Iain Lee

Iain Felix Diamond Lee (born Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer, and comedian.

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. He began 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. In July 2020, after his contract at talkRADIO was not renewed, Lee launched Twitch and Patreon shows.

Lee has also become a trained counsellor. He has Scottish roots. By the late 1990s, Lee had dropped the "Rougvie" from his name. 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.

Lee returned to stand-up comedy in 2026 with a touring show called Imposter Syndrome in which he plays clips from his old TV shows and reflects on his career. He has also taken bookings to perform the show in people's living rooms.

Radio 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.

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.

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 February 2016, Lee announced that he had joined the first line-up of presenters for the launch of a new talk radio station, talkRADIO. The station began to air on 21 March 2016, with Lee hosting The Late Night Alternative from 10pm to 1 am on weekdays. He won a second in 2020, this time for Moment of the Year for directing emergency services to a caller who had taken an overdose. Despite the success, Lee announced on 2 June 2020 that his contract was not renewed.

On 10 July 2020, Lee announced that he had been signed by Twitch to continue hosting The Late Night Alternative on its streaming platform. It launched on 20 July and was recorded from Lee's home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

In June 2022, Lee was announced as the new presenter of Jack FM's breakfast show, Iain Lee’s Rude Awakening, from 4 July. On 6 February 2023, Lee announced his retirement from radio in order to focus more on his work as a counsellor.

Lee presented his final radio show on 8 February 2023, on Jack FM, in a show which featured previous regular callers and producers from across his career.

Television From 1998 to 2000, Lee was a correspondent and co-host of the satirical comedy show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4. The show was known for introducing comedians Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais. In one incident, Lee received death threats and had a stalker after he joked about Danniella Westbrook and her drug use. The police advised him to move out of his flat; he lived with Mackenzie Crook and in a hotel before the matter was resolved. After four series, Lee walked out five days before filming of the fifth was due to start. He later said that it was an unfair move, but felt the quality of the show's humour had declined and Channel 4 had cut its budget. Lee said he would have earned £90,000 if he had stayed.

In 2002, Lee accepted an offer to co-host a relaunch of the Channel 4 live breakfast show RI:SE with reality television star Kate Lawler, from January 2003. The show failed to make an impact in viewing figures, however, and it ended in December 2003.

From the start of 2018, Lee was on the breakfast TV show Good Morning Britain, filling in for Richard Arnold who was taking a 3-week break.

Other work Lee currently writes a column in the Retro Gamer magazine. He wrote a gaming column for MSN.co.uk, as well as recording monthly podcasts. He has also appeared on XLeague.tv discussing video games.

Lee has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends, and presented the official Big Brother radio show with co-host Gemma Cairney, entitled Big Brother's Big Ears. Lee has also been heard as a continuity announcer on the TV channel Dave.

In August 2007, Lee launched a podcast entitled Iain Lee Presents... Shindiggery. It ended in November 2008.

In 2009, Lee took part in an experimental comedy performance by artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard in Sheffield called Performer. Audience. Fuck Off, a spin-off to the Performer/Audience/Mirror originally conceived in 1975 by American artist Dan Graham, whereby the performer does their act behind a mirror reflecting the audience.

In February 2012, Lee launched The Iain Lee Pocket Radio Show, a podcast similar in style to his radio shows but utilised various social media platforms for content. Most of it featured conversations with listeners via phone calls or Skype chats. Listeners were also invited to interact with the show by sending AudioBoos to be included in the recording. The podcast also included Lee interviewing guests and celebrity news with Elisa Roche.

Lee had a cameo role in a music video for the British IBM's self-titled single, released in 2012.

In 2015, Lee and Glenn Gretlund formed 7a Records, an independent record label specialising in obscure recordings by The Monkees and the group's members. In 2020, Lee sold his share of the company.

The Late Night Alternative

The Late Night Alternative (TLNA) is an online phone-in show Lee and Katherine Boyle hosted on streaming platform Twitch. The programme was first broadcast on British radio station Talkradio between March 2016 and June 2020, and won several Audio and Radio Industry Awards, including 'Best Speech Presenter – Non-Breakfast' for Lee. In July 2020, Lee and Boyle announced the programme's return via Twitch, with the first episode airing on 20 July.

On 19 December 2018, a man called the show after a drug overdose. Lee kept the man on the line whilst Boyle directed the emergency services to his location, with many on social media praising Lee's decisive actions. Lee stated on 24 December 2018 that the man had survived and was now back home after receiving specialist treatment for two days. Lee and Boyle were later awarded a Gold in the 'Moment of the Year' category at the 2020 Audio and Radio Industry Awards for this call. On 10 July 2020, the pair issued a press release confirming they had been signed by internet streaming service Twitch and would re-launch the programme on 20 July. At the time of the announcement, Lee confessed he had relapsed in drug use after being sober for 13 years, in a three-month period following his stint on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, to which he credited Katherine Boyle in taking him to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Lee legally changed his name to Iain Felix Diamond Lee, with his middle names being chosen by his sons.

In July 2019, Lee came out as bisexual on his radio show, something that he had felt embarrassed about and tried to handle it with drugs and extramarital affairs. He credited sessions with a therapist to deal with his depression, which began when he started having sex with older men at fourteen. He realised that "Now I can see that it was abuse."

Lee got engaged to his long-time co-host Katherine Boyle in 2025.

"Overdosing man calls Iain Lee" RadioTimes Moment of the Year

Iain Lee Best Speech Presenter