ABOUT RICHARD
Holywood Gossip Guru. Snappy dresser. Lover of all things hair-related.
Richard Reid is an American-born TV and radio presenter, primarily based in Australia. Crowned King Of The Jungle on season five of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Australia, Richard is a regular correspondent on Network 10 Australia’s morning talk show Studio 10, and was resident ‘gossip guru’ on the Nine Network's TODAY Show for seven years.
Growing up in Salem, Oregon, Richard knew he was going to work in showbiz when he was just a teenager.
“When I was 13 my stepfather says he asked me why I watched so much TV. I told him: ‘that’s going to be my career,’ and from that point on he let me watch all the TV I wanted,” says Richard.
Earning himself a degree in broadcast journalism from Hunter College in New York, Richard secured his first TV job – as a hard news producer – in the mid-90s. He quickly realised his personality wasn’t a match for the daily round of death and destruction that dominated the headlines.
Inspired by his childhood obsession with Entertainment Tonight, game shows and soap operas, Richard hustled until he found himself a job where he could combine his love of TV, movies and celebrity with his newfound skills as a TV journalist and reporter.
Richard began his on-air career in the year 2000 with a daily entertainment segment, Richard’s Reels, on Seattle’s 24-Hour news channel NWCN.
The success of Richard’s Reels led to the creation of a weekly half-hour series Northwest Flix and Pix with Richard Reid where Richard interviewed celebrities including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock and Tom Cruise. The series ran from 2000 to 2003, earning Richard a ‘Best Lifestyle Journalist’ Emmy nomination in its final year.
“I learned that even celebrities just want to have fun, and I learned not to ask the same questions everybody else asked,” says Richard. “For the most part movie stars are personable and like a good laugh, although there are still a few that take themselves way too seriously.”
In 2004 Richard moved to Hollywood where he worked for Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider and the E! Networks series Celebrities Uncensored.
“I had been watching Entertainment Tonight since I was a kid so it was a dream come true to finally become a writer and producer on the show,” says Richard.
While working on the Paramount Pictures lot, Richard began his reemergence from behind the scenes to a new on-screen role. “I met a producer from Australian breakfast TV show TODAY at a red carpet event in Hollywood. She called me out of the blue and asked me to fill in for their regular showbiz reporter, Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family), who had run into some legal trouble. Before Danny knew it he was out of a job,” says Richard.
Richard began regular satellite gossip crosses to the Nine Network’s TODAY in 2004, before joining the show as Hollywood Insider from 2008 to 2015, presenting regular features and interviews, and covering the London Olympics and the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
During that period Richard also attended his first of many Oscars red carpets, saying the Academy Awards was “beyond my wildest dreams. An otherworldly, out-of-body, surreal experience”.
From 2008 to 2010 Richard also appeared on the Nine Network’s lifestyle and DIY TV series, Domestic Blitz, in the roles of international style guru and ‘ambassador of fun’. “My role was to take the family on vacation and find out what made them tick,” said Richard. “I loved that show because I really got to see the heart and soul of the Australian heartland. It was one of several career highlights.”
Domestic Blitz saw Richard make his first pilgrimage to Australia’s shores where it was love at first sight. “I felt like I had finally found a country that understood my sense of humour. Like me, Australians love to laugh and take the mickey out of each other.”
In 2015, Richard joined Celebrity Apprentice Australia – season four – on the Nine Network, reaching the final four and winning $15,000 for his chosen charity, Foodbank Australia.
In 2015, Richard joined Celebrity Apprentice Australia – season four – on the Nine Network, reaching the final four and winning $15,000 for his chosen charity, Foodbank Australia.
“That was a confronting experience,” says Richard. “Before that I viewed the world of celebrity with rose-coloured glasses! I learned that certain celebrities aren't who they say they are, and how – finally – to recognize a wolf in sheep’s clothing when I see one!
“With me, what you see is what you get. Maybe that’s why I came in fourth!"
Those lessons stood Richard in good stead when he joined Network 10’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here Australia – season five – in January 2019. Richard won over campmates and viewers alike with his caring, plain-speaking authenticity, and on February 17, 2019, he was crowned King Of The Jungle ahead of former Gogglebox star Yvie Jones and retired AFL footballer Shane Crawford, winning $100,000 for Beyond Blue.
“The jungle was everything I thought it would it would be, and nothing like I thought it would be,” says Richard. “While I was in the jungle it was terrifying, confronting, I was starving and I smelled. After I left I could think of no place I’d rather return than to than my cot in the jungle.
“It was so enlightening to have only myself and a few randomly selected others for mental stimulation, and it was tough to get back into the world of technology.
“I’m here to tell you, you can live without social media (but please like my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)!!!”
A correspondent on Network 10’s Studio 10, Richard is a regular panellist, and contributes to feature segments about the world of showbusiness. “It’s great to be back on morning television and Studio 10 is a great place to be because we get to talk about light, fun, showbiz-y things, and also more serious topics that affect the day-to-day lives of Australians,” he says.
In February 2019 Richard was announced as a goodwill ambassador for Delta Airlines, celebrating the friendship between the USA and Australia.
On April 1, 2019, director and producer Bonnie Lythgoe announced that Richard would take the role of 'Bumble the Lord Chancellor' in her pantomime the 3D musical spectacular Jack and the Beanstalk, playing at Sydney's State Theatre from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 July 2019.