{{Short description|British television presenter and film director}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Use British English|date=June 2011}} {{Infobox person |name = Tim Samuels |image = Tim Samuels.jpg |caption = Samuels during book launch in New York, 2019 |birth_name = Timothy David Samuels |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|10|3|df=yes}} |birth_place = Manchester, England |death_date = |death_place = |body_discovered = |death_cause = |resting_place = |known_for = {{Flat list| * Documentary filmmaking * broadcasting * journalism * writing }} |education = Manchester Grammar School University of St Andrews |occupation = Film director |parents = Sefton Samuels }} '''Timothy David Samuels''' (born 3 October 1975)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=timothy&lastname=samuels&eventyear=1975&eventyear_offset=0|title=Search Results for England & Wales Births 1837-2006}}</ref> is an English documentary filmmaker, author and broadcaster.<ref name="autogenerated2007">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/power_to_the_people/presenter/6596011.stm|title=Power to the People|publisher=BBC News online|date=8 May 2007|access-date= 8 May 2007| location=London }}</ref> His work is characterised by approaching serious topics in provocative and entertaining ways to produce hard-hitting documentaries.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/the-simon-round-interview/35671/interview-tim-samuels|title=Interview: Tim Samuels|publisher=Jewish Chronicle|date=15 July 2010|access-date=15 July 2010| location=London | first=Simon | last=Round}}</ref> Samuels formed older people's rock group The Zimmers for a BBC documentary and is a regular presenter on BBC television and radio in the UK and has reported around the world for US TV channel National Geographic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3665319/This-group-are-even-older-than-the-Stones.html|title=This group are even older than the Stones|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=24 May 2007|access-date= 24 May 2007| location=London | first=Helen | last=Brown}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He has been referred to as a younger British Michael Moore, but without the political agenda.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/tv-reviews/friday-november-6/2009/11/04/1257247648578.html|title=Hardcore Profits|publisher=The Age|date=6 November 2009|access-date= 6 November 2009| location=Melbourne | first=Michael | last=Lallo}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3649468/Todays-TV-and-radio-choices.html|title=Today's TV & Radio choices|date=19 January 2006|access-date= 19 January 2006| location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first1=Simon | last1=Horsford | first2=Matt | last2=Warman | first3=Gillian | last3=Reynolds}}</ref> Samuels has won three Royal Television Society awards and best documentary at the World Television Festival in Banff. <!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|right|200px|Tim Samuels|{{puic|1=Timsamuels4.jpg|log=2009 February 14}} -->
== Early life and education == Tim Samuels was born in Manchester, the son of photographer Sefton Samuels.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/arts/gallery/2007/sep/11/photography.art |title=Sod Carnaby Street |work=The Guardian |date=11 September 2007 |access-date= 11 September 2007| location=London }} </ref> Of part Romanian-Jewish descent,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-great-big-romanian-invasion-tv-review-documentary-maker-tim-samuels-went-further-than-nick-and-9613486.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-great-big-romanian-invasion-tv-review-documentary-maker-tim-samuels-went-further-than-nick-and-9613486.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The Great Big Romanian Invasion, TV review: Documentary-maker Tim |date=2014-07-18 |work=The Independent |language=en |access-date=2019-09-23 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>[http://heebmagazine.com/desperately-seeking-samuels/4655 Tim Samuels]</ref><ref>[http://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/the-simon-round-interview/35671/interview-tim-samuels Tim Samuels interview]</ref> he attended Manchester Grammar School and the University of St Andrews. Samuels' first foray in journalism came at the age of 13 when he interviewed his musical hero Morrissey, the former lead singer of The Smiths. The interview took place at the home of the then teenage Samuels.<ref name="autogenerated2007"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.morrissey-solo.com/content/interview/greenscene/index.html |title=Meat Is Murder |publisher=Morrissey Solo}}</ref> At the University of St Andrews he rebranded the student newspaper, ''The Chronicle'', as ''The Saint'', taking it on to win ''The Guardian'' Student Newspaper of the Year award. He supports Manchester City.
== Career ==
=== Early years === Samuels joined the BBC as a news trainee after university. He spent a number of years as an investigative correspondent for the programme Newsnight and the main evening news bulletin. Samuels reported from the United States to expose miscarriages of justice on death row<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2001/aug/04/weekend7.weekend12|title=Killing Time|work=The Guardian|date= 4 August 2001|access-date=4 August 2001| location=London | first=Tim | last=Samuels}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/aug/14/thelastchanceforjustice|title=The Last Chance for Justice|work=The Guardian|date= 14 August 2007|access-date=14 August 2007| location=London | first=Tim | last=Samuels}}</ref> and worked undercover in Northern Ireland to reveal new forms of racism against the Muslim community in Northern Ireland, earning Young Journalist of the Year in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McAteer |first=Ksenija Pavlovic |date=2016-05-29 |title=Tim Samuels: Who Stole My Spear? |url=http://thepavlovictoday.com/tim-samuels-who-stole-my-spear/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |website=The Pavlovic Today |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Television Journalism Awards 2001 {{!}} Royal Television Society |url=https://rts.org.uk/award/television-journalism-awards-2001 |access-date=2026-05-02 |website=rts.org.uk |language=en-gb}}</ref>
=== Documentaries and journalism === Samuels then moved to documentaries. In ''A Dirty Weekend in Hospital'' for the BBC's ''Mischief'' strand, he led a hundred victims of the MRSA superbug on an impromptu cleanup of ten of the worst hospitals in England.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article1921883.ece= |title=Tonight's TV |work=The Times |date=13 June 2007 |access-date=13 June 2007 |location=London |first=Paul |last=Hoggart }}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} </ref> The programme won Best Current Affairs Documentary at the World Television Festival in Banff in 2006. In the same year he also fronted a current affairs travelogue series around Europe.
