A look at the legendary DJ’s life as he competes on Who Wants to be a Millionaire to raise money for his chosen charity
Craig Charles is on tonight’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire(Image: Getty Images)
Craig Charles will return to our screens tonight for an episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The legendary DJ has become a household name on both radio and television.
The Scouser will be testing his wits on a star studded edition of the quiz show to see if he can raise money for his chosen charity. The episode will be broadcast from 7.30pm on Saturday as Craig aims to win money for a bone cancer research charity. Although Craig has never been diagnosed with the condition, he has been open with his health problems in the past.
He told the ECHO in an exclusive interview in 2023 about how he has had stents fitted since he suffered a heart attack a number of years ago. The 61-year-old has recovered from the health setback and told the ECHO how he now has a new lease of life.
In his chat with the ECHO, he explained how he initially fell ill when his wife was away in Galway, which is why he delayed seeking medical attention. He said: “I was really pale and I was sweating but I was freezing. She said ‘phone an ambulance’.
“I said ‘you’re coming home tomorrow so we’ll do it then’. She gets home the next day, takes one look at me and gets on the phone to call an ambulance.”
Craig was in stitches as he shared a hilarious misunderstanding while his wife was on the phone to the 999 operator. He added: “The woman on the phone says ‘what’s wrong with him’, she said ‘I think he’s having a heart attack’. The woman says ‘stay with me, stay on the line, what colour is he?’
“And my wife says ‘he’s brown’. So I’m having a heart attack and laughing my socks off at the same time.” Craig explained he suffers with the same heart condition his brother Dean died from in 2014.
He said: “It’s the narrowing of the arteries that leads to the heart and they said it was genetic at the time and I should go and get it checked out.
“I just ignored them and got on with my life but then I had the same thing.” Craig is making the most of his new life, as he is still bursting with energy and busier than ever.
He continues to host a daily radio show on 6music and still tours across the globe with his iconic Funk + Soul show. The show regularly comes to his native Liverpool and Craig told the ECHO what separates his home city from the rest of the world.
He said: “No-one can party like a Scouser. There’s a sense of connection there as you feel as though you’re playing to your own and I think the audience see me as one of their own.”
The Funk + Soul show has become a cultural phenomenon since it launched in 2002 and Craig credited the universal appeal of the music as to why it remains so popular. He said: “It’s a genre that crosses all age groups.
“At my gigs, we have 18 year olds and 80 year olds. You could be into death metal, surf or punk but you’ve still got three favourite soul tunes.”
Craig boasts an encyclopaedic knowledge of soul and credits his dad with sparking his passion for the genre. He said: “My dad arrived in England in 1958, he arrived at Liverpool Docks with a pocketful of change and a bag full of records. I was born in 1964 so while Liverpool was swinging to The Beatles, our house was moving to a different groove with things like Harry Belafonte, Johnny Mathis and Ray Charles.”
Craig grew up in Stockbridge Village, when it was known as Cantril Farm, and credited his Merseyside roots for shaping his interests. He said: “Hanging around Granby and going to the Boogaloo, you were listening to people like Earth Wind and Fire and Funkadelic so there were a lot of influences.
“There’s so many influences in Liverpool because it’s a port city and it’s had immigrants there for a very long time. Especially in Liverpool 8 because you thought it was us against the world.
“It was us against the rest of Liverpool a lot of the time. Things become very deep rooted and you become very passionate about things that relate to you.”
Although Craig is synonymous with the funk and soul genre, he has enjoyed returning to daily radio as it gives him the chance to indulge his other interests. He said: “I was born in the 60s with the Liverpool Merseybeat and I had all my dad’s stuff with the Blues going on.
“While I was at school, punk kicked off. When we started filming Red Dwarf in Manchester in 1988, that was when the whole Madchester kicked off in the Hacienda.
“I have accidentally been in the middle of a lot of these great musical waves and I know quite a bit about it so it’s great to show off that knowledge and show off that love and passion with music.”
Craig applies this eclectic approach to all walks of life as not many have forged a career across all mediums in the same manner that he has. Craig has enjoyed success as an actor, a poet, a DJ and a gameshow host. A busy schedule is just how Craig likes it, as the infectious enthusiasm that has made him a household name for more than four decades still burns as brightly as ever. Who Wants to be a Millionaire is on tonight at 7.30pm