# Andrew Collins (broadcaster)
**Andrew Collins** is an English writer, journalist and broadcaster, born in Northampton, known as a former editor of *Q* and *Empire* magazines, the Film Editor of *Radio Times*, a BBC radio presenter, and the co-writer of the BBC1 sitcom *Not Going Out* with [Lee Mack](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-mack).[1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/andrewcollins) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) His career has moved repeatedly between music journalism, magazine editing, radio presenting, television criticism, and comedy scriptwriting.[4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Northampton, England[1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins) |
| First journalism | NME, where his first published piece was a film review of the yachting thriller *Masquerade*, starring Rob Lowe[5](https://www.thevpme.com/reviews/andrew-collins/) |
| Magazine editing | Editor of *Q* and *Empire*[2](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/andrewcollins) |
| Signature sitcom | *Not Going Out* (BBC1), co-written with Lee Mack; won the Rose d'Or for Best Sitcom and the Royal Television Society Breakthrough Award[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) |
| Radio | BBC 6 Music (2003–2007), Radio 1's *Collins & Maconie's Hit Parade* (Sony Gold award), Radio 4's *Back Row* and *Banter*, Radio 2's *The Day The Music Died* (six series)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) • [1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins) |
| Current roles | Film Editor of *Radio Times*; presenter of *Saturday Night at the Movies* on Classic FM[6](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/andrew-collins/21727) |
| Books | Three memoirs, Billy Bragg's official biography *Still Suitable For Miners*, and *Gogglebook: The Wit and Wisdom of Gogglebox*[4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins) • [6](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/andrew-collins/21727) |
## Journalism and magazine editing
Collins started his career at the NME in the period when its staff included Steve Lamacq, Paul Morley, Stuart Maconie, Mary Ann Hobbs and Barbara Ellen.[5](https://www.thevpme.com/reviews/andrew-collins/) He has described the moment he considered himself a music journalist as the first time his words appeared in the NME with his name at the end; the piece was a film review of *Masquerade*.[5](https://www.thevpme.com/reviews/andrew-collins/) From there his magazine career ran through *Select*, where he worked during the grunge era, to editing *Q* during the Britpop years, and then *Empire*.[4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins)
His prose writing has appeared in the *Guardian*, GQ, the *New Statesman*, *Word*, *The Times*, the *Observer* and *Radio Times*.[7](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/) • [1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins) He has held the post of Film Editor at *Radio Times* across this later career phase, and in 2008 was described in an *Independent* profile as its film editor alongside his comedy writing.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-an-education-in-the-life-of-andrew-collins-writer-and-broadcaster-806686.html)
## Radio
Collins was one of the original presenters on BBC 6 Music, part of the network's launch line-up in 2003, and presented various shows on the station until 2007; he has since returned as a stand-in presenter, often covering breakfast shows.[5](https://www.thevpme.com/reviews/andrew-collins/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) • [4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins) With his fellow ex-NME journalist Stuart Maconie he won a Sony Gold Award for Radio 1's *Collins & Maconie's Hit Parade*, and the pair co-presented the ITV film review show *Collins & Maconie's Movie Club*.[1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins) Their radio comedy *Fantastic Voyage*, a six-part series on Radio Five first broadcast in 1993, earned a Writers Guild nomination and a BBC commission for a non-broadcast television pilot.[9](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/not_going_out/interviews/andrew_collins/)
His other radio work includes hosting Radio 4's weekly film program *Back Row*, fronting the topical comedy series *The Day The Music Died* on Radio 2 for six series, and the panel game *Banter* on Radio 4.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-an-education-in-the-life-of-andrew-collins-writer-and-broadcaster-806686.html) He currently presents *Saturday Night at the Movies* on Classic FM each Saturday.[6](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/andrew-collins/21727)
## Comedy writing
Collins moved into scriptwriting through BBC radio, which led to lengthy engagements on the soaps *Family Affairs* on Channel 5, where he was one of the first scriptwriters and worked for three years, and *EastEnders* on BBC1, where he was a regular writer for another three years.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) • [7](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/)
