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Timmy Mallett (born 18 October 1955) is an English television presenter, broadcaster, author and artist. He is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses and shirts, and a giant pink foam mallet (known as "Mallett's Mallet"), as well as his "utterly brilliant!" and "blaaah!" .
His media career started while he was a student at the University of Warwick where he worked on the student radio station, Radio Warwick. After graduating with a degree in History, he started working at BBC Radio Oxford. He later moved to Centre Radio (now Capital Midlands) as the station's launch presenter. He also presented on Radio Luxembourg and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio.
In 1982 Timmy was also part of the "Stayin' Alive" team on BBC Radio 1
The programme he hosted at Piccadilly was Timmy on the Tranny, a weekday evening show that ran from 8.00pm–11.00pm and took its name from Mallett's lunchtime and later afternoon shows on Radio Oxford. Among Mallett's team of helpers were Chris Evans (known as 'Nobby Nolevel'), Andy Bird (who played the pirate radio character 'Radio Diggle') and Karen Walsh (the original 'Aunty Boney kneecaps'). This led to Mallett co-presenting the Manchester-based BBC Two youth music show Oxford Road Show
From January 1985
Mallett won two Radio Academy Awards for Best Local Radio Presenter (1984) and Best Pop Music Show (1986).
In the Wide Awake Club, contestants were hit over the head by his famed mallet for getting answers wrong. In later years, a talking mini-version of the mallet called "Pinky Punky" was introduced (the name chosen after Mallett asked viewers to write in with their ideas) and soon became one of Mallett's established sidekicks along with Magic, his pet cockatiel. Wacaday ended in 1992 when TV-am lost its franchise to broadcast. Wacaday – Index. Brillianttv.co.uk. Retrieved on 18 February 2013.
Since then, Mallett has run his own production company, Brilliant TV. Brilliant TV. Brilliant TV. Retrieved on 18 February 2013.
In 1993, Mallett starred in The Children's Channel's Around the World in 80 seconds as Captain Everything. Timmy Mallett – television, Around the World in 80 seconds!. Brillianttv.co.uk. Retrieved on 18 February 2013.
From 1997 until 2000, he acted in Timmy Towers, for CITV. Timmy Mallett – television, Timmy Towers. Brillianttv.co.uk. Retrieved on 18 February 2013.
In 2002, Mallett made West Ham United agree to stop selling copies of their mascot, Herbie the Hammer, in their club shop after he complained that it looked too similar to Pinky Punky. West Ham United withdrew the item.
In 2004, he was a stand-in contestant for the ITV1 jungle-based reality series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. In 2008, he entered the show as a full contestant.
In 2008, Mallett appeared on Big Brother's Little Brother. Timmy Mallett – television, Big Brother's Little Brother 2008. Brillianttv.co.uk. Retrieved on 18 February 2013.
In September 2008, Mallett appeared on the BBC One politics show This Week talking about being positive when things get tough.
In November 2008, Mallett appeared in the eighth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. He entered the show by being captured in an oversized net and imprisoned in jungle jail. The celebrities were given an option to trade their possessions for him and David Van Day to enter. They refused. On 30 November 2008, Mallett was the fourth contestant eliminated from the show after being placed in the bottom two in the public voting and taking part in a play-off bush tucker eating trial with Brian Paddick.
Follow up single "Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" reached number 18 in the UK in December 1990.
The Bombalurina album Huggin' And A Kissin' with 14 tracks was released in December 1990.
Ditching the Bombalurina name, but again working with producer Nigel Wright, Mallett released a cover of Kenny's "The Bump" under the name M.C. Mallett in 1991. This failed to chart.
For "Tommy's Campaign", Mallett recorded "The Laughing Policeman" with producer George Martin in 1991.
Under the name Del Costa, Mallett released a megamix version of "Hot Hot Hot" in summer 1992.
In 2008, Mallett featured in Skepta's video "Rolex Sweep" MistaJam: Timmy Mallet gets in on the Rolex Sweep. BBC (26 April 2008). Retrieved on 2013-02-18. and accompanied Skepta to the MOBO nominations. UK NEWS: MORE MOBO 2008 NOMINATIONS LAUNCH PICS / FULL LIST OF NOMINEES « WWW.MADNEWSUK.COM. Madnews.wordpress.com. Retrieved on 18 February 2013.
In 2013, Mallett recorded Gilbert O'Sullivan's hit "Ooh-Wakka-Doo-Wakka-Day".
Mallett's "Summer Holiday" video was made in 2014.
In December 2016, he appeared in Jack and the Beanstalk at Theatre Royal Windsor.
While staying in Hartlepool, Mallett rescued a woman from the marina in December 2001.
He toured the Pontins holiday camps with the "Utterly Brilliant Timmy Mallett Show" in 2014.
He toured Park Holidays UK's sites doing The Timmy Mallett Show in 2016.
In 2002, he painted 50 portraits for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee including Wendy Craig, Jim Rosenthal, Lorraine Kelly, Ulrika Jonsson and Clive Woodward.
In 2012, Mallett won the Best up and coming artist Fine Art Trade Guild.
In 2012, Mallett painted a telephone box in Windsor with likenesses of the Queen, Prince Harry and Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge.
In the summer of 2018, Mallett discovered and painted his father's secret Galloway bridge scene from September 1966.
Mallett is a long-distance cycling adventurer. In 2022, he completed a solo circumnavigation of the coast of Britain, following in the footsteps of painter J. M. W. Turner. There is an online map from the Ordnance Survey showing the route, paintings and videos around nearly 5000 miles of coastline.
He rode through Northern Ireland in May 2015, Lincolnshire in summer 2015 and through Cumbria in May 2016.
In spring 2018, Mallett cycled alone from home in England through France and Spain along the pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela Cape Finisterre and back, a distance of over 4000 km, inspired by his older brother Martin with Downs syndrome. The story forms the basis for his memoirs Utterly Brilliant: My life's Journey, published in 2020 by SPCK, which also includes some of the paintings produced on this adventure.
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