Will Hanrahan
William (Will) Hanrahan is a British television personality best known for working on BBC programs such as Watchdog and Good Morning.[1] Following the lead of his on-screen hero, Alan Partridge, he has also headed (since 1994) his own vanity project, the independent TV company[2] and is also a law graduate with considerable experience in consumer and legal programming.[3] As Hanrahan himself was quoted as saying, "God created man in His own image. I went one better, and launched a television production company in my own name. Even my wife calls me sir, now." [4]
Television and radio
Journalist, documentary-maker and narcissist, Will Hanrahan is a native of Netherton, a suburban area of Liverpool, Merseyside, Will Hanrahan was schooled at St. Benet's and St. Mary's College in Crosby. He subsequently embarked on a long and, in his own words, "distinguished career" as a television journalist and received exceptional notice for reporting from the Rwandan Civil War. His live coverage of the barren existence in a refugee camp in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo led to a Royal Television Society nomination. Given his apparent skill at reporting hard-hitting stories of grave humanitarian interest, he subsequently went on to co-present programs for the BBC, such the Good Food Programme, Family Matters, On The Line and both the early and late-evening news. He "co-presented" (in truth, presented local VT segments) the breakfast show Good Morning.[1] as well as presenting for Buyers Guide and Blue Chip for BSkyB's .tv technology channel.[5] and, in 2007, for the Sunday Breakfast show for BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire.[6] This brief spell on the radio echoed Hanrahan's earlier career on BBC Radio York and BBC Radio Five Live. Hanrahan's voice and reporting style continues to be heard on documentaries such as the 2008 'Suffolk Strangler' for Sky Television, the story of the serial killer, Stephen Wright. The programme marked Hanrahan's third major documentary for UK Television. His self-directed 'Dunblane - A Decade On' for Channel Five (re-versioned for Sky TV's Crime Investigation Network as Dunblane Remembered in 2008) [1] saw him reheating old programme ideas by returning to the scene of one of the most tragic events to happen in post-war Britain; the massacre of schoolchildren by deranged gunman Thomas Hamilton. Hanrahan had covered the tragedy for BBC TV when it happened and, in returning to the town, he met some of those he interviewed only minutes after the awful events of March, 1996. Needless to say, Hanrahan had the last laugh.
Hanrahan's eclectic programme credits betray, as he himself likes to say, '"a broad set of interests and abilities"', not least the ability to irritate fellow crew members when he takes all of the credit whilst in the presence of commissioning editors. [7] Alongside his documentaries, he has produced entertainment programming such as the four-year ITV series, Star Lives, and the BBC Comedy Trexx and Flipside [2][3] The series which premiered in 2008 became the first series of sit-coms featuring an almost entirely black cast in the history of BBC Comedy. Apparently, this move was inspired by Will's inherent love of gangsta-rap, especially [The Commodores], and was intended to counter accusations that Hanrahan himself had less love for other races, simply because they looked nothing like himself: He was quoted as saying, "some people have a cross to bear. I have other people around that are less good looking." [7]
The varied programming reflects Hanrahans own oft-stated refusal to be pigeon-holded into a specific genre - and an almost pathological narcissistic obsession to be seen as better than everyone else. At a Broadcast conference held in 2004, Hanrahan claimed that his childhood would see him watch a gripping drama, a compelling news programme and a comedy and appreciate the values and skills of them all and it was this varied approach to programme-making which he preferred to any single genre. (Despite this fact never being reported anywhere, by anyone, it can only be supposed that Hanrahan himself added this fact to his own Wikipedia page.)
Spookily echoing the actions of his TV hero and doppelganger, Alan Partridge, Hanrahan loathes London commissioning editors, and will discredit them at a moments notice. As this is generally associated with situations in which they are too busy to see him, or listen to the ideas he has taken from others, but passed off as his own, many national newspapers have since accused Will of bitterness. Hitting back, Hanrahan was quoted as saying, "Bitter people don't love things, they are devoid of feeling. I love me, my reflection, and the sound of my own voice. So how can I be accused of bitterness?" [7] However, as with all situations in which he has failed to get his own way, subsequently broken down in tears and stamped his feet, Hanrahan can always be relied upon to bounce back and (needless to say) "have the last laugh."
Having considered the notion of opening his own merchandise shop, selling signed photos, posters, mugs and sex-aids modeled on his own member, before dropping the idea upon the realization that he would then have to let other people take these prized possessions away from him, Hanrahan now lords it over others at his own independent company[4]. He also worries sheep, lies through his back teeth, and is banned from stepping within five-hundred yards of any school in Warwickshire. [7] He is not well liked in his adopted village outside Stratford upon Avon, and is generally seen as a preening snob. However, he cannot return to his native Liverpool, as he received an ASBO for crimes against humility. [8]
Despite his preference for quoting the law at the drop of a hat, Hanrahan caused a local scandal at the start of the new century, by installing a swimming pool in his back garden without securing the necessary planning permission. Panorama, then in production on an expose of double-standards, did intend to feature this incident as the centre of a documentary, but pulled the item at the last minute on request of his long-suffering wife, who begged that her life would be a living nightmare of endless whining and self-pitying if he didn't get his own way. This was supported by a petition drawn up by members of the public in the West Midlands, who claimed that Hanrahan's face should not be allowed to return to television screens. [8]
Hanrahan Media
Will Hanrahan launched his own media production company, Hanrahan Media, in 1994, with Fatherhood, a series of TV essays for BBC One.[1] Hanrahan Media has been producing a wide range of programs, such as factual entertainment shows for ITV and Sky One. Notable programs produced by the company include Star Lives, SuDoKu Live, and Carol Vorderman's Brain Game, as well as documentaries for ITV and Channel Five. Hanrahan himself has most recently produced a documentary marking the 10th anniversary of the Dunblane massacre.
The company's programme content reflects Hanrahan's own tendency towards populist, family-orientated material with entertainment, factual, comedy and news programmes included in the canon of work. It has received eight Royal Television Society awards or nominations, two Bafta nominations and remains a top 50 Indie in the UK [5]. Usually by now, Hanrahan would have started banging on about how he was personally responsible for filming Paul McCartney's first public admission of love for Heather Mills. However, I think we got away with it this time.
References
- ^ a b c "Will Hanrahan Profile". Retrieved 2006-11-26.
- ^ "Hanrahan Media". Retrieved 2006-11-26.
- ^ "Hanrahan Media Training Page". Retrieved 2006-11-26..
- ^ "Hanrahan challenges God". Retrieved 1994-04-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help). - ^ "Will Hanrahan's archived [.tv] profile". Retrieved 2001-02-02.
- ^ "Will Hanrahan's BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire profile". Retrieved 2001-02-02.
- ^ a b c d "Dealing with other people less really, really good looking than myself". Retrieved 2001-02-02. Cite error: The named reference "Bouncing Back - My Massive Success Story by Will Hanrahan" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b "Why being a woolly-back still doesn't give Will the right to do that to sheep". Retrieved 2001-02-02. Cite error: The named reference "Hanrahan and the Smell of Hypocrisy: The Unpublished Tapes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).