Iain Lee

Iain Lee (born Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973) is an English former broadcaster, writer, and television presenter and stand-up comedian who hosts the phone-in talk show The Late Night Alternative on "pay to view" Patreon.

Iain Lee Rougvie was born on 9 June 1973 in Slough, then a part of Buckinghamshire.

He has Scottish roots.

Lee's father worked at the props department at the BBC and his mother was a secretary until she developed multiple sclerosis which put her into an early retirement.

The couple divorced when Lee was a youngster.

Lee was raised on a council estate and recalled being bullied by fellow pupils because they considered him posh.

Lee's career began in the 1990s as a stand-up comedian before he gained nationwide fame as co-host of The 11 O'Clock Show from 1998 to 2000 and the breakfast show RI:SE in 2003.

By the late 1990s, Lee had dropped the "Rougvie" from his name.

Lee began a stand-up comedy career in the 1990s, initially performing on the London circuit exclusively before touring nationwide.

Lee considers his time as a stand-up to be a low point in his life, due to the fact that he started abusing drugs and alcohol during this time.

He met Mackenzie Crook, who was also a stand-up comic at the time and the two became friends.

Lee began his radio career in December 1997, presenting a four-hour show on Horizon 103.3, an independent station in Milton Keynes, on Christmas Day.

At that point, he was 24 years old with only fifteen minutes experience in a studio and did not take any compliance or Ofcom regulation exam prior.

Lee went on to feature on the station's breakfast show The Morning Crew hosted by Trevor Marshall and Helen Legh, as Iain in Black Thunder and Iain McCartney.

From 1999 to 2001, Lee hosted a show on Xfm London.

He then embarked on a full-time radio career in 2005, hosting mainly talk-based shows on LBC 97.3, Absolute Radio, BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Radio WM, and talkRADIO, which earned him numerous radio awards.

Lee embarked on a full-time radio career in January 2005, starting with a stint on talk station LBC 97.3.

He joined the station hosting weekend evenings before moving to afternoon drive, which he named The 3 Hour 4 'Till 7 Iain Lee Afternoon Wireless Show and later The 3-and-a-Half Hour 3 'Till 6.30 Iain Lee Afternoon Wireless Show.

Lee was known for hosting a segment named Triple M (also known as Mental Mayhem or Mick's Mental Mayhem), where calls went straight to air without being pre-screened, which Nick Abbot, Tommy Boyd, and Clive Bull had also done.

The segment received its own dedicated slot on Sunday nights in 2007.

At the time, management favoured the unique format as they hoped that it would introduce exclusive listeners to the radio station.

Lee then hosted the 7–10pm weekday slot which was named Iain Lee's Good Evening.

In 2007, Global Radio purchased LBC which led to a change in management, who introduced a talk format of topical and news-driven conversation.

Lee's presenting style fell out of favour and he left the station without prior announcement in November 2007.

He officially changed his name to Iain Lee by deed poll in 2008, due to his troubled relationship with his father.

Lee is the nephew of Scottish former footballer Doug Rougvie.

He attended Herschel Grammar School in Slough and studied performing arts at Middlesex University.

In January 2008, Lee began to host The Sunday Night Show on Virgin Radio, later Absolute Radio, from 10pm to 1am that featured music and talk.

In April 2009, Lee wrestled a listener which was broadcast the following month.

From 12 October 2009, Lee took over the Monday to Thursday evening slot.

In October 2011, the station announced that Lee's contract would be terminated with immediate effect by mutual agreement.

His departure occurred during a court case in which a listener was accused of harassing Lee, his wife, and the show's producer.

From 2012 to 2015, Lee presented the weekday breakfast show on BBC Three Counties Radio, a local service that served Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.

He later said that he accepted the job as he was unable to find work elsewhere, and felt "crushed" and a little humiliated about taking it at first.

From December 2013, Lee also presented a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio WM, the BBC's West Midlands service, which was followed by a Friday afternoon slot on the station from September 2014.

He left the station in the following August, citing that management considered Lee hosting both slots as "odd" and wanted him to just present on Saturdays, which he rejected.

In May 2014, Lee's Three Counties show won a Radio Academy Award for Breakfast Show of the Year (Under 10 Million).

On 12 August 2014, Lee was accused of making a racist remark to his producer following a spoof on-air argument, in which Lee said; "Go on, go and do the black and Asian show. Bye bye."

The argument was described as banter and the BBC apologised for the comments.

In July 2020, after his contract at talkRADIO was not renewed, Lee launched his Twitch show.