Ian Payne

Ian Payne is one of BBC Radio 5 Live's leading sports presenters.

Born in Germany in December, 1962, he began his BBC career with Radio Lancashire in 1986 and was once named as Northwest Young Journalist of the Year.

Early jobs in Ian's career included "everything from working on dustcarts and in hospital laundries to teaching. When I was travelling in New Zealand, I had a job on a farm burying dead goats".

Payne joined BBC Radio network sport in 1988, initially as a producer working Radio 2 and on programmes including Radio 4's Today.

He is now one of Radio 5 Live's most recognisable voices, and has hosted coverage of a range of major sports events, including the FA Cup Final, Six Nations Championship rugby union, and rugby league's Challenge Cup Final.

Payne has just completed a year's stint as the presenter of 5 Live's weekday afternoon show.

And he is the long-standing frontman on 5 Live's prestigious Saturday afternoon show, Sport On 5, the most popular sports programme on radio.