Martin Kelner - Broadcasting

Broadcasting

Martin Kelner moved to Radio Hallam in Sheffield to begin his career in radio. He started reading the breakfast show news before moving on to his own late night show. There was a brief spell at London's LBC and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, before Kelner moved to Leeds in 1981 and the fledgling Radio Aire. He left Radio Aire in late 1982, and worked for Yorkshire TV for a time on a programme called Calendar It's The Weekend.

He was also a co-presenter on a show called Living It Up. Other television excursions for Kelner include Brainwave, a daytime quiz show and Pick Of The Week.

Kelner joined the BBC around 1986, presenting his own Saturday night show on BBC Radio 2, various stand-ins across the network, and later his own Saturday afternoon show on Radio Two from 1994 to 1996. Around the same time he was presenting a local radio late night show broadcast from the Radio Leeds studios and broadcast across the BBC Night Network in the north, on which he first gave airtime to radio comedy sketches from Caroline Aherne. She portrayed the Mrs Merton character on his radio show ad-libbing conversations with Kelner for around eight years. He also introduced Aherne into network broadcasting on Radio Two and the original BBC Radio Five.

He returned to Manchester to present the breakfast show on 100.4 Jazz FM, where he introduced another great comic talent to the public in the shape of Jake Yapp's Dora Dale, with whom Martin produced the hit BBC7 comedy show, Pleased To Meet You. This show was nominated for a Sony National Radio Award on 28 March 2007 in the category of Best Comedy Programme.

Until October 2006, Kelner presented the Friday and Saturday late show at the weekends on BBC Radio Humberside, BBC Radio York, BBC Radio Leeds and BBC Radio Sheffield.

Other stations he has worked for include BBC Thames Valley FM, BBC Radio Cleveland, Pennine Radio, BBC Radio Five Live, Talksport, BBC7, and BBC Radio Manchester and Mansfield 103.2.

Between 2009 and 2010, he presented his own podcast, the Piss Poor Podcast, accompanied by his long serving comedy sidekick Edouard Lapaglie. He also appears on BBC Radio 5 Live as a regular panellist on Fighting Talk (twice finishing as series runner up), and has contributed to Chart The Week on Richard Bacon's programme. His most regular radio slot had been the BBC Radio Leeds Breakfast Show which he co-presents Mondays to Thursday from 6:30am to 9:00am, but was reassigned to the lunchtime slot in November 2012.