Alice Levine

Alice Levine
Levine in 2023
Born (1986-07-08) 8 July 1986
Beeston, Nottinghamshire, England[1]
EducationUniversity of Leeds (BA)
OccupationsRadio and television presenter
Years active2008–present
Employer(s)BBC, Channel 4, Wondery
Known for
Television

Alice Levine (born 8 July 1986)[2][3] is an English radio and television presenter, writer and narrator. She was a radio DJ for BBC Radio 1 from 2013 to 2020. She co-created and presented the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno, and is the co-founder of the podcast festival Crossed Wires. Levine has also presented several television programmes, including Sleeping with the Far Right (2019) and Sex Actually with Alice Levine (2021–2023).

Early life and education

Levine was born in Beeston, Nottinghamshire.[4] Her mother was a painter and her father, a Sociology lecturer.[5][6] She has a brother, Max.[7]

Levine studied English at the University of Leeds.[1] There, she met Jamie Morton and James Cooper, her collaborators on My Dad Wrote a Porno, in the TV department.[8] Levine played an active part in Leeds Student Television, the university's TV station.[4] Her and Cooper created a magazine show called LS6. It won Best Light Entertainment Programme at the National Student Television Awards and Levine was voted Best On-Screen Female.

Levine spent some time working in Melbourne.[5] She moved to London in 2007.[4]

Career

In 2007, Levine and James Cooper presented Launch Pad for Bebo in collaboration with RDF digital, where they sent people's messages into space.[4][8]

In 2008, Levine co-presented the weekly teenage magazine show b-box with Cooper, streamed on Bebo.[4]

Television

Levine's first television role was for MTV in 2011,[9] hosting Celebrity Bites for .

From 2011–2013, Levine hosted Big Brother's Bit on the Side with Jamie East on Channel 5.[10] She was also the voice of Big Brother at this time.

Levine has presented coverage for awards including the Europe Music Awards for MTV, the Ivor Novellos Awards and the Isle Of Wight Festival for Sky Arts,[10] the BBC Young Writer's Awards.[11] In 2014, Levine hosted the Barclaycard Mercury Music Sessions and the Mercury Music Prize on Channel 4.[10] Levine has also presented music and arts coverage for a number of music awards and festivals including Glastonbury for the BBC, backstage at the BRIT Awards for ITV2 in 2017 and the BRITs Red Carpet in 2018,[12] Radio 1’s Big Weekend from Derry in May 2013 for BBC Three (co-hosted by Greg James),[10] LoveBox festival for Xbox in 2013.[10] She also hosted the “Red Bull Soapbox Race” live from Alexandra Palace for UKTV on Dave in the summer of 2013.[10]

Levine has also presented various music awards, including the AIM awards in 2015,[10][13] and the Women in Music awards (at least ten times).[14] She was also the red carpet and backstage host for the BAFTA Craft Awards and the BAFTA TV Awards in May of the same year.[15][16]

In 2018, Levine co-hosted a series of Channel 4's reality show, The Circle, with Maya Jama.

Broadcast from September to October 2020, Levine co-hosted the 15th series of the BBC Radio 4 programme The Museum of Curiosity alongside John Lloyd.[17]

Levine presented Levine on Love in 2017, a series for the BBC in which she explored the world of modern romance.[12][18]

Levine has appeared on many comedy shows, including Never Mind the Buzzcocks on BBC2, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled for Dave, Room 101, Travel Man with Richard Ayoade, QI, and Would I Lie to You?. In 2018, Levine was one of five contestants in the sixth series of the comedy game show Taskmaster.[19]

Sleeping with the Far Right (2019)

In February 2019, Channel 4 broadcast Sleeping with the Far Right, a film in which Levine lived for a week with British nationalist Jack Sen in Southport, Merseyside.[7][20] Sen was a former member of UKIP, which he was expelled from for an anti-Semitic tweet, and the BNP, from which he was suspended for his extremism.[21][22] He was born Dilip Sengupta to a half-Indian, half-South African father and English mother, grew up (aged seven to twenty) in America, and moved to the UK where he married a Ukrainian woman.[7][22] Levine said that "it’s not really a film about politics, it’s film about identity at the heart".[21] She stayed in the house with the director, and the production rented a house nearby in case there was any need for the team to remove themselves from the home.

