Richard Desmond

For the ice hockey player, see Richard Desmond (ice hockey).

Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond in 2010
Born
Richard Clive Desmond

(1951-12-08) 8 December 1951 (age 72)[1]
Hampstead, London, England
Occupation(s)Publisher, businessman, former pornographer
TelevisionTelevision X (1995–2016)[2]
Red Hot TV (2000–2016)[2]
Channel 5 (2010–2014)
Spouses
  • Janet Robertson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1983; div. 2010)​
  • Joy Canfield
    ​
    (m. 2012)​
Children3
Websitenorthernandshell.co.uk

Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman, and former pornographer.[3][4][5][6][7] According to the 2021 Sunday Times Rich List, Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom.[8] He is the founder of Northern & Shell, a publisher known for running The Health Lottery and for having owned a variety of pornographic titles and of celebrity magazines (including OK! and New!), Britain's Channel 5,[9] pornographic television network Portland,[2] and Express Newspapers.[10]

In 2020, Desmond was involved in controversy after pressuring Robert Jenrick, the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to overrule the Planning Inspectorate and approve a housing development for Desmond's company.[8] The timing of the decision saved the company £40 million but was later overturned.

  1. ^ Davidson, Andrew (18 September 2011). "Desmond gives himself a clean bill of health". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Plunkett, John (1 April 2016). "Richard Desmond sells his adult TV channels". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Richard Desmond: the former porn baron caught in a Tory scandal". The Guardian. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Richard Desmond: the porn king's coup | Tom Bower". The Guardian. 24 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Desmond, the maverick pornographer, gives two fingers to the rest of Fleet Street". The Guardian. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  6. ^ Cookson, Robert (1 April 2016). "Richard Desmond strips porn from his portfolio". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021. The deal marks the end of an era for the media mogul, who was once one of the UK's porn kings with an empire ranging from adult magazines to telephone sex lines.
  7. ^ "JK Rowling tweet blasts Express owner Richard Desmond over pornography links". www.thedrum.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Waterson2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Sweney, Mark (1 May 2014). "Viacom confirms purchase of Channel 5 from Richard Desmond for £450m". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference reachsale was invoked but never defined (see the help page).