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BBC Radio Solent

Richard Latto

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Richard Latto
Richard doesn’t approach things with a half-way attitude… at any moment he is guaranteed to be full bananas!

From a very early age he had high aspirations “I always wanted to run a video-rental store… the thought of seeing all the latest releases first and doing nothing apart from sitting around drinking tea and watching the television really appealed to me”

However, Richard decided to embrace further education and after qualifying from Plymouth University with a BSc (Hons) degree in Multimedia Production & Technology he knew that perhaps running a video store would be a little pointless with his new-found skills! After all, Pam St Clement (Pat Butcher from Eastenders) went to Plymouth University and look how well she has done!

This degree combined with endless hours of voluntary work at Hospital Radio directed Richard to the doors of the BBC, after a very brief spell on the dark side of broadcasting (commercial radio).

Richard started working officially for the beeb back in the late 1990s and moved to the Solent area in October of 2006.

“Radio is such a vibrant industry to work in… no day is ever the same and I love music, so it’s such a privilege to get paid for doing something I really enjoy! There’s also plenty of parking and the coffee machine does a brilliant cappuccino!”

Richard’s first job in radio was producing the ‘Keith Fordyce Show’ for the BBC in the South West… and he then went on to produce or present at practically every hour of the day for BBC Radio Devon before spending a year with the BBC in Jersey… “Bergerac isn’t a fair portrayal of Jersey, if you really want to know what island life is like then check out that film “The Wicker Man”… that’s far more realistic!”

Richard’s proudest moment in broadcasting so far has to be when he made it into the ‘Top 20 Breakfast Shows of Winter 2005’ while presenting a breakfast show for the BBC in Plymouth… “It was a great surprise to make it into such a prestigious list! But it made getting up at 4am each morning even more worthwhile!”

In 2006 Richard applied for his dream job at the BBC in Southampton! While not presenting, his main duty at BBC Radio Solent is to make all the trailers you hear your favourite presenters play during their programmes… “I spend hours in a cold, dark room with no windows, but lots of people walk in and chat to me to check I’m still sane, which is reassuring.”

Work aside, Richard loves music and has been to lots of music concerts, including; REM, The Police, Aerosmith, U2, INXS, Madonna, The Rolling Stones and his all time favourite ‘Duran Duran’!

He also likes to think he is a bit of a culture-vulture… “Art galleries, expensive restaurants, fast cars and premier nightclubs are all my cup of tea… although failing that I don’t mind staying in and watching repeats of Dr Who and Fawlty Towers on UK Gold!”

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Richard Latto

21/12/2008

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