{{short description|British actor, writer, TV and radio presenter}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Alexis Conran | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Paris, France<ref name="RealHustle1">{{cite web|title=The Real Hustle – Alexis Conran|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/realhustle/meetthehustlers/alexisconran.shtml|publisher=BBC|accessdate=27 June 2017|language=en|date=6 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="CurtisBrown">{{cite web|title=Alexis Conran profile|url=https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/alexis-conran|website=Curtis Brown|accessdate=27 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="Discovery"/> | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Actor, writer, TV and radio presenter | website = {{URL|http://www.alexisconran.com/}} | spouse = Cosima Shaw (?–present)<ref name="Twitter1">{{cite web|last1=Conran|first1=Alexis|authorlink1=Alexis Conran|title=This looks great!!! .... and the Mrs is in it! @CosimaShaw|url=https://twitter.com/alexisconran/status/759415777929916417|via=Twitter|accessdate=27 June 2017|language=en|date=30 July 2016}}</ref> | children = }} '''Alexis Conran''' is a British actor, writer and presenter on TV and radio, who currently hosts the weekend afternoon show on Times Radio and a number of consumer advice programmes for 5. He is also known for co-hosting the BBC Three show ''The Real Hustle'' from 2006 until 2012.
He was born in south Paris, France, and moved to Greece when he was a child. Conran won ''Celebrity Masterchef'' 2016 on 29 July, beating Louise Minchin and Jimmy Osmond in the final.<ref name="CurtisBrown"/><ref name="Telegraph1">{{cite web|last1=McAloon|first1=Jonathan|title=Celebrity MasterChef 2016: Alexis Conran is the champion, Jimmy Osmond became cool and everything that happened in the final|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/07/29/alexis-conran-is-celebrity-masterchef-2016-champion--and-how-jim/|website=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=27 June 2017|language=en|date=30 July 2016}}</ref>
==Early life== Conran was born in Paris to a father who was a gambling addict and started to get into debt. He turned to crime and became a thief and conman, eventually getting arrested. When Conran was seven years old, his parents divorced. He was then raised by his mother with the help of her parents.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gambling and Me: The Real Hustler – Alexis Conran |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcthree/2012/03/gambling-and-me-the-real-hustler-alexis-conran.shtml |accessdate=23 March 2012 }}</ref><ref name="RealHustle1"/><ref name="CurtisBrown"/><ref name="Discovery"/> He is of Greek heritage.<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/celebrity-masterchef-champion-alexis-conran-8527901.amp Celebrity Masterchef champion Alexis Conran dismisses clean eating 'trend']</ref>
Aged 16, he moved to London to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.<ref name="RealHustle1"/><ref name="CurtisBrown"/><ref name="Discovery">{{cite web|title=About Alexis Conran {{!}} Man v Expert {{!}} Shows|url=http://www.discoveryuk.com/shows/man-v-expert/about-alexis-conran/|website=Discovery UK|accessdate=27 June 2017|language=en-gb}}</ref>
==Career== In 2000, Conran starred in the music video for Blockhead's "Insomniac Olympics", directed by Sam Arthur.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}. Later that year he had a minor role in the TV miniseries ''Arabian Nights'', playing Prince Ali.<ref>{{IMDb name|nm0175773}} Last accessed 22 March 2012.</ref>
His stage work includes ''Excuses!'' in 2003. {{Citation needed|date=March 2012}} In 2003, he was a member of a team of experts advising the writers and actors of the hit BBC series ''Hustle'',<ref name="Discovery"/> which he later co-wrote and presented (confidence trickster) on the follow-up 2006–2012 hit series ''The Real Hustle'' on BBC Three.<ref name="Telegraph2">{{cite web|title=Who is on Celebrity MasterChef 2016? The full line-up and verdict so far|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/news/celebrity-masterchef-2016-the-full-line-up-revealed/alexis-conran0/|website=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=27 June 2017|language=en|date=6 July 2016}}</ref> In 2015 he starred in the show ''Man v Expert'' on the Discovery Channel, in which he used various tricks to try to beat experts in their own field of expertise.<ref name="CurtisBrown"/> In 2013 Conran wrote and presented ''Hustling America'' for Channel 5 and National Geographic, which was similar to ''The Real Hustle''.<ref name="Telegraph2"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alexisconran.com/presenter-4|title=Presenter|website=alexisconran.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915113553/http://www.alexisconran.com/presenter-4|archive-date=15 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