His sitcom work centers on four series. *Grass*, an eight-part sitcom co-written with Simon Day of The Fast Show, aired on BBC2 in 2003.[1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins) • [7](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/) *Not Going Out*, which he helped create and write with its star Lee Mack, began as a development for BBC2 before moving to BBC1 and won the Rose d'Or for Best Sitcom and the RTS Breakthrough Award; Avalon's profile calls it the longest-running sitcom on television.[7](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/) He co-created and wrote *Gates* for [Sky Living](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-living) with a storylining team that included [Jennifer Saunders](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-saunders), and his first solo sitcom, *Mr Blue Sky*, a semi-autobiographical comedy starring Mark Benson and [Rebecca Front](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebecca-front), ran for two series on BBC Radio 4.[7](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/) • [10](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/andrew_collins_mr_blue_sky_interview/) He has also worked as a script editor on *Man Down*, *Badults* and *Drifters*, and did script development on *The Inbetweeners 2*.[11](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/andrew_collins/)
## Television criticism and presenting
From 2015 to April 2016 Collins filmed a weekly television review video for *The Guardian* called *Telly Addict*, signing off after 249 editions with a roundup of his favorite shows of the previous five years.[4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins) • [12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/series/andrew-collins-telly-addict) On screen he has guested on *The One Show*, fronted the [BBC Four](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-four) documentary *The Making of Life On Mars*, appeared as a contestant on *Celebrity Mastermind*, and anchored [BBC Radio 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-1)'s live coverage of the Brits and the [Mercury Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-prize).[7](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/) He also chairs screenings and question-and-answer sessions, including premieres for *Peaky Blinders* and *Black Mirror*, and appears regularly at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.[13](https://avaloncorporate.events/artists/andrew-collins/)
With the comedian [Richard Herring](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-herring) he co-presented a weekly podcast that ran for several years and drew a substantial following; listeners to BBC 6 Music named the Collins and Herring podcast among their favorites in the BBC Trust's 2009 public consultation on Radio 2 and 6 Music.[10](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/andrew_collins_mr_blue_sky_interview/) • [14](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/our_work/r2_6music/r2_6mus_consultation.pdf)
## Books
Collins is the author of three volumes of memoir, *Where Did It All Go Right?* (Ebury Press, 2004), *Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now* and *That's Me in the Corner*, which trace his childhood in [Northampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/northampton) and his media career from the NME through *Select* and *Q*.[4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins) • [15](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/343109/where-did-it-all-go-right-by-andrew-collins/9780091894368) *Where Did It All Go Right?* draws on the diary he has kept since the age of five and takes its premise from having had, by his own account, a genuinely happy childhood.[15](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/343109/where-did-it-all-go-right-by-andrew-collins/9780091894368) He is also the official biographer of the musician [Billy Bragg](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-bragg), with the biography *Still Suitable For Miners*, and wrote *Gogglebook: The Wit and Wisdom of Gogglebox*.[4](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins) • [6](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/andrew-collins/21727)
He is married and lives in London.[1](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins)
## References
1. [Andrew Collins, Melbourne University Publishing](https://www.mup.com.au/authors/andrew-collins)
2. [Andrew Collins, The Guardian author profile](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/andrewcollins)
3. [Andrew Collins (III), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1112940/)
4. [Andrew Collins, Ace Records](https://acerecords.co.uk/features/top-10s/andrew-collins)
5. [Know Your NME: Andrew Collins Interview, The VPME](https://www.thevpme.com/reviews/andrew-collins/)
6. [Andrew Collins, Pan Macmillan](https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/andrew-collins/21727)
7. [Andrew Collins, Avalon](https://avalonuk.com/clients/andrew-collins/)
8. [Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Andrew Collins, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-an-education-in-the-life-of-andrew-collins-writer-and-broadcaster-806686.html)
9. [Andrew Collins interview, Not Going Out, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/not_going_out/interviews/andrew_collins/)
10. [Circuit Training 32: Blue-Sky Thinking with Andrew Collins, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/live/circuit_training/andrew_collins_mr_blue_sky_interview/)
11. [Andrew Collins (I), British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/andrew_collins/)
12. [Andrew Collins: telly addict, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/series/andrew-collins-telly-addict)
13. [Book Andrew Collins, Avalon Corporate Events](https://avaloncorporate.events/artists/andrew-collins/)
14. [BBC Trust, Service review of Radio 2 and 6 Music, Analysis of public consultation (2009)](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/our_work/r2_6music/r2_6mus_consultation.pdf)
15. [Where Did It All Go Right?, Penguin](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/343109/where-did-it-all-go-right-by-andrew-collins/9780091894368)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Broadcaster communities and identity groupings › European broadcasters by nationality*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license