Neil Fox

Neil Andrew Howe Fox (born 12 June 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, known for many years as Dr Fox before he became "Foxy" in the 2000s, then simply as Neil Fox, M.D. before reemerging as "Dr Fox" in 2020 to host the UDJ "Heritage Chart" countdown.

He was a judge on Pop Idol between 2001 and 2003 alongside Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman and Nicki Chapman.

Early life Fox was born on 12 June 1961 in Harrow, Middlesex. As a boy he moved to Thames Ditton, Surrey, where he lived for a number of years. He was then educated at Kingston Grammar School in London and joined the Air Training Corps, before becoming a management student at the University of Bath, where he joined the student radio station University Radio Bath, and began his career as a radio presenter using the pseudonym Andrew Howe. After leaving university he worked as a binliner salesman. He does not hold an ordinary PhD or medical degree, but does have an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath in respect of his contributions to the media and charity.

Career Radio Radio Wyvern In 1984, he started his professional radio career on what is now Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire (then Radio Wyvern) in Hereford and Worcester, starting off with a show called Mellow Yellow. This was broadcast on Fridays from 9.00 pm to 11.00pm and Saturdays from 8.00 pm to 11.00 pm. In 1985, Fox took over the weekday show from 6.00 pm to 9.00 pm, before moving to their weekday show from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm. He also presented a Saturday show for the station, which went out from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm. He remained there until late 1986, then joined Radio Luxembourg in February 1987 before joining Capital Radio in October the same year.

Thames Radio and Nation Radio UK On 26 June 2016, six months after his acquittal, it was announced Fox would join the new London radio station Thames Radio, where he presented the Saturday morning show. He would later take on the station's breakfast show; however, the venture was short lived, when the station opted for non-stop music in July 2017. On 17 July 2020, it was announced Fox would join the internet radio station United DJs, presenting the "Heritage Chart Run Down" on Sunday evenings. In November 2020, Fox alongside Mike Read left United DJs in order to launch Nation Radio UK. Between January and April 2021, Fox hosted Drivetime and The Heritage Chart on Nation UK. He took over the breakfast show in April 2021, following the departure of Read. In addition to the breakfast show, Fox also took over the "Nation Network Chart Show" on Sundays from 4.00 to 7.00 pm.

As of 2025, Fox continues to host the "Nation Network Chart Show" on Sundays but has since left the breakfast show. He now hosts the afternoon show on Nation 90s, and the drivetime show on Nation Radio London.

Awards Fox holds ten Sony awards and was awarded the Gold award for lifetime achievement in 2009, as well as winning the "Best Disc Jockey" award at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party multiple times.

Television On 12 October 2008, Fox joined his fellow ex-Pop Idol judges Pete Waterman and Nicki Chapman on Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, a spoof on the talent show genre of programmes.

Fox appeared on the satirical show Brass Eye controversial "Paedogeddon" special, in which he claimed that "Genetically, paedophiles have more genes in common with crabs than they do with you and me. Now that is scientific fact... there's no real evidence for it, but it is scientific fact."

Other television work and appearances include Doctor Fox's Video Jukebox on LWT, Ice Warriors (voiceover) and The Big Call (host) on ITV, and Not the Jack Docherty Show (host) on Channel 5.

He appeared on Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs, in which he received his puppy Bonzo.

On 2 April 2014, Fox appeared on an episode of Big Star's Little Star with his daughter Martha.

In December 2022, he covered some of the Christmas-period shows on GB News for Mark Dolan and Dan Wootton.

Personal life

Views In August 2014, Fox was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Arrest and trial Fox was arrested on 30 September 2014 at Magic FM headquarters in London by police investigating claims of historical sex offences. The arrest came after separate allegations were made by two women. His arrest was not part of the high-profile sex crime investigation Operation Yewtree, which was set up in the wake of revelations about BBC presenter Jimmy Savile. Fox's homes in Fulham and Littlehampton, West Sussex, were searched. He was subsequently released on bail until December 2014, when he was re-arrested in relation to three other alleged incidents; he was again bailed until March 2015. On 13 March, he was arrested for an alleged sexual offence against a woman in the early 1990s. He remained on bail until late March, when he was then charged with nine sex offences against six people, of whom three were under the age of 16. The offences allegedly occurred between 1991 and 2014. He pleaded not guilty to six additional charges from 1987 and 1988 involving three girls under the age of 16 on 2 October.

His trial began on 5 November 2015. Prosecutors cleared him of five charges before the start of the trial. The bench trial took place at Westminster Magistrates' Court. He was found not guilty on all charges on 14 December. Fox's trial was the first high-profile sexual abuse case to be decided by magistrates, rather than a jury, since the Savile scandal. Judge Riddle spoke of the difficulty in dealing with the historic cases, stating they were not sure whether the incidents occurred as described or whether they amounted to criminal offences, and was not sure whether the most recent allegation was a criminal offence. In a statement to the media following his acquittal, Fox stated: "This case has once again raised concerns about how high-profile cases such as this have been investigated by the CPS". He then thanked supporters and expressed his interest in returning to broadcasting.

Discography Mix'o'matic (1996) The album Mix'o'matic is a remix album, containing 50 songs over two discs mixed together by Fox.