Sex Actually with Alice Levine (2021–2023)

In September 2021, Levine presented the first series of the Channel 4 show Sex Actually with Alice Levine [originally titled Sex Odyssey], which was co-produced by documentary maker Louis Theroux and his production company Mindhouse.[23][24][25][20] It explored unconventional relationships across the world.[26] The first series covered 'cam' models (episode 1); BDSM (episode 2); and sex and wellness (episode 3). The second three-part series began airing on 27 February 2023.[20] It covered the integration of technology in sex (episode 1); multi-partner relationships (episode 2); and 'feedism' and 'gaining' (episode 3).[26] In 2023, Levine told Country & Town House that she was working with Theroux and Mindhouse on new documentary projects and ideas.[5]

Radio

BBC Radio 1 (2013–2020)

In January 2013, Levine joined BBC Radio 1 to present a show with Phil Taggart in the John Peel slot (10pm to midnight, Mondays to Thursdays).[27][10] In August 2014, she left her weeknight slot with Taggart to launch and present a solo weekend afternoon show on the station (1–4pm), taking over from Huw Stephens.[10][28]

On 15 July 2020, Levine announced in an Instagram post that she was leaving Radio 1 after nine years at the station.[29][30][31][32] Her last show was on 9 August 2020 after a series of three farewell shows.

Podcasting

My Dad Wrote a Porno (2015–2022)

Main article: My Dad Wrote a Porno

Levine is one of the three co-creators of the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno,[33] alongside Jamie Morton and James Cooper who met whilst studying at Leeds University.[6] It launched in September 2015 and ended in 2022 after 181 episodes.[34][35] Each episode of the podcast featured Morton reading a new chapter of Belinda Blinked, an amateur erotic novel series written by his father under the pen name Rocky Flintstone.[35][36] Morton, Cooper, and Levine reacted to the material and provided a running commentary.[8]

The podcast had shorter spin-off episodes called 'Footnotes', featuring a range of a-list names, such as Dame Emma Thompson, Lin Manuel Miranda and Michael Sheen.[37][36] Levine says she looks up to Julia Davis, and was very pleased when Davis and Vicky Pepperdine (as their characters Joan and Jericha) appeared on the podcast.[5]

The podcast had two world tours,[36] which included locations such as the Sydney Opera House,[9] Royal Albert Hall,[38] and Radio City Music Hall.[37] It also went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[35] In 2019, the team produced an HBO special based on their live show.[39]

Merchandise was created for the series.[8] The team (Levine, Morton, Cooper and Morton's father) also created a book, My Dad Wrote a Porno: The Fully Annotated Edition of Belinda Blinked, published in October 2016 by Quercus.

My Dad Wrote a Porno has been dubbed the "most successful podcast in British history".[37] It was given awards including the British Podcast Awards, and a Webby Award in 2019 in the comedy category.[40][41] It surpassed fifty million downloads worldwide in 2015,[35] and by the end of its final sixth series had reached 430 million downloads.[37] It was regularly at the top of the iTunes podcast chart.[35]

At the end of the series in 2022, the presenters said there would be something else to come out of this project,[36] but this has yet to materialise.

British Scandal (2021)

In April 2021, Levine began hosting Wondery true crime podcast British Scandal with Matt Forde, which tells the stories of British history.[34][42] The series was nominated for Best Entertainment Podcast and won The Spotlight Award at the British Podcast Awards in 2022.[43]

Other (2022–present)

In the 2022, Levine presented Very Modern Quests, a role-playing improv podcast released as an Audible Original.[44] The series featured participants such as Greg James, Joe Lycett and Phil Wang.

In 2024, Levine produced and presented The Price of Paradise, a true story based around 2002 TV show No Going Back, detailing the story of Jayne Gaskin, who bought a private island off Nicaragua.[12][45][46]

Levine co-founded and runs the Crossed Wires Podcast Festival, held in Sheffield, alongside producer Dino Sofos and Tramlines co-founder James O'Hara.[47][34][48] The first festival was supported by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, which provided £325,000 of funding for the event. In the second year, Greg James also joined as Creative Director.

Other work

In 2013, Levine co-founded a supper club, Jackson & Levine, with business partner Laura Jackson.[14][49] In 2014, the pair wrote a food column for Company magazine.[50] In 2015, they completed a Channel 4 Shorts series, My Pop-Up Restaurant.[51] In 2017, they produced a book, Round to Ours, published by Quadrille, which includes recipes used at their supper clubs.[49] They have collaborated on two ranges for Habitat: a range of table linens in 2017, and a range of ceramic tableware in 2018.

