Gary Bellamy presents Down the Line Radio 4's new phone-in programme.

For as long as he can remember, Gary Bellamy has been obsessed with talk radio.
"I used to pretend to host radio shows in my bedroom when I was meant to be doing my homework", Gary says, "and I used to record whole programmes on my tinny little cassette recorder."

When other kids were watching television, Gary would be listening to the radio.
"Radio is an amazing format", says Gary . "You can listen to the radio anywhere; while you're cooking, while you're doing the gardening, in bed, in the bath, in your car. As a kid I would tune in my old set to whatever radio stations I could find, the more obscure the better! I'd be listening to radio, literally, from all around the world. Sometimes I'd hear these foreign voices and not have a clue what they were talking about, but it made me think about other people, other cultures, and realize that there was all this amazing stuff going on in the world around us."

"Radio is a medium; anyone, anywhere, can listen to it. And I love talk radio most of all. I grew up listening to the likes of Robbie Vincent, Mike Allen and, of course, the great Brian Hayes on LBC. These people were my heroes, not footballers or pop stars. A good phone-in show is like a huge discussion in which anyone in the country can take part. That's what radio should be about - building a community."

Gary Bellamy began his radio career at Basildon Hospital at the tender age of 16, helping out on the hospital radio station - "On The Mend" - and occasionally filling in for the regular DJ. He went to do a BA in Media and Communication Studies at Brighton University, where he wrote his dissertation on the history of talk radio.

In Brighton he was very involved in the college radio scene and from there he went straight to the BBC where he served what he has called his 'apprenticeship', as a researcher on the Today programme. "You can say what you like about the BBC, but the standards are the best in the world. I learnt more in one week at Radio 4 than I did in three years at University."

It was a lucky break in 1995 that really kick-started Gary 's career, however. He decided to take a year out and see a bit more of the world.
"So many young kids today go straight from college into broadcasting, and they have nothing to bring to the table, no experience of the real world. People in England can be very insular. I guess it comes from living on an island."

His first port of call was Toronto and little did he know that his world tour would start and finish there. He had gone to stay with a friend from his Brighton days who was hosting a show on a small local independent rock station - ZFM - Gary stepped in to cover for him one night, taking calls from local rock fans.
"By the end of the show I realized that I hadn't played a single record and I thought I was going to get a rocket from the station manager."
But he was such a hit that instead he was offered his own slot. Thinking he might stay for a few weeks, Gary ended up at ZFM for two years, before graduating to Radio 1.

No - not BBC Radio 1, but CBC Radio 1 in Canada . His show - the Gary Bellamy Show - won three prestigious Molson awards for talk radio and transformed him into something of a local celebrity.

Much as he loved Canada , however, his heart was always in England and he wanted to return and prove himself here.
" Canada's a huge country with a small population", says Gary . "Whereas Britain is a tiny country with a huge population. Everyone wants to be a hero in their own home town. I am no exception."

He soon found, however, that whilst he may have been big in Canada he was completely unknown here. He had to start at the ground floor and climb his way back up again. He went to work for a number of stations in a backroom capacity, building up contact and trying to get his name talked about. (His stints included a short time at Virgin Megastore FM, Heart FM, Melody Radio, and he was at XFM while Ricky Gervais was there.)

But it proved to be a frustrating time for Gary and he was on the verge of quitting radio when he got a call from Radio 4. Matt Weston, who had been a fellow researcher on Today and was now a radio producer, remembered Gary as a lively and energetic character who always had something to say. Matt was putting together the first ever phone-in show for the channel and was looking for somebody very experienced who was also a fresh new voice for British radio. Gary seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
Says Matt: " Gary 's time in Canada has given him a broader worldview, and we feel that he can look at England and the English almost as an outsider."

We think you'll agree that Gary's is a unique and uniquely exciting voice, and that he's a welcome addition to the Radio 4 team.

We'll leave the final word to Gary ...
"And after a two year break from hosting my own show, I'm literally raring to go!"