This is Derbyshire --BBC Radio Derby's morning show presenter may be new to waking up at 5am but he's not new to our local station. Colin Bloomfield talks to Jill Gallone about taking over the prestigious role and his love for Derbyshire.
ANYONE who sets his alarm for 4.50am, starts work at 5.30am and manages more than an earthy grunt by 6am deserves a round of applause in my eyes.
One such man is Colin Bloomfield, the new breakfast show presenter at BBC Radio Derby.
Add to that the fact that he had the cheek to ask the Duke of Devonshire whether he'd ever considered cage fighting, has been sworn at by Gordon Ramsey and bounced back from a sporting spat with former Derby County captain Robbie Savage, and you have to admire this upbeat 31-year-old who has made his home in Derby.
There's a humbleness to him, too. When I point out that he has nearly 7,000 followers on Twitter he swiftly tells me: "They're all One Direction fans because Niall Horan follows me."
Boy band heart-throb Niall supports Derby County and, it turns out, follows Colin because he used to do Rams commentary for Radio Derby.
"I have met Niall and he got me tickets to a gig. When I did my last game covering Derby he tweeted me good luck. It got about 6,000 retweets and I picked up 300 new followers in a minute – all One Direction fans!"
The anecdotes come thick and fast and I have to smile because the first thing Colin says to me after we meet is: "I don't know what you're going to say about me.
"Basically, I get up very, very early, do my show, go to the gym, watch Neighbours and fall asleep."
That's understandable given the pressure of Colin's radio life. For three-and-a-half hours solid, from 6.30am, he takes the helm on BBC Radio Derby's flagship breakfast show and carries out a mind-boggling mix of interviews without let up.
"There is no music before 9am but I play four or five tracks afterwards until I come off air at 10am," says Colin, who was enticed back to Derby – where he has worked since 2004 – from a job in London to take on the morning presenter role.
"It's a very intense three-and-a-half hours. The adrenaline is pumping but I'd rather be on air than off air. My show is all about interaction with the audience.
"Afterwards, I stay at the studios until 1.30pm, researching stories for the next day."
Compare this job, if you will, to Chris Evans' morning show on Radio Two or Simon Bates on Smooth Radio. Their chatter is interspersed with a vast array of music.They get time for a breather or a slurp of coffee. Not Colin.
In the half hour it takes me to drive to work on the morning we meet he juggles news, travel updates, weather, an intense interview with a woman from Buxton who claims she has found out through hypnosis she shot her former business partner and handles a phone interview with the Duke of Devonshire and artist Emma McGuire about her cage fighting photography display at Chatsworth. "Is it art?" Colin asks her in an amenable way. I had that rather cheeky question on my mind, too. Colin finishes by asking the Duke of Devonshire if he has ever considered cage fighting.
The question is only asked in jest, of course. Colin has the knack of getting away with it.
"Oh, things like that don't bother me," he smiles, "though I did say to the producer after the show, 'should I have asked the Duke that?'"
It's no wonder the BBC put off my interview with Colin from 10.30am to 11am, to give him time to catch his breath. They also sent a PR officer from Birmingham to sit in on the interview. The Beeb is ultra-sensitive about its image. Jimmy Savile and co have a lot to answer for. But that was irrelevant to my interview. I want to shine the spotlight on what I believe is a very valuable asset, local radio, and find out what makes Colin tick.
He comes across as supremely confident and slick, yet confesses he tries not to think about the fact that he is broadcasting to 40-50,000 people. "You know, I can't do public speaking," he admits. "I get asked to lots of engagements but the thought of it turns me to jelly. I'm fine when it's just me in the studio in front of the microphone."
While the familiarity of his voice soothes listeners across the county, much of his working life is spent alone in his studio – just him and his mic.
"If I went straight home after work, and hadn't arranged to see friends later, I might not speak to anyone until work the next day."
You will gather from this that Colin is not married. "I'm young, free and single, though I have reached the age where all my friends are settling down."
You could say he's married to the job. You have to be to a certain extent. In his nine years at Radio Derby, he has worked through the ranks doing everything from manning the radio car to reading the news or being dispatched into the city to find a celebrity.
"We heard a rumour that Gordon Ramsey was in Derby so they sent me out to try to find him," recalls Colin with a pained expression.
"I was sent out on a wild goose chase. After about two hours of walking into shops and asking people in the street if they had seen him, I found him in the Walkabout bar. I went over and introduced myself.
"It turned out he was filming Kitchen Nightmares at La Gondola in Derby. I asked him if we could do a piece on it and he agreed.
"We did it and afterwards he said, "Get the 'f' out of my kitchen, we are done now'. He said it in a nice way but I tell people Gordon Ramsey has sworn at me."
Colin loves people and admits to being a news junkie. He's a grafter, too. Before he left school he worked as supermarket shelf-stacker – a job he liked due to the camaraderie – and admits he was sacked from McDonald's.
Thankfully, his radio career has been more successful. Before briefly leaving Radio Derby earlier this year he had been doing the 4-7pm Drive show, Sportscene and covering Derby County matches home and away.
"I came here after completing a journalism degree at Preston University but had plenty of radio experience before that. Once upon a time, my dad, Lawrie, was a boss at BBC Radio Shropshire and he used to take me into work with him when I was quite small. I'd watch programmes being made and sit in the newsroom. I got away with it because I was the boss's son."
Colin was hooked on radio and, when career choices beckoned, it was the obvious one. "I got lots of freelance work as a news and sports journalist at Radio Shropshire and also worked at Radio Leeds, WM and Stoke. After getting my degree, I sent off begging letters to radio stations. Radio Derby got back to me, I came here for a day and I've been here ever since."
Colin wanted to spread his wings in London and went there in January to work in BBC radio news production. "It was great. I started work at 5am and travelled into the office past Big Ben. London is very exciting. Then the opportunity came to take on the breakfast show at Radio Derby.
"I knew Phil Trow [the former morning presenter] was leaving. Management got in touch with me. I was enjoying life in London but it's a prestigious show and I decided to go for it."
Fortunately, Colin had kept his house in Derby city centre, which he bought in 2007, so it was easy to make the move back. He originates from the village of Montford Bridge, in Shropshire, so the slower pace of life in Derby – "it's more like a town"– and the beauty of Chatsworth and the Peak District are something he has always enjoyed.
"I go back home a lot to see my friends and family. This week my parents are coming to see me. They always sort out my garden. It's a mess!"
It seems Colin is not green-fingered, nor does he confess to Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen decor flair. Fortunately his dad, Lawrie, who is approaching 80, and mum Alison like gardening.
"I'm an only child," says Colin. "My dad didn't have me until he was 48 after being told he could never have children. I suppose I was a bit of a miracle baby. mum wanted two boys but was very ill after she had me so it never happened."
No doubt they are proud of their only son. Right now he's working his socks off to make the morning show on BBC Radio Derby a success. Before we wind up the interview, he can't resist playing me his radio bloopers, stomach-churning moments when he "accidentally" swore on radio.
One thing he'd rather forget was a well-publicised spat with Robbie Savage when the Rams were going through a rough patch and the retired midfielder was team captain.
"It followed a comment made by Colin Gibson but I was embroiled in it. It was pretty unpleasant at the time. To be fair to Robbie Savage, he was fine about it afterwards. We spoke about it off-air and put it behind us."
Now he's getting used to being a morning person – but is he?
"I have to be. That's the job. Whatever is going on in your life, you have to perform. I might fancy an extra half hour in bed but, once you start the show, your own life is forgotten." Reported by This is 1 day ago.