Reverend Richard Coles

Some Lesser Known Facts About Reverend Richard Coles

• At a young age, Reverend Richard Coles learned to play several musical instruments including saxophone, clarinet, and keyboards.

• He was a choirboy at Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire, England.

  

• He revealed his sexual orientation first to his mother at age 16 by playing singer Tom Robinson’s (Thomas Giles Robinson) song Glad to Be Gay multiple times which got her attention.

• According to him, he fell into depression by age seventeen and attempted suicide after which his parents admitted him to a psychiatric treatment facility.

• At age 18 in 1980, he moved to London and worked as a session musician at a theatre.

• In 1983, he joined the British synth-pop band Bronski Beat initially as a saxophone player after he worked with Scottish pop singer and songwriter Jimmy Somerville (James William Somerville) in the documentary film Framed Youth: The Revenge of the Teenage Perverts.

• He and Jimmy Somerville formed the synth-pop band The Communards in 1985. They were popular for their cover version of the song, Don’t Leave Me This Way by the vocal group Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes. It was a bestseller and topped the chart in the UK top 10 in 1986. Their association came to an end in 1988.

  

• He suffers from Tinnitus (a ringing sound in the ear), which is caused by long exposure to loud music as a pop musician.

• He began his writing career in 1987 by writing for the Times Literary Supplement and Catholic Herald Magazine.

• After he faced the death of friends due to Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), he converted to Christianity from atheism and studied theology at King’s College London from 1991 to 1995.

• He followed Roman Catholicism initially while studying theology and joined Anglican Communion in 2001.

• He was selected for the priesthood training in the Church of England, completed training at the College of Resurrection in Mirfield and ordained a priest in 2005.

  

• As a priest, he started as a curate (an assistant clergy to the vicar) at St Botolph’s Church in Boston, Lincolnshire and then at St Paul’s Church, Knightsbridge, London.

• He was the chaplain of the Royal Academy of Music in 2008.

• He co-hosted the Saturday Live magazine programme on BBC Radio 4 from 2010 to 2023.

• He was the vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Finedon (part of the Church of England under the Diocese of Peterborough) from 2011 to 2022.

• He revealed in his autobiographical book Fathomless Riches: Or How I Went From Pop to Pulpit (2014) that he briefly used illegal drugs during his career as a musician.

• In 2016, he wrote a sequel autobiographical book, Bringing in the Sheaves: Wheat and Chaff from My Years as a Priest.

• He came fifth in the Celebrity MasterChef Season 11 in 2016 and won the Celebrity MasterChef Christmas Cook-off Special in 2021 on BBC One.

  

• He authored other books including Legends of the Improbable Saints (2013) and the Canon Clement mystery series.

• In 2017, he became the chancellor (the ceremonial head) of the University of Northampton (UON).

• He co-hosted the television programme, The Big Painting Challenge, with journalist Mariella Frostrup on BBC One.

  

• He is popular as a speaker and awards ceremony host at events such as the British Parking Awards and British Medical Association Research Grant Awards Dinner.

• He participated in the British television programme Strictly Come Dancing (Season 15) on BBC One in 2017. He was partnered with a professional dance partner Diane Buswell.

  

• In 2020, he joined the Irish sports and cultural organisation, Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). He got the membership card from St Finbarr’s GAA (St Finbarr’s National Hurling & Football Club).

• He has also appeared in the television shows, QI (Quite Interesting) on BBC Network and Would I Lie To You? on BBC One and ITV1.

• He had two dachshunds, Daisy and Pongo, both were half-blind and half-deaf, about whom he had written articles in the newspapers The Times and The Guardian.

  

• In November 2024, Reverend Richard Coles appeared as a contestant in the survival reality show on the ITV television network, I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!