He has helped the Office of Fair Trading show consumers how to avoid becoming the victim of a fraud,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/magazine/4685868.stm|title=How to stay off the suckers' list |date=7 February 2006 |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2008-09-27}}</ref><ref name="CurtisBrown"/> and is a regular presenter of consumer advice shows for Channel 5, with titles such as ''Scams: Don't Get Caught Out''<ref>{{cite web | title=No access outside UK | url=http://www.channel5.com/scams-don-t-get-caught-out }}</ref> and ''Electric Cars: Which One Should You Buy?''.<ref>{{cite web | title=No access outside UK | url=https://www.channel5.com/show/electric-cars-which-one-should-you-buy }}</ref>
His other television roles include 2 episodes he starred in season 5 of the show ''Waking the Dead'', as Michael Sherman.<ref>{{cite web |title=Waking the Dead: Season 5, Episode 5 |publisher=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0743369/ |accessdate=23 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Waking the Dead: Season 5, Episode 6 |publisher=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1167297/ |accessdate=23 March 2012 }}</ref> He appeared in the TV show ''Wire in the Blood''. He also starred in a TV advert for Zovirax cold sore cream.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mikhailova |first=Anna |title=I had a reckless spell – and my cash vanished |newspaper=The Times|language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/money/article/i-had-a-reckless-spell-and-my-cash-vanished-szz55g2kh |access-date=2022-08-08 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In 2013 he appeared in the Channel 4 show ''[http://www.channel4.com/programmes/eye-spy/ Eye Spy]'' and in August 2015 he presented the Channel 5 morning show ''The Wright Stuff'' whilst the host was on holiday.
Conran played the role of Dr Petridis in ITV's ''The Durrells''.
In 2016, he co-presented ''The Joy of Techs'' with his best friend, Marcus Brigstocke.<ref name="UKTV">{{cite web|title=Alexis Conran teaches Marcus Brigstocke the Joy of Techs {{!}} News|url=https://corporate.uktv.co.uk/news/article/alexis-conran-teaches-marcus-brigstocke-joy-techs/|website=UKTV Corporate|accessdate=27 June 2017|language=en|date=6 September 2016}}</ref>
He was ''Celebrity MasterChef'' Champion 2016.
Conran presented Radio Hustles on Talkradio, a consumer affairs based talk show which aired from 1 pm to 3 pm on Saturdays. From 20 January 2018 to June 2020, the show changed from being consumer affairs based to being a news phone-in discussion programme, still presented by Conran, with the new airtime of 4pm to 7pm on Saturdays. He also presented a Sunday morning political programme until June 2020, when he left the station for Times Radio.
Since July 2020, he has presented a show on Times Radio between 1-4pm on Saturday and Sunday.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/06/launch-date-and-schedule-revealed-for-times-radio/|title=Launch date and schedule revealed for Times Radio|work=RadioToday|last=Lerone|first=Toby|date=2 June 2020|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref>
In 2023, he became the regular presenter of ''Alexis Conran and Friends'', a programme on Channel 5 which followed on from similar programmes in the morning with Jeremy Vine and Storm Huntley. In 2025, when ''Vanessa'' with Vanessa Feltz took over the slot where ''Alexis Conran and Friends'' was, Conran could be still seen on 5 as one of the regular cover presenters for these shows, along with Matt Allwright.<ref>https://www.atvtoday.co.uk/252681-ch4/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2025}}</ref>
In February 2025 it was announced that Conran would be "stepping away" from Times Radio.
==Personal life== Conran is a technophile.<ref name="UKTV"/> He is a collector of playing cards, owning over 5,060 decks and spends an hour each day practising card tricks. He has a daughter, Thalia (born 2006).<ref name="Discovery"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.alexisconran.com/ Alexis Conran] Official site. *[http://magicians.co.uk/performers/alexis-conran.html Magicians.co.uk – Alexis Conran] *{{IMDb name|0175773}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conran, Alexis}} Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:British male television actors Category:British magicians Category:British television presenters Category:British writers Category:English people of French descent Category:English people of Greek descent Category:French people of Greek descent Category:Greek people of French descent Category:British gamblers Category:French gamblers Category:Greek gamblers Category:Living people Category:Reality cooking competition winners Category:Year of birth missing (living people)