In 2007, Samuels' series ''Power to the People'' aired on BBC Two. Yoko Ono gave her blessing for the John Lennon song to be used as the title and soundtrack. The series saw him seizing Trafalgar Square with a platoon of abandoned soldiers, bringing a dying village from Cornwall to annex London's Islington<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3665132/Last-night-on-television.html|title=Last night on television|date=24 May 2007|access-date= 15 May 2007| location=London | first=Michael | last=Deacon | work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> and forming a rock group made up of lonely old people, The Zimmers. The popstar pensioners, with a 90-year-old lead singer, covered The Who song "My Generation" which then broke into the UK charts, received more than 5 million YouTube hits and saw the band appear on NBC's ''The Jay Leno Show'' alongside George Clooney. The ''Great Granny Chart Invasion'' won Best Current Affairs documentary at the Royal Television Society awards in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/7871491/Alf-Carretta.html|title=Obituary: Alf Carretta|date= 4 July 2010|access-date= 4 July 2010| location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>
As part of the BBC's controversial "White Season", Samuels tackled mass immigration into Britain in ''The Poles Are Coming'', which examined the influx of Polish immigrants into the Peterborough area of England.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/12/lastnightstvthepolesarec|title=The Poles Are Coming!|work=The Guardian|date=12 March 2008|access-date= 12 March 2008| location=London | first=Sam | last=Wollaston}}</ref> In 2009, he presented a BBC Two series, ''Hardcore Profits'' which revealed the unexpected global human impact of the pornography industry in countries like Ghana, and the industry's move to the financial mainstream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6821632.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615143047/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6821632.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 June 2011|title=Tim Samuels' diary|work=The Times|date=5 September 2009|access-date= 5 September 2009| location=London | first=Tim | last=Samuels}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/aug/30/pornography-corporate-responsibility-developing-world|title=Africa Goes Hardcore|work=The Guardian|date=30 August 2009|access-date=30 August 2009| location=London | first=Tim | last=Samuels}}</ref>
The subject of war veterans was revisited by Samuels in ''Art For Heroes'', which showed the impact of art therapy in helping to heal the mental scars of war, and culminated in Samuels staging an exhibition of artwork created by veterans who were being treated by the charity Combat Stress.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/nov/10/going-for-gold-in-gaza|title=TV Highlights|work=The Guardian|date=11 November 2011|location=London | first=Andrew | last=Mueller}}</ref>
Samuels was a regular presenter on BBC Two's arts magazine show, ''The Culture Show''. On several occasions for the show, he has staged an alternative Man Booker Prize using the residents of the Scottish town of Comrie as judges.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v9gk0|title=Britain's Biggest Book Prize: A Village Decides}}</ref>
To mark thirty years of rock band The Smiths, he returned to the territory of his childhood interview with Morrissey, presenting ''Not Like Any Other Love: The Smiths'' for BBC Two.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01sjlmc|title=Not Like Any Other Love}}</ref>
Samuels continues to contribute provocative journalism to the ''Newsnight'' programme. The SNP complained after Samuels drove a car covered in the St George's Flag around Scotland during the 2006 World Cup, after England fans had been attacked for wearing their national shirts.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/07/stunt_attack.html|title=Stunt Attack}}</ref> In the ''Immigrant Song Contest'', Samuels satirised the Eurovision Song contest, with immigrants to the UK covering Eurovision entries. For ''Newsnight'', Samuels has repeatedly investigated the case of British businessman Krishna Maharaj who was jailed in Florida.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/tim-samuelss-diary-7728701.html|title=Tim Samuels's Diary|work=ES Magazine|date=11 May 2012|access-date=11 May 2012| location=London | first=Tim | last=Samuels}}</ref>
Samuels has made a number of documentaries for BBC Radio. For BBC 5 Live he created and fronted the men's magazine show ''Men's Hour'', the male counterpart to Radio 4's ''Woman's Hour''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/mens-hour-whats-there-to-talk-about-8dzvz63jvjb|title=Men's Hour? What's there to talk about? |work=The Times|date=12 July 2010|access-date= 12 July 2010| location=London |first=Damian |last=Whitworth}}</ref> His Radio 4 and World Service documentaries include ''Guerillas of Pop'', ''Running Away'', ''Find Me a New York Jewish Princess'', ''What Men Think'', ''Dr, Why?'', ''Men in Therapy'' and ''Tel Aviv Comes Out'' which won gold at the New York Festivals international radio awards. ''Tim Samuels' Sleepover: Inside the Israeli Hospital'' was nominated for radio documentary of the year at the Radio Academy ARIAS awards. Samuels presented ''I Wish I'd Written That'' on BBC Radio 2. His podcasts include ''All Hail Kale'', a wry look at wellness for the BBC, and ''White Men Can’t Work!'' – which critiqued the impact of DEI and its role in driving men towards populism.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wheeler |first=Caroline |date=2025-05-24 |title=White men ‘in pit of worry’ over doing or saying wrong thing at work |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/white-men-dei-worries-work-wtd207rn9 |access-date=2026-05-02 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 5 Live - All Hail Kale - Available now |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06wwsrk/episodes/player |access-date=2026-05-02 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>
