Richard Drew
Richard arrived in the world just a few days before England won the World Cup. He was born and brought up in Bristol in the south west of England.
He was blessed, or perhaps cursed, to be brought up as a keen Bristol Rovers fan, and can just about remember their promotion year in 1974. There have been other promotions to celebrate, and quite a few relegations to forget.
When it comes to playing sport, cricket is his great passion. He started in the youth team at Downend, the birthplace of WG Grace, and where Alan Border used to spray balls onto the nearby church roof. Richard also played for the Singapore Cricket Club, albeit the Saturday beer team. As well as playing, he can waste great amounts of time watching from the sidelines, or via TV.
Despite bing a proud Bristolian, Richard has spent large parts of his life away from the West Country. When training with the BBC, he travelled all over England and the Channel Islands. When his wife Vicky decided she wanted to teach abroad, Richard found himself enjoying a 2 year early retirement in Brunei, which was only spoilt when he foolishly got a job with ESPN Star Sports in Singapore, which needed a bit more effort.
This was followed by a spell in Dubai, where his small kids learnt essential words like ‘camel’ and ‘digger’.
Richard now lives near Bristol with his family and their dog Yuki. He likes to play the saxophone (normally when everyone else are out) and is learning to play the guitar. Badly.
Commentating or presenting puts you in the spotlight during a broadcast, but there is a small army of people who make it happen. Here’s a peak behind the scenes of one outside broadcast - watch out for the cameo…
Follow my journey
What People Are Saying
“Richard is an experienced, versatile and reliable broadcaster whose sense of humour and coffee-making skills were a welcome addition to my time at BFBS Brunei”
— Damien Watson, former Station Manager at BFBS Brunei
“Richard has detailed knowledge of a wide range of sports and has reacted incredibly well to whatever challenges Eurosport has put his way. His confident, characterful broadcasts have been a true asset to the channel. He is a consummate professional.”
— Simon Reed, head of Commentary, Eurosport
Although my job is to talk - or write - about other people, occasionally the tables are turned and the focus is on me. Here are a few newspaper cuttings where I ended up in the limelight.
Sunday Times
Who says I’m full of of hot air? The Sunday Times in Singapore (amongst others). A fun Q&A. Read the article.
New Man
On more familiar ground - giving opinions on Formula 1 for a Singapore magazine. Read article.