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Rhod Sharp
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<h2 id="early-life">Early life</h2> <p>After being educated at <a href="/facts/Perth_Academy/TCLRTqlb">Perth Academy</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> Sharp took a degree in English at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Aberdeen/F6X2yVXk">University of Aberdeen</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Graduating with honours in 1975, he was selected as scholar of the St Andrews Society of New York, and then studied for a Masters at <a href="/facts/Princeton_University/n3EPGHBM">Princeton University</a> combining literature, theatre and politics.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="journalism-career">Journalism career</h2> <p>Having been offered the opportunity to join the BBC's journalistic training programme in 1975,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> after completing his one-year MA, Sharp joined the BBC in 1976 as a trainee journalist.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Upon qualification he became a BBC TV news scriptwriter, and then a reporter for <a href="/facts/Independent_Radio_News/GJzB7llg">IRN</a>/<a href="/facts/LBC/F9np3fhe">LBC</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> After helping to start the independent <a href="/facts/Radio_Tay/Bnp5peFT">Radio Tay</a> in <a href="/facts/Dundee/Auu4EE4K">Dundee</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> he then freelanced for mostly British news outlets in <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a> for six years until 1987.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Joining <a href="/facts/BBC_News/oGAe2H8E">BBC News</a>, Sharp was the channel's correspondent in California and the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Northwest/EjJhETXc">Pacific Northwest</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> In 1987 he moved with his wife to London as a reporter for the <a href="/facts/BBC_World_Service/XdhGb57h">BBC World Service</a>, then as duty foreign editor at <a href="/facts/Channel_4_News/LIu1JDtw">Channel 4 News</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>Returning to BBC News,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> when the corporation started the news and sport station Radio 5 (now 5 Live) in 1994, Sharp came up with the idea for the programme <i>Up All Night</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> Since its launch he has been one of the two regular presenters. <i><a href="/facts/The_Washington_Post/dRvzvqJc">The Washington Post</a></i> once described the show as probably the best night-time radio show in the world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p><p>In 2001, Sharp was on the second commercial flight to New York City after <a href="/facts/September_11,_2001_attacks/PfWQcQNx">11 September</a> to give in-depth analysis of the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. He also presented 5 Live's programmes on the American presidential and congressional elections. He has become instrumental in giving wider coverage on British radio of sports like <a href="/facts/Baseball/42bEQy1Y">baseball</a> and <a href="/facts/American_football/TGzJa1nW">American football</a>, presenting its live broadcasts of the <a href="/facts/World_Series/l50eYfN3">World Series</a> and the <a href="/facts/Super_Bowl/W2dqzqY4">Super Bowl</a>. </p><p>After reporting on the 11 September attacks, while taking a sabbatical, Sharp and his wife fell in love with the fishing town of <a href="/facts/Marblehead,_Massachusetts/AXSKQBbM">Marblehead, Massachusetts</a>, USA. From 2004 he presented his editions of the show (Monday to Wednesday) from the town. Initially using the studios and <a href="/facts/ISDN/zcV99rUb">ISDN</a> line of local radio station <a href="/facts/WESX/9r8GxtYG">WESX</a> to connect him to <a href="/facts/Broadcasting_House/0xRzHM70">Broadcasting House</a>, London,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> from 2007 he presented the show from a home studio within the couple's 18th-century property.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> Broadcasting from the United States made Sharp "pretty unique" among BBC radio hosts, according to the then BBC deputy news director Stephen Mitchell.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> </p><p>In March 2020, after having presented <i>Up All Night</i> for 26 years, Sharp stood down.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="personal-life">Personal life</h2> <p>Whilst broadcasting from San Francisco in the early 1980s, Sharp met his future wife Vicki Staveacre.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> The couple moved to London in the 1980s, where Sharp later created <i>Up All Night</i>. Following 9/11, the couple took a two-month sabbatical in <a href="/facts/Harvard,_Massachusetts/zkxlRDwR">Harvard, Massachusetts</a>. On forays to <a href="/facts/North_Shore_(Massachusetts)/zlFn7hcD">North Shore</a>, they became enamoured with Marblehead. In 2004, they bought a small apartment in the seaside town, and in 2007 moved to their present home, an 18th-century house in Marblehead's Old Town section.