Internet abuzz with identity of fat ‘news raider’ who wants to be on TV
By ANIWednesday, July 28, 2010
LONDON - A mystery man, who has appeared in the background of dozens of TV news bulletins, has become the subject of heated speculation on the web.
The portly, balding man - nicknamed the news raider and the fat guy who wants to be on television - has been spotted during live reports on the BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4, at various locations.
Bloggers say he is a community worker from south London named Paul Yarrow. The profile picture on Yarrow’s Facebook page matches that of the mystery man.
Moreover, a ‘Paul Yarrow’ has also applied to go on Big Brother 2010, saying he is “currently known as the fat guy who wants to be on television” and is “very well known in south London, working in the voluntary sector”.
He has also been spotted on the BBC website, in a story about an unofficial ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the 7/7 bombings, and in the background of an episode of the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow.
Most of the sightings have been in London, including outside the Houses of Parliament, Peckham, Hyde Park and the Gaza protest march in May that went from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy.
The man garnered mainstream attention in late 2009, when comedian Russell Howard featured him on his BBC show Russell Howard’s Good News, giving him the sobriquet of the “fat guy who just wants to get on TV”. Howard used a Sky News clip showed him moving in front of the camera to get into shot 10 times. He then appeared on a later edition of the show, this time in a clip from BBC News, doing the same thing.
A website, fidgetwith.com, has been tracking his appearances and wondering who he is, and displaying screenshots of his various appearances.
According to The South London Press, Mr Yarrow is “a good Samaritan” who has been nominated for Community Champion, Good Samaritan and Carer of the Year in his home in Bermondsey. He has reportedly cared for unwell relatives, helped elderly people in the community and championed local causes since he was 12. (ANI)
