Anthony was born in Manchester, England and spent the first 21 years of this life living la vida loca in a small town just to the North, called Rochdale. Having seen the movie ‘Top Gun’, up until the age of 18 he had set his sights on becoming a fighter pilot, and struck it lucky when he was awarded a scholarship from the Royal Air Force. This included basic pilot training and he was awarded his pilot’s license at the age of 17, three weeks after getting his driving license. However, the lure of show business became too strong and at 21, Anthony packed his bags and left his family home in search of fame and fortune in London.
26 years later he’s still searching, although in that time he has had the occasional brush with fame (if you count waving in the background of a news report). Over those years, he has also found a fascination with also being behind the camera, as you may have seen from this site.
At age 25, luck was once again on his side, when a chance meeting while on vacation in Florida ended in him becoming the Cruise Director for the launch of Disney Cruise Line. After 18 months of having to share a cabin with 2 mice, 2 chipmunks, a dog, a duck and a pirate, he returned to London, to continue his search for fame and fortune.
This time, due to a global shortage of perma-tanned TV hosts who can talk about porcelain dolphins and simulated diamond jewelry, he managed to snag a job in shopping television. QVC was just his cup of tea for 10 years, until the beginning of 2011 when he started to get itchy feet again. The creams didn’t work, so once again he packed his bags and returned to the high seas.
After Cruise Directing for about 18 months, word quickly travelled about his ability to dance like someone’s dad and so he was offered the job of bringing ‘Dancing with the Stars’ to Holland America Cruise Line. The project launched in February 2013 and is credited with being one of the most successful entertainment projects the line has had.
Anthony then planned on retiring to a tropical island and spending his days sipping Pina Coladas and writing his memoirs, however he quickly realized that due to his love of fast cars and first class travel, he couldn’t afford to…. so due to America’s love for fancy titles, he became Mr Vice President. Of Broadcast Operations. For the PPI Group. In Ft Lauderdale. Florida.
Not wanting to settle for just one job, television again came calling and being a crafty devil, he was hired to become part of the hosting team of ‘The Craft Channel’ in the UK. Being based in Florida, the commute was certainly a challenge but he enjoyed bringing out his inner Simon Cowell (albeit without the private jet).
January of 2017 saw him realize an ambition of buying a RED camera and starting his own company Stories & Light – covering all types of media production. Oh, by the way, that’s the brand RED, not the color – he had a red colored camera in the 80’s… but didn’t we all.
For the majority of 2018 and some of 2019 he relocated to West Chester, PA to also become a host for QVC US. The lure of selling wares on the television once again proved too much to resist.
Fast forward to today and he recently moved to viva Las Vegas. The plan was to pursue his dreams of becoming a showgirl, but having to shave his legs was something he just wasn’t prepared to do, so instead he continues to run his production company and do occasional spots of hosting. Yeah – he’s still fancy and showbiz.
Thank you and goodnight.
Anthony Heywood 