James O’Brien Biography
James O’Brien is a former tabloid journalist and television presenter who now works as a radio host, podcaster, and author in the United Kingdom. Since 2004, he has hosted a weekly phone-in discussion of current affairs, views, and real-life experiences for talk station LBC. Between October 2017 and November 2018, he hosted Unfiltered, a weekly interview series with JOE.
How old is James O’Brien? – Age
He is 49 years old as of 13 January 2021. He was born James Edward O’Brien in 1972 in London Borough of Hackney, London, United Kingdom.
Where did James O’Brien go to school? – Family
Jim O’Brien, a journalist for The Daily Telegraph, and his wife adopted James when he was a baby. He attended Ampleforth College, a Catholic independent school, and later studied Philosophy and Economics at the London School of Economics.
James O’Brien Wife
He is married to Lucy McDonald O’ Brien. The couple wedded in 2000 and they have two daughters.
James O’Brien Net Worth
O’Brien has an estimated net worth of $1 Million.
How long has LBC been going? – Career
In 2002, O’Brien made his debut on LBC as a holiday cover presenter. In January 2003, he began hosting his own weekly show, and in 2004 he became a full-time presenter. The “Mystery Hour,” in which listeners call in with various puzzles and other callers attempt to solve them, is a regular feature of his show.
In April 2009, O’Brien made national headlines when footballer Frank Lampard called his show to express his displeasure with tabloid stories about his personal life and O’Brien’s discussion of them. Elen Rivas, Frank Lampard’s former fiancée, claimed that Frank Lampard converted their home into a bachelor pad while she and Lampard’s children lived in a rented flat. Lampard called in, claiming that he had fought “tooth and nail” to keep his family together and that he was “weak” and “scum.” Lampard’s reaction was praised by the public for being “brave” and “articulate” in his handling of the situation. The exchange later earned O’Brien a Bronze Award in the 2010 Sony Radio Academy Awards for Best Interview, which he defended in an equally heated exchange with Kay Burley on Sky News.
In 2013, O’Brien had a spat with Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, over the Government’s work programs. Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP, was interviewed by O’Brien in May 2014. During the interview, O’Brien picked up on Farage’s remark that not being able to hear anyone speaking English on a train made him uncomfortable. Farage was also chastised by O’Brien for mistaking having English as a second language for being unable to speak the language at all, and for expressing concern if a group of Romanian men moved in next door. By making remarks during the Clacton by-election in October 2014, O’Brien broke broadcasting rules.
Throughout 2014 and 2015, O’Brien gave a lot of air time and promotion to the now-discredited Exaro News website’s false claims of VIP sex abuse, which were based on testimony from Carl Beech, who was later sentenced to prison for perverting the course of justice and child sex offenses, for which he (O’Brien) later expressed regret on Twitter.
O’Brien has claimed to be politically homeless, claiming to be opposed to the British Left, including the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, but he has received support from the liberal British media, such as the New Statesman and The Guardian. He appreciates the freedom to express himself that LBC provides. O’Brien frequently discusses Brexit with callers who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, frequently claiming to Leave voters were duped into voting against their own interests by pro-Brexit campaigns.
O’Brien left Newsnight in January 2018 after being chastised for his anti-Brexit and anti-Trump views, which were deemed incompatible with the network’s neutrality policy. He said the BBC still had the best selection of journalists in the world when he left on good terms.
In October 2017, O’Brien launched the Unfiltered podcast on JOE.co.uk, which lasted until November 2018. Russell Brand, Alastair Campbell, Lily Allen, Jon Ronson, Gary Lineker, and Sir Nick Clegg have all attended. Full Disclosure with James O’Brien, a new podcast, debuted in March 2019. Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was the show’s first guest. Denis O’Brien, the Mayor of London, has stated that he regrets voting for Boris Johnson in the 2008 Mayoral Election, but that he does not regret voting for him. He is an anti-Brexit campaigner who was involved in the People’s Vote campaign for a second referendum on Brexit. In the months leading up to the UK general election on March 23, 2019, he gave a series of speeches.