Ian Wright

Ian Wright, travel TV host

Ian Douglas Wright (born 17 May 1965, Suffolk, England) is an English television host and comedian. Wright was host of Pilot Productions' travel/adventure television series Globe Trekker (also called Pilot Guides in Canada and the United States and originally broadcast as Lonely Planet). He also hosted the short-lived program Ian Wright Live, a show filmed before a live audience and featured discussions on various travel topics.

A seasoned international traveler, Wright is perhaps the most recognizable host of Globe Trekker. He is known for his witty banter, cockney accent, and amusing interactions with locals. For 7 years, he hosted over 50 episodes of the program, including more extreme locations like Arctic Canada, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Russia, Armenia, Nepal, Australian Outback, and even northern Norway. To date, Wright has won three U.S. Cable Ace Awards for Best Magazine Host.

Wright now also stars in the cable channel Discovery Travel & Living show VIP Weekends with Ian Wright.^[1]

In 2008, Wright appeared in America the Wright Way which aired on the Travel Channel. In this series, Wright travels to American cities and does his usual bit of visiting interesting locations and interacting with locals.

In 2010, he presented "Eurovision Countdown" for the European Broadcasting Union, previewing the songs that are to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

The latest of Ian Wright's series is called Invite Mr Wright. The second season started on March 2012.

Personal life

Before appearing on television, Wright ran a community centre with his wife. Wright spent three months in Guyana as part of a Prince's Trust initiative called Operation Raleigh. He also had extensive travel experience in Egypt, India, Venezuela, Lebanon and Romania.

Wright is an accomplished painter, who had an exhibition of his work displayed at Chats Palace, Homerton, London. He has also played an active role in several after-school programmes for children. He currently lives in Suffolk with his wife and family. Wright enjoys playing football, eating out, and going for walks in the English countryside. Wright is a vegetarian, though he will occasionally break this for his travel documentaries.