Nigel Rees

Nigel Rees is a British writer and broadcaster, best known as deviser and presenter of BBC Radio’s Quote ... Unquote program which began its long run over 35 years ago. He is a leading authority on quotations and other well-known phrases and sayings, is a past President of the Lichfield Dr Johnson Society and was recently described by The Spectator as ‘Britain’s most popular lexicographer’.

Born near Liverpool in 1944, Nigel took a degree in English at Oxford and then went straight into television with Granada in Manchester. He made his first TV appearances on local shows in 1967 before moving to London as a freelance. He reported for ITN’s News at Ten and then became presenter of a wide range of programs for BBC Radio – news, current affairs, arts and entertainment – including two years on the breakfast-time Today show.

He is the author of more than fifty books – mostly devoted to popular aspects of the English language and especially the humour that derives from it. His most recent titles include: A Word In Your Shell-Like: 6,000 Curious & Everyday Phrases Explained and Brewer’s Famous Quotations: 5,000 Quotations and the Stories Behind Them. He is currently publishing e-books under the series title The Best Guide to –––––– , including Humorous Quotations and Movie Quotes.