{{Short description|British radio presenter}} {{More footnotes needed|date=May 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Ian Skelly''' is a British broadcaster, filmmaker and writer, who is best known as a BBC radio presenter. Born in Manchester, he grew up in West Lancashire and studied at Birmingham City University.
==Broadcasting career== Skelly began his broadcasting career in 1981 in Lancashire at the new commercial radio station for the county, Red Rose Radio, and later at BBC Radio Blackburn, now BBC Radio Lancashire, before moving to the BBC in Birmingham where he became a news reporter. He went on to present daily radio shows for the BBC in Leicester, Nottingham, Shrewsbury and Derby with spells as a television reporter in the East Midlands of England, before moving to London in 1993 to join BBC Radio 3 <ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC Radio 3 - Essential Classics - Ian Skelly|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2t2JmJ7d2KPVQ7zpfrzrpbc/georgia-mann|access-date=2020-07-17|website=BBC|language=en-GB}}</ref>. He regularly presents Radio 3 in Concert, the station's evening concert strand, the ''BBC Proms'' and has hosted all of the main daytime shows - Breakfast, the Afternoon live music strands and ''In Tune''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ian Skelly replaces Rob Cowan on BBC Radio 3 |url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/12/ian-skelly-replaces-rob-cowan-on-bbc-radio-3/ |website=Radio Today |date=6 December 2017 |accessdate=9 August 2018}}</ref> In 2018, he became presenter of the morning show ''Essential Classics''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ian Skelly to join Suzy Klein on Essential Classics |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/ian-skelly-essential-classics |publisher=BBC |accessdate=9 August 2018}}</ref> In March 2021 he moved to the afternoon strand to help revamp ''Afternoon Concert''.<ref name=R3changes>{{Cite web|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2021/03/daytime-schedule-changes-planned-for-bbc-radio-3/|title = Daytime schedule changes planned for BBC Radio 3|date = 15 March 2021}}</ref> In April 2024 he returned to the mid morning slot, Essential Classics.
==Writing== in 1989 Skelly was named the Observer newspaper's Young Travel Writer of the Year after an article he wrote about the detrimental environmental impact of so-called 'Green Tourism' in Queensland, Australia. He continued to write travel articles for the newspaper for several years after that.
In 2010, Skelly co-authored with Charles, Prince of Wales and Tony Juniper, ''Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World'',<ref>{{multiref2 |1={{cite news |first=John |last=Gray |title=Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World, By HRH The Prince of Wales with Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/harmony-a-new-way-of-looking-at-the-world-by-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-with-tony-juniper-and-ian-2112937.html |website=The Independent |date=21 October 2010 |accessdate=9 August 2018 |archive-date=9 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809225353/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/harmony-a-new-way-of-looking-at-the-world-by-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-with-tony-juniper-and-ian-2112937.html |url-status=live }} |2={{cite web |first=Mark |last=Hedges |title=Prince Charles: my countryside heroes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/10432364/Prince-Charles-my-countryside-heroes.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=9 November 2013 |accessdate=9 August 2018 }} |3={{cite news |title=Prince Charles co-authors Ladybird climate change book |work=BBC News |date=15 January 2017 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38627650 |accessdate=9 August 2018 }}}}</ref> a comprehensive exploration of the then Prince's ideas and philosophy. In 2026 the book was re-issued with a new foreword written by Skelly and Juniper, by which time Charles had become King Charles III. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/harmony-a-new-way-of-looking-at-our-world-his-majesty-king-charles-iii-when-hrh-the-prince-of-walestony-juniperian-skelly?variant=56034389819771 |title=Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World |website=HarperCollins}}</ref>
In 2024-25 Skelly worked as an advisor on a new film commissioned by Amazon Prime and MGM which was released in January 2026 and made available in 240 territories: Finding Harmony: A King's Vision, which was based on the original book and charted the book's influence in many sectors around the world.<ref>{{cite web |website=Amazon Prime |url=https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/king-charles-documentary-finding-harmony-prime-video |title=Watch the trailer for King Charles documentary ‘Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision,' coming to Prime Video }}</ref> Skelly appears in the film several times.
==References== <references />
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.ianskelly.co.uk}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelly, Ian}} Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Alumni of Birmingham City University Category:BBC Radio 3 presenters Category:English television presenters Category:Mass media people from Lancashire Category:Mass media people from Manchester Category:Writers from Lancashire Category:Writers from Manchester