Nicky Campbell is looking slightly crumpled as he lounges on the sofa of a central London coffee shop.

There’s Brillo Pad stubble on his chin, and his jeans, trainers and v-neck combo, though cute, are very sixth form. Certainly he looks quite different from the polished anchorman we know from TV shows such as Watchdog and The Big Question.

But then again, the captain of Radio Five Live has been up since the crack of dawn in preparation for his weekday breakfast show. Little wonder that when he moves from London to Salford’s MediaCity UK as part of the great BBC migration north next year, the affable Scot intends to get himself a place within spitting distance of the studio.

“It’ll be lovely to live where all the buzz is going on, and I’d like to find somewhere by the waterside. But the advantage is I’ll be able to spend longer in bed!” he says, offering an expansive yawn to prove his point.

Ah Nicky. How can you not like him? It’s a tonic to hear such enthusiasm after all the rumoured whingeing and moaning among those BBC types who feel being transplanted to the north means being thrown into an imagined wilderness of pies, peas and bingo.

Not Nicky. Despite being a family man with four young daughters, the 48-year-old presenter was the first to sign up for the great flight north.

“I’ve always been quite annoyed at how London-centric the media can be. People have this concept of ‘oop north’ and think I might as well be going to Helmand Province,” he says in his trademark soft Scottish tones.
“I love doing what I do so there was no hesitation when I was asked to relocate to Salford. The whole MediaCity project is incredible exciting. This will still be a network show. There will be no ‘live from Salford’ routine - that would be incredibly patronising. But there will be a subtle infiltration of perspective as being in London can cloud story judgement. But there is no tokenism about this.”

Mind you, he isn’t quite moving lock, stock and barrel since the Campbell family (wife Tina, a former head of news at Virgin Radio and daughters: Breagha 11, Lila, nine, Kirsty, seven and Isla, six) are staying in London. Something which has led to waspish suggestions of part-time commitment. Again he shrugs.

“I’m fully committed, but moving when you have a family isn’t easy. Uprooting them is hard - my children are at school and it would be so disruptive for them.

“So after lengthy discussions with Tina we decided that I’ll buy a place in Salford and live there during the week.

“I will have lots of quality time for the family at the weekend and lots of holidays. However, we will think again if it’s not sustainable.”

Though clearly a committed husband and father, being on the move is hardly new turf for Campbell. He presents the BBC’s nomadic ethical discussion show The Big Question from different venues around the country each Sunday, and will be beaming live from Bury Grammar School on May 9. As with many of Campbell’s career moves, it’s an interesting show for a man who is a declared agnostic. Yet he says it provides him with the perfect perspective to chair a show that triggers debate from opposing religious and moral quarters.

“I don’t have set ideas about religion, I’m interested in all religions, I don’t think religious people are mad - whether I agree with their views or not. What I love about The Big Question is that it allows anyone to ask what they want. There is no ‘how dare you suggest that’ approach. It’s all about confronting opinion.”

Indeed, when you watch Campbell in action on the programme or listen to him on Five Live, you realise that this is a man of ferocious intelligence whose lightening grasp of a situation enables him to steer debate to its full advantage.

But, hang about. This was also the man who pitched up as a Radio 1 DJ and Top of the Pops presenter - at a pre-MTV time when the cult of the pop jock was at its height - as well as host of the easy cheesy TV game show Wheel of Fortune. As career trajectories go, it’s all pretty confusing.

The truth is that Nicky, who has a history degree from Aberdeen University, always seemed destined for more than the Smashy and Nicey school of broadcasting.

“Being at Radio 1 and on Top of the Pops was a great time. There were a lot of screaming girls and it was all a bit manic -  an interesting experience. But I was aware even back then how ludicrous it was too.

“I remember seeing Jason Donovan arriving at the studios in a blacked-out car and a gang of minders racing him inside. Actually no one was that interested. That summed it up for me.”

However, he has gone on record as describing his time there as a ‘square peg in a round hole’. And it’s alleged that Simon Bates took against him after a perceived slight against his slushy Our Tune slot.

Born in Edinburgh, Campbell started his career writing jingles and doing voiceovers for local radio in Scotland. From there he moved on, via various on-air stints to become a producer, then presenter at Capital Radio in London. It wasn’t long before Radio 1 came calling and Campbell began his long association with the BBC.

Yet, even back then Campbell admits his heart lay beyond spinning Kylie Minogue on the turntable. So when he was offered the chance to front the debate series Central Weekend Live (which transferred to London as Carlton Live and also became an ITV network show) he leapt at the opportunity.

But did people accept a Radio 1 jock as a part-time Paxman? In fact he even did a brief stint on Newsnight.

“I got 100 per cent acceptance. That was just journalistic snobbery. I enjoy debate so much for the emotion and force of it. People ask me what makes for an exciting career. I’ve sat opposite Keith Richard and Mick Jagger but doing a phone-in from the Imperial War Museum on VE day is much more exciting.”

Little wonder that since joining Five Live, in 1997 he has never looked back.

So what of the future? Away from his burgeoning career there is another Nicky Campbell - a self-taught musician whose love of easy listening swing led to the release last year of the CD Moonlight’s Back In Style with singer and actor Mark Moraghan. Many of his self-penned songs are deeply personal. It was, he says, ‘driven by mid-life crisis and male menopause, the desperate desire to do something else’.

He slides me a copy before we wind up the interview and emails a week or so later to ask what I think. It was great to listen to while relaxing in the bath - a review which seems to have pleased him.

As for male menopause and mid-life crisis, I think the blue-eyed presenter may have to change the record. Surely exciting times lie ahead for Nicky Campbell. And for the rest of the north too. Don’t know about you, but I’m staying tuned…

The Big Question is on BBC 1 at 10am on Sundays.

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