Nick Hancock facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nick Hancock
Hancock in 2013
Born	Nicholas John Hancock (1962-10-25) 25 October 1962 (age 62) Stoke-on-Trent, England
Education	Homerton College, Cambridge (BA)
Occupation	Actor, TV presenter
Years active	1983–present
Known for	Presenting Room 101 Hosting They Think It's All Over
Spouse(s)	Shari Eftekhari ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	2

Nicholas John Hancock (born 25 October 1962) is an English actor and television presenter. He is well-known for hosting the sports quiz show They Think It's All Over for ten years. He also presented Room 101 on TV from 1994 to 1999, and its earlier radio version from 1992 to 1994.

Early Life and Education

Nick Hancock grew up with his father, Ken, and three older sisters. He went to Yarlet School in Staffordshire and later Shrewsbury School. He then studied at Homerton College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, Nick was part of a famous comedy group called the Footlights. This is where he first worked with other comedians like Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt. He even became the president of the Footlights in 1983!

After finishing college, Nick worked as a PE teacher. At the same time, he started doing stand-up comedy as a hobby. He formed a comedy duo with Neil Mullarkey, who was also from the Footlights. They often performed funny spoofs of TV show opening sequences, like Doctor Who and Dad's Army. One of Nick's first TV jobs was hosting a comedy and chat show called La Triviatta.

Nick Hancock's TV Career

Nick Hancock has appeared in many TV shows. He was in two episodes of Mr. Bean, playing a thief and later a ticket inspector. He also appeared in early comedy shows like Me, You and Him and The Mary Whitehouse Experience.

One of Nick's favorite comedians is Peter Cook. Nick even got to meet him when Peter Cook was a guest on Room 101. Nick really enjoyed hosting They Think It's All Over, especially when guests got into funny situations. He once mentioned a moment when a guest was joking about a big rugby player, not knowing the player was about to walk onto the set!

In 1998, Nick starred in a comedy documentary called "The Outsiders" about the Iranian national football team. He also narrated a six-part BBC documentary called Pleasure Beach, which showed what it was like to run the Blackpool amusement park.

After hosting Room 101 and They Think It's All Over for many years, Nick took a break to spend more time with his family. He still made special appearances, like on Red Nose Day for a show called The Ultimate Makeover. In this show, Nick and other TV personalities helped transform a play center for children.

In 2006, he appeared on TV Heaven, Telly Hell, where he talked about the TV shows he liked and disliked. In 2007, Nick filmed a series called Nick Hancock's Fishing School for STV and Discovery Real Time. In this show, he taught students how to fly fish. He also hosted game shows like Win My Wage for Channel 4 and Duel for ITV1.

In 2009, he hosted a cooking competition show called Taste the Nation on ITV1. He also filled in as a radio host for Danny Baker and Colin Murray in 2010. In 2011, he appeared on a celebrity special of the game show The Chase. He even won a game on the American radio quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

In 2012, Nick became the host of a new BBC Two show called Breakaway. More recently, in 2021, he competed on a radio quiz show for BBC Radio 5. Nick also has his own podcast called "The Famous Sloping Pitch." In 2022, his home was featured on Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House, where he sold some interesting items for charity. In 2023, he appeared as a fictional version of himself in an episode of Meet the Richardsons.

Personal Life

Nick Hancock met his wife, Shari Eftekhari, in Staines, Surrey. Shari was born in Iran. Nick proposed to Shari in a very unique way while they were playing pool in a pub! He asked her to look at his teeth, and when she did, he stuck out his tongue with an engagement ring on it. They got married in Staffordshire in 1997 and have two children.

Nick is a huge fan of Stoke City football club. In 2001, he bought a special FA Cup winner's medal that belonged to the famous footballer Sir Stanley Matthews for £20,000. He later sold the medal in 2014 for a much higher price. He also appeared on Antiques Roadshow to talk about his collection of football items. Besides football, Nick is also a big cricket fan. He lives with his wife and children in Shrewsbury.

Television Shows Nick Hancock Has Been In

Nick also released a series of funny football blooper videos called Football Nightmares, Football Hell, and Football Doctor.

Radio Shows Nick Hancock Has Been In

• Room 101
• Fish on Five
• Fighting Talk
• Back End of Next Week
• Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!