Being a celebrity is one thing, and being the one who brings the joy of making children all over the world happy is an exceptional gift. Keith Chegwin was not only a show performer, he was also a name that brought joy to younger people and that is what he devoted most of his life to his acting pursuits. He also hosted his own game show ‘Cheggers Bing’. Keith Chegwin is a celebrity who one would call a brave man; his off-the-cuff, impromptu style of broadcasting gave him an edge over other presenters.
He made broadcasting and gaming more of a passion than an occupation, which made him spectacular, and he was very active until he left the world, and we believe his work will continue to have the expected effects.
Life of Keith Chegwin
Keith Chegwin was a broadcaster and actor who was born in Walton, Liverpool on January 17, 1957. From an early age he had a keen interest in the entertainment industry which was why he entered a talent competition known as the “Pie End” in Rhyl, North. Whales. He later took part in an evening concert called ‘The Happy Wanderers’, which then toured pubs and clubs across the North West. Keith Chegwin went to acting school with his twin brother, Jeff. He would be invited to London by Phil Collin’s mother, June Collins, to audition in Mame a stage show with Ginger Rogers, due to his obvious talents. He sang Phil Collins’ first song as part of his school theater performance.
He auditioned while still in school and landed roles in several television and stage film roles, such as The Disturbing Double in 1967 and Egghead’s Robot in 1970, where he played the role of Egghead Wentworth. He became well known when he acted in Macbeth, a 1971 Roman Polanski film, where he played the character Fleance.
He went on to act in several films and shows, some of which are; Open Hours (1973), Robinhood Junior (1975), What Ever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999), The School Days of Tom Brown which was performed at the West End stadium, and so many others.
Keith Chegwin also did some disc jockey work in Liverpool for 194 Radio City and also worked for Tony Blackburn’s morning show on BBC Radio for four years. He was also a singer who has a few singles to his name which were released under the Pye and Cherub record labels. He was chosen to face Kenny, an English pop band, but he declined the offer.
Moreover, Chegwin fully took part in the presentation of the programs, thereby putting his acting career on hold. Most of his shows were children’s shows, and some of them; Multicolor swap shop which he presented from 1976 to 1982, alongside Noel Edmunds and Maggie Philbin, Cheggers Play Pops (1978-1986) and others. ‘I Wanna Be a Winner’ is a pop single he released alongside his Swap Shop co-presenters, the number reached number 15 in January 1982.
He had a unique way of presenting his shows; no one writes his scripts for him. In his autobiography, “Shaken But Not Not Stirred”, he confessed that his addiction to alcohol slowed down his career in the late 1980s and 1990s. He quit drinking on November 5, 1992 after participating in the show This morning on Richard and Judy. After his drinking problems ended, he started his career and went even further to do other great gigs like: Down Your Door; a segment on Le grand petit dejeuner, C’est KO in 1999 on Channel 5, Jungle Nue and many others.
Chegwin appeared as himself in Supplements in 2006. Killing Keith (2011) is a comedy horror film, and he played himself, he was also in Life is Too Short. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in August 2012 at the National Reality TV Awards.
He participated in some shows such as; The Hunt in October 2013, Useless Celebrities in 2014, Celebrity Big Brother in the Fifteenth Series in 2015, and Celebrity Masterchef. He was also scheduled to compete in Ice Dancing during the seventh series, but due to fractured ribs he pulled out, but returned for the eighth series and on February 17, 2013, he was eliminated from the show.
Family information – wife, sister
In 1982, Keith Chegwin married his exchangeThe Shop co-anchor, Maggie Philbin, and they had a daughter together in 1988, whom they named Rose. Their marriage did not last as long as they divorced in 1993. After his divorce from Maggie, he married Maria Ann Fielden in 2000 and she gave birth to a son for him, Ted, born in 1998 .
He also has an older sister, Janice Long, who is a radio and television presenter best known for her work at BBC Radio. She was born on April 5, 1955 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. She was married to Trevor Long but they divorced in 1982 and she is currently married to Paul Berry. She has two children.
Chegwin has a twin brother called Jeff who is a music PR and also a popular nephew, Hugo Chegwin, one of the creators of People Do Nothing, who is also a music producer.
Death of Keith Chegwin – What did he die of?
It was announced on December 11, 2017 by his family that Keith Chegwin had died. He died in Shropshire, where he settled earlier that year. He died of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease he had suffered from for some time, his wife, Mari Ann Fielden, and children were right next to him on the day of his death. He passed away peacefully shortly after midnight at the age of 60.