Matthew Allwright (born 14 April 1970) is an English television presenter, journalist, and musician.[2] He has presented shows such as Watchdog, Rogue Traders, Food Inspectors, The Code, Fake Britain and The One Show for BBC One.

Matt Allwright
Allwright (right) with David Walliams in 2011
Born
Matthew Allwright

(1970-04-14) 14 April 1970 (age 54)
Occupation(s)Television presenter, journalist
Years active1996–present
Employer(s)BBC, Channel 5
TelevisionPresenting:
Rogue Traders (2001—2009)
Food Poker (2007)
Watchdog (2009—2019)
The One Show (2010—)
You've Been Scammed (2011—2013)
Food Inspectors (2012–2014)
Fake Britain (2013—2016)
Saints and Scroungers (2013—2015)
Keeping Britain Safe: 24/7 (2013–2014)
The Housing Enforcers (2014—2017)
The Code (2016—2017)
The Saturday Show (2016)
Websitemattallwright.com

Early life

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Allwright was educated at two independent schools in Berkshire: Dolphin School in Hurst (near Reading), and Reading Blue Coat School in Sonning, where he was Head Boy; followed by the University of Manchester, where he gained a degree in English.[3]

Career

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In 1997, while working as a producer on BBC Radio Solent, Allwright was commissioned to report on his mother’s issue with Bounce tumble dryer sheets. He negotiated with Watchdog, and fronted the piece himself after contacting the programme.[4] The BBC saw potential and requested Allwright present the report himself. This led to a regular reporting slot on the show. Many of his early Watchdog stints also guest-starred his mother, as a consumer commentator.[citation needed]

In 2001, Allwright also began presenting another programme, Rogue Traders with Dan Penteado. The show was a 30-minute undercover consumer programme in which Allwright and Penteado investigated and confronted rogue tradesmen.[citation needed] In 2004, Allwright hosted Brassed Off Britain, Scambusters and Fat Nation for the BBC. In 2007, he also presented Food Poker for BBC Two.[citation needed] In 2008, Allwright and former Watchdog presenter Anita Rani hosted a short-lived spin-off from Rogue Traders, called Rogue Restaurants.[5] In 2009, Rogue Traders was merged with Watchdog, with Rogue Traders split into feature segments and shown throughout. Allwright also became co-host on Watchdog.[6]

Since 2010, Allwright has guest hosted BBC One's The One Show, where he filled in for Matt Baker on numerous occasions, as well as being a regular feature reporter. Since 2011, Allwright has also hosted the BBC show You've Been Scammed.[citation needed] In 2012, Allwright presented ITV's primetime game show The Exit List for one series. Allwright also co-hosted the BBC One programme Food Inspectors with Chris Hollins.[citation needed] In 2012, Rogue Traders co-presenter Dan Penteado was dropped by the BBC following his arrest for fraud.[7] Allwright continued to present the show, in a solo capacity.[citation needed]

From 2013, Allwright replaced Dominic Littlewood in presenting BBC consumer rights programmes Fake Britain and Saints and Scroungers, in 2017 Dominic Littlewood returned to presenting duties on Fake Britain and Allwright left the series.[citation needed] In December 2013, Allwright began co-presenting the BBC One programme Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 with Julia Bradbury.[citation needed]

From 1 September 2014,[8] Allwright presented The Housing Enforcers, a daytime programme for BBC One. There were ten 45-minute episodes showing each week day for a run of two weeks.[8] A second series was shown on the BBC in 2015 of which there were twenty 45-minute episodes.[9] In April 2016, Allwright began presenting the BBC One daytime game show The Code which returned for a second series in March 2017.[10]

On 4 June 2016, Allwright guest presented an episode of The Saturday Show on Channel 5 alongside Gaby Roslin. The following month he became a permanent co-presenter after Matt Barbet left the show, but the series was cancelled in October 2016.

Personal life

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Allwright is a patron of the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS).[11] He is also a patron of Launchpad Reading, a local charity working to prevent homelessness in Reading, and the Dorset-based Grace Secondary School Appeal.[12] In December 2023, Allwright won £75,000 for Launchpad on the ITV TV show, Beat The Chasers. Allwright is a follower of cricket and a supporter of Bracknell Bees ice hockey club and Liverpool Football Club.[citation needed]

Allwright is an aficionado of country music and plays guitar, lap and pedal steel guitars, keyboards, and sings. He writes a regular blog about his experiences learning to play the pedal steel guitar.[citation needed]

Matt is married, has two children and has a miniature schnauzer called Enzo.

Filmography

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Television
Year Title Channel Role
1997–2001 Weekend Watchdog BBC One Presenter
2001–2009 Rogue Traders Presenter
2004 Brassed Off Britain Presenter
Scambusters Presenter
Fat Nation Presenter
2005 Children in Need Outside Presenter
2006 Just the Two of Us[13] Participant
2007 Food Poker BBC Two Presenter
2008 Rogue Restaurants BBC One Presenter
2009—2019 Watchdog Co-presenter
2010 The Secret Tourist Presenter
2010— The One Show Stand-in presenter
2011—2013 You've Been Scammed Presenter
2012 The Exit List ITV Presenter
2012–2014 Food Inspectors BBC One Co-presenter
2013–2014 Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 Co-presenter
2013–2015 Saints and Scroungers Presenter
2013—2016 Fake Britain Presenter
2014—2017 The Housing Enforcers Presenter
2016 The Saturday Show Channel 5 Co-presenter
2016—2017 The Code BBC One Presenter
2019—2020 Britain's Housing Scandal[14] Presenter
2020 Your Money and Your Life Co-presenter
Guest appearances

References

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  1. ^ "Search Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006 | findmypast.co.uk". www.findmypast.co.uk.
  2. ^ "The World's Most Recognisable Bass Line Featuring Mick Fleetwood & Matt Allwright on Bass". Archived from the original on 5 December 2015 – via www.youtube.com.
  3. ^ [1] Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "BBC One - Watchdog, Series 35, Watchdog at 30, How Matt Allwright joined the show". BBC.
  5. ^ "BBC One - Rogue Restaurants, Episode 2".
  6. ^ "IN PICTURES: BBC's Matt Allwright hosts Woodley's community heroes". March 2023.
  7. ^ Morris, Steven (17 July 2012). "Rogue Traders presenter jailed for benefit fraud". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b Twofour. "The Housing Enforcers".
  9. ^ Twofour. "BBC One commissions a 20-part series of The Housing Enforcers from Twofour".
  10. ^ "The Code on BBC 1 South West at 2:15 pm April 18th, 2016". GipsyMedia Limited.
  11. ^ [2] Archived 19 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Grace Secondary School".
  13. ^ "Go behind the scenes of Just the Two of Us with our exclusive video podcast. More info >>>". Bbc.co.uk. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  14. ^ "BBC One - The Empty Housing Scandal, Series 1, Episode 1". BBC.
  15. ^ "BBC One - Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman, Series 1, Episode 11". BBC.
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