Presenter profile: Kamlesh Purohit

Kamlesh Purohit moved to Leicester from Kenya in the 1970s as a small child.

He studied at De Montfort University (then Leicester Polytechnic), and after graduation he began work as an engineer.

It was around this time that Kamlesh started to help out behind the scenes on BBC Radio Leicester's daily Asian programme - The 6 O'Clock Show.

Over the years he worked his way up the ranks and eventually became the show's presenter.

It was hugely popular with Asian people in the city, with a 67% reach within the community.

In 1996, the Asian programming strand broke away from its' parent station, BBC Radio Leicester, to form a new 24-hour radio station in its own right called BBC Asian Network.

These were pioneering days for British Asian radio broadcasting, and as a key member of the management team, Kamlesh played an important role.

He helped to establish new schedules as well as finding and nurturing new talent, such as Manish Bhasin, the Presenter of Football Focus, who started in radio answering phones on Kamlesh's programme!

Coming back to BBC Radio Leicester completes a very exciting journey for Kamlesh.

To this day, he gets stopped on the streets of Leicester by listeners who talk nostalgically about the early days of BBC Radio Leicester's Asian programming.

MORE ABOUT KAMLESH...

You can contact Kamlesh by email: [e-mail]

Kamlesh Purohit presents the 7 O'Clock Show every Thursday 19:00-21:00, with great features and news for the Asian community.

Missed his latest show? Catch up on the iPlayer here .