Neil Williams (born 20 July 1978), known by his stage name Roberto, is a British radio presenter, television presenter, voice-over artist, event host and DJ.
Roberto | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 20, 1978 |
| Occupation(s) | Radio presenter, television presenter, voice-over, DJ |
| Website | robertoonline |
Most recently (Apr '24), he was heard on Smooth Radio covering Early Breakfast. Prior to this, until December 2023, he presented the national breakfast show on Heart 80s from Heart FM owned by Global Radio, under the stage name 'Roberto'. Prior to Heart FM, he hosted mid mornings on the Capital FM Network.
Early life
editBorn and raised in Enfield, North London, Williams is the younger of two children. He was educated at an all boys school, Friern Barnet Grammar School, in Friern Barnet, London. Later, he studied Hospitality Management at Thames Valley University in Ealing, followed by a radio training course at Town FM in North London. Since then, he has continued to present in radio. After losing over ten stone in weight he moved into television presenting and qualified as a personal trainer.
Career
editWilliams started his radio career in August 1999 at Town FM in North London, a local community radio station. His first show was early breakfast between 4 and 6 am. After a few months, he was promoted to presenting breakfast. Both positions were unpaid, so whilst presenting both shows, he worked at T.G.I. Friday's[1] in Enfield as a waiter and bartender.
Following a period at Town FM, Williams moved to Mercury 96.6 in Watford (now Heart Hertfordshire) as a cover presenter. This led to his first full-time show in commercial radio, presenting mid-mornings on Chiltern FM (now Heart Four Counties). From there he moved to Oxfordshire to present on Fox FM (now Heart Thames Valley), this was then followed by a move to Birmingham to present on BRMB (now Free Radio.)
Roberto
editIn 2008, Neil hosted his first show on Capital FM in London, covering Sunday evening 7 till 10 pm. He only did one show by his own name. The next week it was decided by management that he should present his show under the stage name 'Roberto'. He has been known on-air as Roberto ever since.
During his time at Capital FM, Roberto hosted afternoons (1-4pm) followed by mid-mornings (10am–1pm). He also achieved the most listened to mid-morning show in London. Roberto was part of the team that took Capital FM national in 2011 and also interviewed music stars like Tinie Tempah, Justin Bieber, JLS, Jessie J and Enrique Iglesias.
In 2012, Roberto joined the Heart Network, also owned by Global Radio, hosting the national evening show and Non-Stop Club Classics every Friday and Saturday nights. He stepped down from evenings on Heart in January 2017 ahead of launching the weekday breakfast and Saturday late-morning show on sister station Heart 80s from March of that year.[2] His two shows (mention above) were then taken over by Sian Welby in 16 January and Annaliese Dayes four days later respectively.
Roberto has also been involved in television programmes for Channel 4, ITV and Sky.
Voice over
editWilliams is a male voice over artist with his own professional home studio. Previous clients include Sky 1, The Sun, BMW, McLaren, British Airways and ESPN.
DJ
editThroughout his career, Roberto has DJ'd and hosted[3] at events and nightclubs in London, Mallorca, Toronto, Miami and Los Angeles. Clients include London Fashion Week, Clyde & Co, CapCo, DSTRKT, ASOS[4] and Tiger Tiger.[5]
Weight loss & Podcast
editAt his biggest, Williams weighed 23 and a half stone.[6] He had been 'big' since a young age and carried the weight into adult life. A break up with a partner inspired him into losing weight, and since then he has lost over 10 stone. Most of that weight was lost within six months,[7] in an unconventional way that involved doing no cardiovascular fitness or bariatric surgery.
With a passion for wanting to help others lose weight and achieve their goals, Williams started a podcast called 'The Secrets Of Weight Loss' in which he spoke to others who had successfully lost weight to find out how they did it. When first released, it hit the top spot of the Health and Fitness category on Apple Music.
Charity work
editBorn with a hole in his Heart, Williams has been a supporter of the British Heart Foundation throughout his career, taking part in charity events including the London to Brighton Bike Ride,[8] a skydive[9][10] and numerous running events.
In 2009, Williams swam the Thames in the Great Swim for Help A Capital Child. In 2011 he ran the Virgin London Marathon[11] and the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, again for Help a Capital Child.
References
edit- ^ "NWN Blue Squared Carmel Kitchen Remodeling". Nwnbluesquared.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Global to launch Heart 80s nationally on DAB". Radiotoday.co.uk. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Roberto | Live Bookings | Coalition Talent Agency". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Roberto at Tiger Tiger London this New Year's Eve билети, 31 XII 2010 - Ticketlogic BG". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "DJ Roberto: I lost eight stone in just a year | Health | Life & Style | Daily Express". Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "I lost eight stone in six months - and it saved my life - Telegraph". Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Whats it like doing the London to Brighton Bike ride?". 28 November 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Radio personality jumps out of plane". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "Radio DJ skydives for charity". Enfield Independent. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "London Marathon Runners 2011". Capitalfm.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.