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Stephen Nolan: BBC bosses said I would never work there

Stephen Nolan and his BBC colleagues 
Stephen Nolan and his BBC colleagues  Stephen Nolan and his BBC colleagues 

ONE of Northern Ireland's most successful broadcasters Stephen Nolan has revealed bosses at the BBC said he would "never" work for them when he tried to join a decade ago.

As the presenter marks 10 years with BBC NI, he has told of being left in tears when an email from a senior executive emerged making clear he was not welcome.

The email read: "Stephen Nolan is not to be touched, he will never work here."

A decade on and Nolan has become an award-winning BBC broadcaster, presenting five morning programmes on Radio Ulster, four evening shows on Radio 5 Live and a live weekly television programme.

To mark the 10th anniversary, he has recorded an interview with radio presenter Gerry Kelly - opening up about life in front of and away from the microphone.

Nolan reveals that despite his confident manner, he has a "lack of faith" in himself, also opening up about how he only has a "small circle of friends who I trust".

He discusses how he views himself professionally and personally, what he does in his spare time and what the future holds.

The 40-year-old talks about his working-class upbringing and jokingly reveals he has set a taxi account up for his beloved mother to discourage her from getting the bus and telling people about him.

In the interview, due to be broadcast today, Nolan tells of how he fought to get a job at the BBC and how "they said 'no' for a very, very long time and it hurt me for a very long time".

"The story is, is that we are probably talking about - and the tears come to my eyes as I even think about this again - but we are probably about two years into a sustained period where I was writing and phoning the BBC on a weekly basis and they weren't replying to me and it wasn't pleasant," he said.

"A very senior person in here who did think I had some modicum of talent brought me into this building and showed me an email that a senior executive had sent around the managers.

"The email read 'Stephen Nolan is not to be touched, he will never work here' and this guy showed me that and he said to me that's what you are up against.

"I walked out of here crying and I walked out of here devastated and I walked up the road to UTV."

But the presenter said "what drives me is my lack of faith in myself" which later saw him secure a break at the BBC.

Known for "the biggest show in the country" on Radio Ulster, he has won a host of broadcasting awards for his radio and television work.

He admits his interview style has been "too aggressive" in the past but maintains it is needed to fight listener's battles.

"To the day I die I will have an aggression on behalf of those people. I need to because if I don't what chance do they have?"

After years of devotion to his job, he has also started to enjoy a life outside broadcasting.

"The BBC forced me to take a holiday a couple of years ago, they basically forced me out of the building last year and I would not take time off and they said you are taking a holiday," he said.

"Now I insist on my holidays. Now I want to travel. Now I want to have other things in my life."

* Gerry Kelly Special is on BBC Radio Ulster today at 12.30pm.

* BIGGEST VOICE IN THE NORTH: Left, the Stephen Nolan team. Top inset, Nolan with fellow radio presenter Gerry Kelly and, bottom inset, on his television show with guests Carl Frampton, left, X Factor winner Sam Bailey and former boxer Barry McGuigan