the longest running and most successful entertainment shows on British radio.”
