Stephen Nolan- Panic Attack

Stephan Nolan is an overweight, Northern Irish presenter, who hosts daytime BBC game show Panic Attack.

He has a very broad, friendly Northern Irish accent, and I think because of this, when he is talking to the contestants he comes across as being interested and personable. However he also has the variety in tone that game show presenters need; to be able to go from happy and joking when they are asking the contestants about themselves, to going more serious and tense as the game progresses.

He doesn't use a lot of catchphrases- he calls the seat where the player sits 'The Seat of Power', and he periodically reminds contestants ' Don't Panic' as if to remind the audience why the game is called Panic Attack. Nolan also says 'Alrighty Then', a lot which is a transitional phrase; a eay to keep the game moving.

He does a lot of gesturing but only with one hand, as he needs the other hand to hold his card. As a result of this limited movements sometimes he look like he is pointing, which can get a bit irritating.

At particualarly important parts of the game he moves back and forth between legs a lot, like he needs the toilet. This gives the impression that he is excited, and really cares about what is going to happen, even when he might actually not. He is quickens his pace, another way of expressing excitement.

He wears a suit, with quite an eccentric shirts, with the button open and no tie. I think this is mainly to do with the time-slot; 1pm on a weekday afternoon doesn't usually call for black tie, and most of the target audience are probably students, who don't really care how smartly he is dressed. However he is made an effort, which is important, and he is smartly dressed enough that you can distinguish him from the contestant.

In essence, Stephen Nolan is good at presenting because he has an excited tone, he has a fast enough pace to keep you interested, and he acts as though his show is the best show in the world. All presenters, need to be able to convince the audience that their show is the best, and have that infectious enthusiasm, because their ultimate aim is that you don't turn over.

He also has to relate to the studio audience, and use leading questions like 'Don't we want ... to do well?'... to get them to respond. When an audience are just sitting watching someone for hours, unless they are entertained, they will get bored and restless, and so it is the presenters job to entertain them.

I think that Stephen Nolan is a good presenter, because he draws the audience in. I like him because he sounds interested in the contestants, and makes what is a pretty boring format very watchable with his hand gestures, and entertaing facial expressions.

However he can be very irritating, because he has the sort of relentless cheeriness that grates after a while and his sense of humour is rather butlins-esque (cheesy and verging on embarrasing). I think he will be stuck in an average game show rut, because he is too jovial for serious programmes like the News , Crime Watch and documentaries but he is not funny enough for more humourous shows like Have I Got News For You, or Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Basically he is funny and entertaing enough for the slot at 1pm, where the audience of students and housewives just want something to watch in the background. However he is't quick witted enough for more primetime programmes.