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> </p><p>Sharp is the President of the University of Aberdeen USA Trust,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> and as of 2012 was intending to apply for <a href="/facts/US_citizen/w7SyTv8P">US citizenship</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/rhod_sharp/">Rhod Sharp's blog</a> BBC 5 Live</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170701102051/http://journalisted.com/rhod-sharp">Rhod Sharp</a> Journalisted</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Perth Date for BBC Presenter, Sharp". AllMediaScotland.com. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="http://www.allmediascotland.com/we-like/20627/perth-date-for-bbc-presenter-sharp/" target="_blank">http://www.allmediascotland.com/we-like/20627/perth-date-for-bbc-presenter-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>And now for a BBC reporter who is completely different SalemNews.com, 12 June 2009 <a href="http://www.salemnews.com/lifestyle/x1690078850/And-now-for-a-BBC-reporter-who-is-completely-different?keyword=topstory" target="_blank">http://www.salemnews.com/lifestyle/x1690078850/And-now-for-a-BBC-reporter-who-is-completely-different?keyword=topstory</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>And now for a BBC reporter who is completely different SalemNews.com, 12 June 2009 <a href="http://www.salemnews.com/lifestyle/x1690078850/And-now-for-a-BBC-reporter-who-is-completely-different?keyword=topstory" target="_blank">http://www.salemnews.com/lifestyle/x1690078850/And-now-for-a-BBC-reporter-who-is-completely-different?keyword=topstory</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"BBC broadcaster to discuss 'Avery's Fall' at Marblehead Museum". WickedLocal.com. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111227025352/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x1581985691/BBC-broadcaster-to-discuss-Avery-s-Fall-at-Marblehead-Museum#axzz2IwvHbY8B" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20111227025352/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x1581985691/BBC-broadcaster-to-discuss-Avery-s-Fall-at-Marblehead-Museum#axzz2IwvHbY8B</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"WESX's 'international' era closes, too". WickedLocal.com. 26 April 2006. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131213172601/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x902711031#axzz2IwvHbY8B" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131213172601/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x902711031#axzz2IwvHbY8B</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"BBC broadcaster to discuss 'Avery's Fall' at Marblehead Museum". WickedLocal.com. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111227025352/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x1581985691/BBC-broadcaster-to-discuss-Avery-s-Fall-at-Marblehead-Museum#axzz2IwvHbY8B" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20111227025352/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x1581985691/BBC-broadcaster-to-discuss-Avery-s-Fall-at-Marblehead-Museum#axzz2IwvHbY8B</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Rhod Sharp to leave 5 Live after 26 years Up All Night, RadioToday UK, 17 December 2019. <a href="https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/12/rhod-sharp-to-leave-5-live-after-26-years-up-all-night/" target="_blank">https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/12/rhod-sharp-to-leave-5-live-after-26-years-up-all-night/</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>"BBC broadcaster to discuss 'Avery's Fall' at Marblehead Museum". WickedLocal.com. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111227025352/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x1581985691/BBC-broadcaster-to-discuss-Avery-s-Fall-at-Marblehead-Museum#axzz2IwvHbY8B" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20111227025352/http://www.wickedlocal.com/marblehead/news/x1581985691/BBC-broadcaster-to-discuss-Avery-s-Fall-at-Marblehead-Museum#axzz2IwvHbY8B</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>"Rhod Sharp – President". University of Aberdeen. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130204134639/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/giving/about/development-trust-usa/meet-the-uadt-usa-board/mr-rhod-sharp/</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:26"><p>Joseph P. Kahn (3 August 2012). "The BBC, live from Marblehead". Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 January 2013. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html" target="_blank">https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2012/08/03/rhod-sharp-hosts-bbc-radio-all-night-news-show-for-audiences-live-from-north-shore/d8wRnBBPoMwoe6TYY0yFQL/story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>