Awards and nominations

  • Best On-Screen Female, National Student Television Awards.[4]
  • 2015 – The Music Week Best Music Show Award for her solo weekend show on BBC Radio 1.[12][51]

Levine had a Nottingham City bus named after her.[52][53]

Filmography and broadcast history

Television

Year Title Channel Role Notes Ref
2010 Celebrity Bites MTV Presenter [9]
2011–2013 Big Brother's Bit on the Side Channel 5 Main weekend presenter with Jamie East [10]
2012–2013 The Hot Desk ITV2 Presenter [10]
2013 Crazy Beaches Narrator
Red Bull Soap Box Dave Co-presenter with Ed Leigh [10]
LoveBox festival coverage Xbox Presenter with Greg James [10]
2013–2019 Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Three Co-presenter with various
2014 Invasion of the Job Snatchers Narrator 1 series
Barclaycard Mercury Music Sessions Channel 4 Presenter [10]
Mercury Music Prize Presenter
2015 Girls Can Code Presenter 2 episodes
My Dad Wrote a Porno HBO Herself Special; also executive producer
My Pop-Up Restaurant Channel 4 Shorts series with Laura Jackson [51]
2015, 2017 Glastonbury Festival Presenter
2016 Debatable Panel member 4 appearances
Books That Made Britain Presenter
Bargain Hunt Contestant Children in Need special
Celebrity Advice Bureau Herself 3 episodes
2016–2017 Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled Panellist
2017 Levine on Love BBC Presenter 3 episodes [18]
2017–2019 Brit Awards Backstage presenter
2018 The Circle Channel 4 Co-presenter with Maya Jama
Taskmaster Channel 4 Contestant Series 6; Episodes 1–10 [19]
2019 Sleeping with the Far Right Channel 4 Presenter [7]
2021 Sex Actually with Alice Levine Channel 4 Presenter Series 1 [23]
2023 Series 2 [20]

Radio

Year Title Station Role Notes Ref
2013 – 2014 BBC Radio 1 Presenter with Phil Taggart [10]
2014 – 2020 [10]
2020 The Museum of Curiosity BBC Radio 4 Presenter with John Lloyd [17]

Podcasting

Year Title Network Role Notes Ref
2015 – 2022 My Dad Wrote a Porno Acast Co-creator, Presenter 181 episodes [33][34][35]
2021 British Scandal Wondery Presenter with Matt Forde [42]
2022 Very Modern Quests Audible Presenter [44]
2024 The Price of Paradise Presenter [45]