A keynote event at the Danish TV Festival described Samuels as the "Benevolent Anarchist".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tvfestival.dk/english/program |title=Archived copy |access-date=18 January 2013 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213051/http://tvfestival.dk/english/program |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2013, the mental health charity Mind awarded Tim Samuels its Making A Difference award for his television and radio work – the first time it has been given to an individual.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/mind-media-awards/looking-back-at-the-mind-media-awards/2013-winners/|title=2013 winners {{!}} Mind, the mental health charity – help for mental health problems|website=www.mind.org.uk|access-date=2019-09-23}}</ref>
For BBC One, Samuels returned to the topic of immigration for his documentary ''The Great Big Romanian Invasion'', which investigated the panic surrounding the threatened mass influx of Romanians to the UK and included an exploration of his own background.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04b3t5m|title=BBC One – The Great Big Romanian Invasion|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-09-23}}</ref>
The National Geographic Channel announced Samuels had joined its new current affairs show ''Explorer'' as a global correspondent, reporting on US politics and covering stories in Australia, Pakistan, Iceland, Israel, Russia and Egypt.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/explorer-nat-geo-lou-wallach/|title=Nat Geo Sets New 'Explorer' Creative, Correspondent Teams|date=2016-07-12|website=TheWrap|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-23}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/explorer/ |title=Archived copy |website=National Geographic Society |access-date=31 December 2018 |archive-date=1 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101002830/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/explorer/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Samuels covered the October 7 attacks for The Free Press - reporting on the ground in the aftermath of the assault on Kibbutz Be'eri, meeting survivors and those who lost family members, as well as showing the impact on Palestinians in the West Bank.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Free Press |url=https://x.com/TheFP/status/1713233509387563487 |website=x.com}}</ref>
=== Writing === Samuels published his first book, ''Who Stole My Spear?'', a candid exploration of what it means to be a man and the state of masculinity today. Blending the autobiographical with journalistic and anthropological research, the book examined the plight of modern men – covering relationships, work, religion, mental health, fatherhood, pornography, and rites of passage.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2016/05/06/hunting-a-new-model-for-masculinity|title=Hunting a new model for masculinity|date=2016-05-06|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2019-09-23|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Samuels argued that, 'Trapped in bodies barely changed since caveman days, males are now contending with corporate culture, lifelong commitment, rampant depression and crazy expectations to be a success at work and home.'<ref>{{cite book|title=Who Stole My Spear?: Amazon.co.uk: Samuels, Tim: 9781780894997: Books |publisher= |date= |id={{ASIN|1780894996|country=uk}} }}</ref> He made the case for 'good masculinity' – a new way for men to connect with their innate nature and conditioning but in positive, contemporary ways. ''Who Stole My Spear?'' was serialised in ''The Sunday Times Magazine''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/article/how-to-be-a-21st-century-caveman-p902pg93g|title=How to be a 21st-century caveman|last=Rudd|first=Matt|website=The Times|language=en|access-date=2019-09-23}}</ref> An updated, US version was published as ''Future Man'' – with cover quotes from Helen Fielding and David Duchovny.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Future Man |url=https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/arcade-publishing/9781628729931/future-man/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |website=Arcade Publishing |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* Royal Television Society: Best Current Affairs Documentary (2008) * Royal Television Society: Best British News Story (2004) * Royal Television Society: Young Journalist of the Year (2002) * Banff World Television Festival: Best Current Affairs Documentary (2006) * Race in Media Awards: TV Journalist of Year (2005) * New York Festivals: World Medal (2004) * Amnesty International commendation (2005) * Mind Media Awards: Making A Difference award (2013) * New York Radio Festivals: Gold Medal (2014) * UK Radio Documentary of the Year - nominated (2017)
==See also== * ''The Abandoned Soldier''
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *http://www.timsamuels.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Tim}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:English television presenters Category:English documentary filmmakers Category:English non-fiction writers Category:English radio presenters Category:English people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:English people of Jewish descent Category:Journalists from Manchester Category:People educated at Manchester Grammar School Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews