Watch Gideon's show manifesto

After a glittering three-month career in local government and three months spent freezing to death in Cricklewood while applying for inappropriate jobs advertised in the Media Guardian, Gideon found work as a sports broadcaster. He's never forgotten the kind souls who gave him his first breaks. Not that he talks to them anymore.

After joining BBC GLR in 1994 as the kindly sportscaster on the Breakfast show, his ruthless ambition - coupled with a few people leaving - led to his taking over joint-presentation duties. He won a Sony Award in 1995 and another in 1999 for the Sports show. His hat-trick of Sonys was completed at 6music in 2003. Two are bronze, one is gold.

Gideon has presented shows on Five Live and Radio 4 where he is a regular guest on Loose Ends. A varied TV career, taking in VH1 and a terrifying live show on Sky One, has recently centred on voiceovers. Mainly for Channel Five. And mainly for shows about Martial Arts. He's an occasional contributor to the Guardian, though not the Media section.

He lives in West London, supports Tottenham, and is hoping someone buys him the Laurel and Hardy Boxset.

First record you bought?
Opinions differ but the official answer is This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both Of Us by Sparks. Unofficially it's Bugs Bunny's Do The Bunny Hop.

Best Gig?
Orbital at Glastonbury in 1994;  Flaming Lips at the Forum Kentish Town; Go-Betweens at Shepherd's Bush Empire. One of those three.

Six records you couldn't live without
* Sandinista by The Clash;
* Nashville Skyline by Bob Dylan;
* Hope And Adams by Wheat;
* A Walk Across The Rooftops by Blue Nile;
*  The Harder They Come OST;
* Power, Corruption And Lies by New Order.

The truth is I couldn't live without any of my records. Even the one by Molly Half Head.

First record you ever played on the radio?
I have no idea - was it Flowers In The Rain?

A record that makes you laugh?
Master And Servant by  Depeche Mode closely followed by Shed 7's She Left Me On A Friday. Equally ridiculous records.

A record that sounds better in the dark?
Belfast by Orbital.

A song you wish you'd written?
I wish I'd written the middle 8 to  Joe Jackson's Is She Really Going Out With Him?

Soundtrack for a long car journey?
The whole of Exile On Main Street  ( Rolling Stones),  Public Enemy'sFear Of A Black Planet, anythingby the Loft, some Robyn Hitchcock, Wish You Were Here  ( Pink Floyd),  Joni Mitchell'sBlue, Bohemian Rapsody ... How far are we going?

Check out the Gideon Coe Appreciation Society (GCAS) on Facebook!*
*Duffers beware: you need to be a member of Facebook to join this group.