Personal life

Levine has lived in London most of her adult life.[5] She lives in East London.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wilson, Simon (1 June 2018). "Beeston's Alice Levine lands new role at Radio 1 as Nick Grimshaw quits". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  2. ^ Doyle, Dave (18 July 2021). "5 centuries of cool people from Nottingham". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  3. ^ DeFalco, Daniel (23 December 2024). "The 13 most famous celebrities who come from Nottingham". NottinghamWorld. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "How Alice Levine became an internet TV star with Bebo". The Mirror. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e Emily, Olivia (22 August 2023). "Alice Levine: 'Saying No Is Necessary To Stay Balanced' – Interview". Country and Town House. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  6. ^ a b Hind, John (23 February 2019). "Alice Levine: 'Living with a British nationalist for a week is like the weirdest French exchange ever'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d Mangan, Lucy (21 February 2019). "Sleeping With the Far Right review – could you move in with a man too racist for Ukip?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  8. ^ a b c d Sawyer, Miranda (16 October 2016). "My dad wrote a porno – and I turned it into a podcast". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d Rubenstein, Shelley (14 December 2023). "Alice Levine: 'Performing My Dad Wrote a Porno at Sydney Opera House was bonkers'". The Times. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "BBC Radio 1 - Alice Levine - Alice Levine". BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  11. ^ "BBC Radio 1 - Alice Levine, BBC Young Writers' Award Business". BBC. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  12. ^ a b c d "Alice Levine Agent & Speaker Bookings". Kruger Cowne. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  13. ^ Awbi, Anita (27 March 2015). "AIM announces 2015 Indie Music Awards". PRS for Music. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  14. ^ a b Geall, Lauren (3 November 2019). "Alice Levine on My Dad Wrote A Porno, imposter syndrome and more". Stylist. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  15. ^ Pavia, Lucy (10 February 2019). "LIVE: See the red carpet action at the BAFTA Nespresso Nominees' Party". The Standard. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Alice Levine | Keynote Speaker". AAE Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  17. ^ a b "Alice Levine to curate Radio 4's The Museum Of Curiosity". BBC. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  18. ^ a b "BBC - Levine On Love: Sex, Money and Toyboys". BBC. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Taskmaster – Series 6 Episode 1". Channel 4. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  20. ^ a b c d Geall, Lauren (23 February 2023). "Channel 4's Sex Actually: Alice Levine documentary returns for S2". Stylist. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  21. ^ a b "Sleeping with the Far Right: Interview with Alice Levine". Channel 4. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  22. ^ a b Sexton, David (21 February 2019). "Worlds collide as Alice Levine tries to understand the Far Right". The Standard. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  23. ^ a b "Channel 4 to embark on Sex Odyssey (w/t) with Alice Levine | Channel 4". Channel 4. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  24. ^ "Alice Levine to present new Channel 4 series Sex Odyssey". Royal Television Society. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  25. ^ Geall, Lauren (21 September 2021). "Channel 4's Sex Actually: Alice Levine's new doc starts this week". Stylist.
  26. ^ a b "Sex Actually with Alice Levine". Channel 4. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  27. ^ "Newsbeat – New shows announced for Radio 1 late evening slots". BBC. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Radio 1 announces new Rock Show". BBC. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
    - "Radio 1 and 1Xtra announce schedule changes". BBC. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  29. ^ Levine, Alice (15 July 2020). "thisisalicelevine post". Instagram. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  30. ^ "Alice Levine to leave Radio 1". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  31. ^ Cremona, Patrick. "Alice Levine quits BBC Radio 1 after nine years". Radio Times. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  32. ^ @thisisalicelevine; (15 July 2020). "End of an era 🎙📻🎙📻🎙📻🎙 I've decided it's the right time for me to hang up the headphones (not a thing) and say goodbye to Radio 1". Retrieved 30 December 2020 – via Instagram.
  33. ^ a b Ling, Thomas. "13 secrets of My Dad Wrote a Porno". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  34. ^ a b c d Bonet, Anna (12 July 2025). "Alice Levine: 'Early in my career I was so nervous - I wish I'd had more fun'". The i Paper. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Bearne, Suzanne (24 May 2017). "'I turned my dad's erotic novel into a hit podcast'". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  36. ^ a b c d Binley, Alex (12 December 2022). "My Dad Wrote A Porno: Hit podcast series comes to an end". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  37. ^ a b c d Lambert, Guy (28 September 2023). "My Dad Wrote a Porno enters podcasting Hall of Fame". Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  38. ^ Todd, Lucy (21 July 2018). "Your summer podcast guide: Why 2018 is the year of the 'podcast boom'". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  39. ^ "My Dad Wrote a Porno is heading to US TV". BBC News. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  40. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  41. ^ "Webby Underdogs: 9 Up-and-Comers That Took Home Big Webby Wins". The Webby Awards. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  42. ^ a b "Wondery to release its first UK originated podcast - PodcastingToday". Podcasting Today. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  43. ^ "Winners 2022". British Podcast Awards. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  44. ^ a b Anderton, Joe (23 June 2021). "Taskmaster's Alice Levine and Joe Lycett in hilarious new podcast". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  45. ^ a b "The Price of Paradise". Wondery. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  46. ^ Richardson, Hollie; Verdier, Hannah; Virtue, Graeme (18 April 2024). "Best podcasts of the week: How one woman's private paradise turned into her own personal hell". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  47. ^ "Crossed Wires: Podcast festival to be held in Sheffield". BBC. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  48. ^ "About Crossed Wires Festival". Crossed Wires. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  49. ^ a b Metcalfe, Elizabeth (19 October 2018). "Jackson & Levine's sellout collaboration with Habitat is restocked today". House & Garden. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  50. ^ "Laura & Alice #Food Column". Company. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  51. ^ a b c Morris, Sophie (4 December 2015). "Radio 1 DJ Alice Levine on saucy podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno". The Independent. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  52. ^ NCTBus (13 August 2016). Nottingham City Transport unveils the Alice Levine Bus. Retrieved 23 March 2026 – via YouTube.
  53. ^ "Alice Levine - Alice gets a bus named after her - BBC Sounds". BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.