Richard Coles Biography
Richard Coles FRSA FKC is an English writer, radio presenter, and Church of England priest who served as the vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire from 2011 to 2022. He rose to popularity as a multi-instrumentalist who played alongside Jimmy Somerville in the 1980s band the Communards.
How old is Richard Coles? – Age
He is 61 years old 26 March 2023. He was born in 1962 in Northampton, United Kingdom. His real name is Richard Keith Robert Coles.
Richard Coles Family – Education
His grandfather was a successful shoe producer. The company failed under Coles’ father due to the growing popularity of cheaper foreign imports, and the family lost a large portion of their money. Coles’ older brother, Andy, a former Metropolitan Police officer, was elected a Conservative councillor in Peterborough in 2015 and was became deputy Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner in 2016.
He had his education in Stratford-upon-Avon at the South Warwickshire College of Further Education (Department of Drama & the Liberal Arts) and at the independent Wellingborough School, where he was a choirboy. Later, starting in 1990, he studied theology at King’s College, London. For his work on the Greek text of the Epistle to the Ephesians, Coles received an MA by research from the University of Leeds in 2005.
Richard Coles Gay – Partner
Coles is a gay man. When Coles was sixteen years old in 1978, his mother was the first person he came out to. He played Tom Robinson’s “Glad to Be Gay” four times before she asked, “Darling, are you trying to tell me something?” Coles has spoken about the “mental crisis” he experienced after coming out, which culminated in him trying suicide and being diagnosed with clinical depression. Coles started dating David Oldham, an Anglican priest, in 2007.
In 2010, the pair entered into a civil partnership (something the Church of England has permitted clergy to do since 2005), with David adopting Richard’s name. Coles said at the time that the relationship was celibate, but later admitted that this was not the case, but he needed to swear chastity in order to keep his work as a vicar. David Coles died in December 2019, and Coles later stated that his death was due to alcoholism. Coles stated that he had received hate letters claiming that his partner is in hell. Coles confirmed in June 2023 that he was in a relationship with actor Richard Cant.
Richard Coles Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $5 million.
Richard Coles Books
On November 1, 2012 (All Saints’ Day), Darton, Longman, and Todd published Coles’ book, Lives of the Improbable Saints, illustrated by Ted Harrison, which summarizes the lives of approximately 200 lesser-known saints. The next year, volume two, Legends of the Improbable Saints, was released.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson published Fathomless Riches, the first volume of his memoirs, in 2014. In 2016, a sequel volume, Bringing in the Sheaves, was released. Coles’ debut mystery novel, Murder Before Evensong, will be released in June 2022. It is meant to be the first of a series about Canon Daniel Clement. The sequel, A Death In The Parish, was published on June 8, 2023.
The first novel has been optioned for a television adaptation, with Coles acting as executive producer. Coles inked an agreement with W&N in 2023 to write three more Canon Clement volumes. The first of these, Murder at the Monastery, will be released in June 2025.
Richard Coles Church
Coles was chosen for priestly study in the Church of England and began his studies at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 2003. He was ordained in 2005. Following his ordination, he served as a curate at St Botolph’s Church in Boston, Lincolnshire, and later at St Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge, London. He has served as chaplain at the Royal Academy of Music, performed as Dr Frank N Furter in a local concert, and officiated at Mo Mowlam’s atheist funeral in 2005. Coles announced his retirement from parish duties in April 2022, citing the Church of England’s claimed increasing exclusion of gay couples, as well as its “conservative, punchy, and fundamentalist” direction.
Richard Coles Saturday Live
He frequently guest-hosted Radio 4’s Saturday Live when regular broadcaster Fi Glover was on maternity leave from 2008 to 2009.In 2011, Coles permanently succeeded Glover.On September 1, 2011, he appeared on the Radio 4 show You and Yours, when he spoke briefly about his hometown and parish of Finedon.
Coles made guest appearances on the BBC comedic quiz show QI in December 2012, December 2013, and November 2014. In January 2014, he won BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind, with his speciality being E. F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia novels.According to The Guardian on March 22, 2023, Coles was sorry to be departing the BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live programme following that week’s edition due to the programme’s transfer to Cardiff.